Published Apr 09, 2025 • 3 minute readBrendan Mosher, the NDP candidate for South Shore-St. Margarets, has dropped out of the federal election. Photo by File photoThe NDP candidate for the South Shore-St. Margarets riding has dropped out of the race.Brendan Mosher, a firefighter who had previously worked as a fire inspector for the Municipality of Chester and who ran unsuccessfully in the November provincial election, said his decision was for personal reasons.“As of Monday, I decided to step back,” Mosher said Wednesday.THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY.Subscribe now to access this story and more:Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsSUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES.Subscribe or sign in to your account to continue your reading experience.Unlimited access to the website and appExclusive access to premium content, newsletters and podcastsFull access to the e-Edition app, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment onEnjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalistsSupport local journalists and the next generation of journalistsRegister to unlock more articles.Create an account or sign in to continue your reading experience.Access additional stories every monthShare your thoughts and join the conversation in our commenting communityGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorArticle content“I have a young family and with my other work commitments, I can’t give 100 per cent to the campaign,” he said. “I don’t feel that’s fair to the party or the residents of South Shore-St. Margarets.”Mosher dismissed any speculation that he stepped down in an effort to consolidate the riding vote for Liberal candidate Jessica Fancy-Landry and against incumbent Conservative Rick Perkins.“Untrue,” Mosher said. “I have no ties to Rick Perkins or the Liberals or any candidate. As per the social media post I made yesterday, I asked people to look at the party’s platforms, to look at the individual candidates to see who is best to meet their needs and wants. “You’ve got to go with what’s right for you as a person.”Mosher said Hayden Henderson, who initially entered the riding race as an Independent, could carry the NDP flag.“Right now he is on (the candidates list) as an Independent but he is supporting the NDP platform and they are currently working on getting him listed as an NDP candidate.”Article contentHenderson could not be reached for comment.Perkins is seeking a second term, having ousted former Liberal fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan, a two-term MP for the riding, in the 2021 election by a 1,879-vote margin.Jordan had defeated Perkins by 7,122 votes in the 2019 election and scored an 18,140 vote victory over her nearest rival in 2015.Prior to Jordan’s two terms, the riding had been a Conservative and Progressive Conservative stronghold for 43 of the 47 years from 1968 to 2015. MP Gerald Keddy held the riding, under its current name and the previous name of South Shore, from 1997 to 2015.Mosher talked about his status in two Facebook posts, the latter stating that “Hayden is running as a New Democrat and has our full support, he’s a strong voice for our values and a proud part of our team.”In the previous post, Mosher said he wanted to clear the air about his candidacy.“I originally started off with intentions on being your candidate, but after a long consideration and some last-minute delays, I have decided this wasn’t the right time to make my run for the federal election,” he posted.Article content“It doesn’t look like there will be a NDP candidate for this riding, which I know is disappointing and I do apologize for that.”In that post, he asked readers to review the party platforms and what each candidate has to offer and decide who would be the strongest and best voice for the riding.“Who will represent ALL residents and not just a select few? Who has OUR best interests at heart? Who is going to present themselves in a professional manner inside and outside of Parliament? Who is going to support ALL residents and guests inside CANADA, and who is going to do what is right for all countries across our beautiful globe?”Mosher finished third in the Chester-St. Margarets riding in the November provincial election, 3,516 votes back of Danielle Barkhouse, the Progressive Conservative member who was subsequently elected Speaker of the House.Mosher said in his post that no once is perfect, not everyone is going to get everything right and people will make mistakes.“The biggest step is knowing when to admit this didn’t work, I made a mistake, now let’s fix it,” he wrote.He closed the post by urging everyone to get out and vote.Patrick Shea Boyd of the People’s Party of Canada and Mark Embrett of the Green Party are also vying for the South Shore-St. Margarets seat.Article content
NDP candidate drops out of South Shore-St. Margarets race
