The Political Record · Federal electoral districts
Cumberland—Colchester
Federal riding · NS · No. 12004 · 2023 representation order
- Member
- Alana Hirtle Liberal
- 2025 result
- Liberal gain by 1,228 votes
- Turnout
- 70.4% of 70,762 electors
- Population
- 82,015 2021 census
- Area
- 11,078 km²
- Figures as of
- 2026-09-25
Distinctions · ranked against all 343 ridings
- Closest race in Nova ScotiaWon by 1,228 votes (2.5 pts) · 2nd of 11 in Nova Scotia · 25th of 343 in Canada
- Lowest turnout in Nova Scotia70.4% of 70,762 electors voted · 2nd of 11 in Nova Scotia · 200th of 343 in Canada
- Changed hands in 2025One of 58 of 343 ridings where the winning party changed from the transposed 2021 result (2 of 11 in Nova Scotia)
- Decided before election dayOn election-day polls alone another party led; advance and special ballots decided it · one of 27 of 343
- Boundaries unchanged in 2023Covers the same ground as its predecessor · one of 59 of 343 by area
In brief
Illustration after: © House of Commons
Member of Parliament
Alana Hirtle
- Member: Canadian Heritage
- Member: Veterans Affairs
IDid this riding change?
Essentially no. Today's Cumberland—Colchester covers almost exactly the same ground as the Cumberland—Colchester riding it replaced.
How this is measured. Share of the current riding's area that came from each former riding, by intersecting the 2013 and 2023 boundary files. It is area, not population. Elections Canada counts 48 of 343 ridings as entirely unchanged.
IIThe 2025 result
Liberal gain
Elected
Alana Hirtle
Liberal
23,929
48.3% of valid votes
Margin
1,228
votes · +2.5 pts
Runner-up
Stephen Ellis
Conservative
22,701
45.8% of valid votes
Liberal 48.3% · Conservative 45.8% · New Democratic 3.8% · Green 1.4%
Turnout70.4% of 70,762 electors
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | 2021 | ± |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alana Hirtle | Liberal | 23,929 | 48.3% | 34.0% | +14.3 |
| Stephen Ellis | Conservative | 22,701 | 45.8% | 45.7% | +0.1 |
| Larry Duchesne | New Democratic | 1,873 | 3.8% | 12.3% | −8.5 |
| Kelly-Ann Callaghan | Green | 694 | 1.4% | 2.6% | −1.2 |
1 further candidate, under 1% of the vote
| Paul Church | People's | 333 | 0.7% |
The 2021 column is Elections Canada's official transposition of the 2021 result onto these 2023 boundaries. ± is the change in each party's share. It is not "swing": with four or more competitive parties there is no single pair to swing between.
IIIHow close was it, really
Swing needed to flip
1.3 pts
Half the margin: the share that would have had to move from first to second.
Third place vs. the margin
1,873 votes
New Democratic took more than the 1,228-vote margin. True in 100 of 343 ridings in 2025.
Election-day polls won by others
128 of 187
3 polls ended in an exact tie.
Flip the seatHypothetical
It would have taken 615 voters switching from Liberal to Conservative — 1.2% of the 49,530 valid votes, 1.3 points — to change the result. No ballot was cast this way; this only moves votes between the top two.
Liberal23,929
Conservative22,701
Still Liberal by 1,228 votes. Actual margin: 1,228.
IVElection day versus advance
Only 51.6% of this riding's votes were cast at election-day polls. The rest were advance or special ballots. On election day alone, the Conservatives led here — the seat was decided by ballots cast before the day.
Election dayAdvance & specialGap
Conservative50.4%41.0%−9.4
Liberal42.5%54.5%+12.0
New Democratic4.4%3.1%−1.3
Green1.8%1.0%−0.8
An association, not a cause. Voters who cast ballots before election day differed from those who turned out on the day. It does not say why. There is no poll-level turnout figure on this page: the elector count on a polling division includes people who voted in advance and were counted elsewhere.
VWhat kind of place this is
- Median total household income is $63,200 — about 75 percent of the median riding's $84,000.highestlowest31st lowest of 343
- Median age is 49.6 — about 1.2 times the median riding's 41.6.highestlowest28th highest of 343
- Share aged 25-64 with a bachelor's degree or higher is 19.0% — about 67 percent of the median riding's 28.2%.highestlowest79th lowest of 343
- Share who are immigrants is 4.0% — about 23 percent of the median riding's 17.3%.highestlowest43rd lowest of 343
- Share of households that own their home is 71.0% — about the same as the median riding's 71.4%.highestlowest168th lowest of 343
- Share with French as a mother tongue is 1.0% — about 63 percent of the median riding's 1.6%.highestlowest101st lowest of 343
2021 Census, keyed to the 2023 representation order. Comparisons are against the median riding, not Canada as a whole. Each rule places this riding among all 343.
VIWhere it is
loading basemap…
The card
No. 12004NS · 2025
Cumberland—Colchester
Alana Hirtle
- Result
- Liberal gain by 1,228
- Turnout
- 70.4%
- Population
- 82,015
- Area
- 11,078 km²
Closest race in Nova ScotiaLowest turnout in Nova ScotiaChanged hands in 2025Decided before election dayBoundaries unchanged in 2023
One of 343The Political Record
A card exists for every one of the 343 ridings.
Every figure on it is the figure on this page: the 2025 result and margin, turnout, the 2021 census population, the area, and the distinctions ranked against all 343 ridings. The portrait is an illustration after the official House of Commons photograph.
Open a neighbour to collect the next one.