Hi neighbour, I’m Stephen MacKay and I’m excited to be running to be your next representative in HRM District 8. I absolutely love the North End, its people, its parks, its shops and services. I love the community and its spirit.

The North End is a vibrant and diverse collection of neighbourhoods and people that have given Halifax much of its character and charm. With the release of the Viola Desmond $10 bill, the North End became the first neighbourhood to be mapped on Canadian currency. The North End and its people have played an important role not just in local history but in our nation’s history. It’s a dream to be able to call the North End home, a dream that is getting further out of reach for many people every day.

I think it’s important to listen to the people of the North End. Community members are usually the first to find deficiencies in our systems and are often the first to put forward solutions that can work. My belief is that taking simple, effective, action to address a problem is the best approach to finding a solution; and that for solutions to be effective, those affected must be consulted and included.

I believe that affordable housing is important, and that the city should be working hard to make more affordable housing available. Many members of the current community would not be able to afford to move into the North End with today’s real estate and rental costs (I certainly couldn’t), and I worry where the youth of the North End will find housing in the years to come. Family is an important part of a community and I want to see generations be able to continue to live and thrive in the North End.

Along with affordable housing I believe that affordable and accessible food is important. We have over 3000 residents in the North End that live in what would be considered a food desert*; that is, they live more than 1.6 km (a 20 min walk) away from sources of healthy and affordable foods, especially fresh produce. We should be encouraging and supporting a variety of local market spaces in these neighborhoods.

Street safety and moving people efficiently is a passion of mine. It’s important that the city continues to improve transportation options and build out the protected bike grid, implement the bus rapid transit system, design local streets with a focus of safety over speed and work towards reducing barriers that encourage personal vehicle use. Our population is projected to double over the next 30 years and we simply cannot have twice as many cars on the streets.

All of this needs to be viewed through the lenses of equity and accessibility, our city needs to work for everyone and everybody. By taking an inclusive approach to decision-making that considers the needs of our whole community we build a stronger Halifax. We make it so that grandparents can live in the same neighborhood as their grand kids. People with mobility issues can live near their workplace. And people from every background can call the North End Home.

I look forward to meeting everyone and working together toward our shared goal of keeping the North End special.

* (https://censusmapper.ca/#15/44.6557/-63.5944)