N.S. Liberal leadership candidates eye the finish line

Zach Churchill and Angela Simmonds are putting the battery life of their phones to the test.

The two Liberal MLAs are spending the last days of their party's leadership campaign talking to as many members as they can to shore up support and making one last pitch to any undecided voters ahead of the July 9 decision at a convention in Halifax.

"If I need to meet people where they're at, I'm going to go," Simmonds, the MLA for Preston, said during a recent interview.

"That's really what it's about right now."

A year ago, most Liberals in Nova Scotia probably could not have imagined holding a leadership convention this summer. The party was riding high in public opinion polls and newly minted leader and premier Iain Rankin seemed poised to lead his team to a third consecutive election win.

Voters had other ideas.

With Rankin announcing earlier this year that he would step down as leader following the election defeat at the hands of the Progressive Conservatives, Simmonds and Churchill, the MLA for Yarmouth, emerged as the candidates to replace him.

They're vying to lead at a challenging time for the party.

Along with the election loss, a report stemming from that result pointed to a disconnect between party officials in Halifax and volunteers and members in electoral districts around the province. It called for a complete overhaul.

Churchill said his tours of the province to meet with party members make clear the work that needs to be done by the next leader.

"I think we've got big challenges on our plate here in the province, and societally, and the more brain power we can bring to the table to build our war chest of ideas to deal with the big issues of the day, the stronger we're going to be as a party," he said during a recent interview.

Simmonds, meanwhile, lists party renewal and achieving the recommendations of the campaign review as a key focus if she becomes leader.

There are many issues for the party to champion, she said, but that only works if the party is strong and people feel like their voices are being heard.

"I'm not suggesting we can't do two things at once. I can walk and chew gum. But what I'm suggesting is we can't continue to build this house, this party, if we are not addressing the cracks we have now."