PICTOU– Wes Surrett has officially announced his intention to join the nomination contest for the Conservative Party of Canada for the Central Nova Riding. The date for the nomination meeting has not yet been set, but is expected to be scheduled in the coming weeks.
“Living, working and raising a family in Antigonish and now in Pictou County, I have seen first hand the strength of the communities that make up our riding. As a local business operator and having served as president of the local tourism destination organization, I feel strongly about the great potential our area has to offer. I would be honoured to represent and work with our communities as we together lead our riding of Central Nova forward.”
Surrett was born in a small town in New Brunswick where his parents ran a tourism operation. After graduating with a Bachelor of Education degree, he worked at various tourism operations in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. He worked in the PC Government of former Premier Bernard Lord, including campaigning with the Premier in the 2006 election. He was married the same year to his wife Kate.
They moved to Antigonish to operate the Maritime Inn, Antigonish, where their children Evan and Ella were born. For the last seven years, they have operated the Pictou Lodge Beach Resort and resided in the town of Pictou. Surrett currently serves as president of Destination Eastern and Northumberland Shores (DEANS). The DEANS tourism district reflects the Central Nova boundaries. He also serves as Chairman of the Nova Scotia Tourism Human Resource Council and serves on the board of directors with the Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia. He has previously held a position on the board of directors with the Pictou County Chamber of Commerce.
“I have held a number of leadership positions throughout my career and have followed a different path to politics,” Surrett said. “I have an understanding of the issues facing communities in the riding. I come from a middle class working family and can relate to the concerns that affect the hard working people in Central Nova.”
He said there are several topics that are important to him.
“We need to have strong trusted processes in place that allow the economy to grow while respecting our environment. We need to stop over regulating our hard working entrepreneurs and industries. We need to end the irresponsible spending and deficits of the current government and high taxes that come hand in hand with this type of governance. We need to retain our population and attract millennials and young families to the great communities we live in. We need to better develop and support our primary industries: like fisheries, farming, forestry, and tourism and by doing so, other industries will flourish. We need to partner with the strong Chambers, Boards of Trade, Regional Enterprise Networks, and other organizations to attract new investment and entrepreneurs to the area,” he stated. These days jobs come in smaller batches of new companies and entrepreneurs. We need to show the world Central Nova is a great place to visit, live, work, grow, and play.”
Surrett said he is a person who isn’t afraid to stand up for what he believes in and that he would stand up for the people of Central Nova.
Pictou businessman Luke Young and Westville Mayor Roger MacKay have also announced their intentions to run for the Conservative nomination.
