Some days ago, contrarian reader Wallace J. McLean challenged contrarian to determine how many of the paving projects Nova Scotia submitted for federal stimulus funding were in provincial Tory ridings. "Too much work," we said, and went back to surfing Digg and Stumbledupon. Well, turns out Wally is a blogger himself, and after days with a magnifying glass comparing project lists with the boundaries of Nova Scotia's 52 provincial ridings, he offers an answer:
Of the 37 projects put forward by the late Macdonald government in NS, five were located in Liberal districts, and five in NDP districts, based on the 2006 election results.... Twenty-six were located in districts which the Tories held, or had won in 2006.
30 June, 2009

Contrarian reader Wallace J. McLean wonders: How does the map of road work requested by Premier Fiddler compare to the provincial electoral map as it stood prior to dissolution? It's an obvious question, but from a look at the map, I doubt the answer would turn up anything nefarious. Provincial paving, by its nature, takes place mainly in rural ridings. That's where provincial roads are. Before June 9, Tories held most of the province's rural constituencies, so most of the proposed projects were undoubtedly in Tory ridings. To show bias, one would have to demonstrate that province's proposed infrastructure projects disproportionately favored Tory...

17 June, 2009