As of today, seven additional candidates have agreed to participate in the Foundation’s walking challenge: Paula Lunn, Liberal candidate for Hants West; John MacDonell, NDP candidate for Hants East; Michael MacIsaac, NDP candidate for Inverness; Myrtle Campbell, NDP candidate for Glace Bay; Wayne McKay, NDP candidate for Cape Breton South; Russell MacDonald, NDP candidate for Cape Breton North; and Ramona Jennex, NDP candidate for Kings South. They will wear a Heart&Stroke Walkabout pedometer and track their steps during the remaining days of the provincial election. Candidates will log their steps at walkaboutns.ca, where Nova Scotians can view the candidates’ progress.

“The purpose of Heart&Stroke Walkabout is to increase physical activity and support walking in our province,” said Melinda Norris, Walkabout Project Manager with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia. “Candidates – and Nova Scotians – know that election candidates have to get their feet on the streets in order to connect with voters in their communities. The step challenge is an opportunity to highlight the importance of walking, while acknowledging the amount of walking involved during an election campaign.”

This one-week initiative is separate from the three-week friendly walking challenge currently taking place among three candidates in the Halifax area. Those candidates are: Gerry Walsh, Liberal candidate in Halifax Citadel-Sable Island; Linda Power, NDP candidate in Halifax Clayton Park; and Debbie Hum, PC candidate in Halifax Clayton Park. As of May 27, these three candidates have logged more than 370,000 steps with just over a week remaining.

“We heard that there was interest among other candidates to log their steps so the Foundation decided to extend the invitation,” explained Norris. “If a candidate is just learning about this opportunity for the first time it is not too late to become involved.”

Candidates who want to track their steps for the final week of the campaign are invited to contact the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia to borrow a pedometer.  They will be asked to join the Candidates on the move walking group and log their steps through walkaboutns.ca.

Nova Scotians can also become members of Heart&Stroke Walkabout for free, and use the site to track their own steps, join groups and find walking routes.

Heart&Stroke Walkabout is led by the Foundation in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection and the Ecology Action Centre. Walkabout is supported by Pfizer, the presenting sponsor, Nova Scotia Department of Health, Pharmasave, and Great West Life. For more information, visitwww.walkaboutns.ca.

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For more information:

Jolene Titus

Communications Manager, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia

Tel: 902 423-7682 ext. 315 | Fax: 902 492-1464 | E-mail: [email protected]

The Heart&Stroke Walkabout 3-week campaign challenge begins Sunday, May 17 at 12 p.m. and ends Sunday, June 7 at 12 p.m. Gerry Walsh, Liberal candidate in Halifax Citadel-Sable Island; Linda Power, NDP candidate in Halifax Clayton Park, and Debbie Hum, PC candidate in Halifax Clayton Park, will participate in the challenge.

“The purpose of Heart&Stroke Walkabout is to increase physical activity and support walking in our province,” said Melinda Norris, Walkabout Project Manager with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia. “We know an election is a busy time for all parties and it requires a lot of walking and running around throughout the day. The step challenge represents an opportunity to highlight the importance of walking and it’s presence in our daily lives while acknowledging the amount of work it takes to carry out a campaign.”

Each candidate will wear a Heart&Stroke Walkabout pedometer and track their steps daily over three weeks. Candidates will log their steps at www.walkaboutns.ca, where Nova Scotians can view their progress daily on a colourful graph.

“This is a friendly challenge to raise awareness about walking, and I encourage people to ask the participants about their steps logged,” said Melinda Norris. “Research indicates that 3 weeks can be enough time to change an old habit or to create a new habit. Being active on a regular basis is a great way to get healthy – physically and mentally – and to stay that way. This could be achieved by walking as little as 30 minutes three or four days a week. The first step, which our bold candidates are taking, is to see how active you already are in the course of your daily life.”

In addition to tracking their steps, the challenge participants will also meet with the Foundation to discuss how easy or hard it was to walk within their communities. Heart&Stroke Walkabout will provide tools to help decision-makers and citizens improve the “walk-ability” of the province’s communities, so that walking becomes the easy choice for many more Nova Scotians.

Nova Scotians can also sign up for free through Heart&Stroke Walkabout to track their own steps, join groups and find walking routes, said Norris. Heart&Stroke Walkabout is led by the Foundation in partnership with the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection and the Ecology Action Centre. Walkabout is supported by Pfizer, the presenting sponsor, Nova Scotia Department of Health, Pharmasave, and Great West Life. For more information visit www.walkaboutns.ca.