ANTIGONISH - A two-term MLA who has held three major portfolios in outgoing Premier Stephen McNeil's cabinet is confident about his chances to succeed McNeil as Nova Scotia's Liberal leader later this winter.

Randy Delorey, who has served as Environment, Finance and Health Minister in the Liberal administration over the past eight years, will face off against two fellow former cabinet ministers, Labi Kousoulis and Iain Rankin, in a virtual convention to be held on February 5 and 6, with the winner being announced the second day. 

Speaking to TELILE 24/7 host-producer Adam Cooke on Tuesday from his constituency office in Antigonish, Delorey declared that the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying social-distancing rules have not prevented him from connecting with Liberal Party members and Nova Scotians in general since he announced his candidacy this past September. 

"It's going really, really well," said Delorey. "I've had a plan in place since the beginning and it was one that was focused on engagement through the fall, and using that engagement with members and stakeholders across the province to inform my policy. And that allowed to build a really strong, robust policy in a number of areas, like health, the economy, the environment and seniors."

Delorey also pointed out that his cabinet experience has prepared him for the difficult decision-making that often accompanies the premier's job. As an example, he pointed to his time as Health Minister, which included what he described as a quick response to the lethal outbreak of COVID-19 at Halifax's Northwood long-term care facility this past spring, and a controversial decision to close two hospitals in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and reallocate those resources to other hospitals in the same area.