Earle McCurdy running in historically non-NDP district of St. John's West

NDP Leader Earle McCurdy is running in the district of St. John's West in the upcoming provincial election, a seat historically held by Liberals and Progressive Conservatives. 

McCurdy made the announcement at the playground on Frecker Drive on Tuesday morning, in front of a few dozen supporters.

"I've lived in St. John's virtually my entire life, I grew up in St. John's, and it was always my intention to run in my home town," McCurdy told reporters.

"St. John's West is a riding that I think we've got a good shot at."

McCurdy said former leader and Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi MHA Lorraine Michael offered up her seat, but he declined.

"We're looking to make significant gains and a good place to start [is] if a leader says, 'I'm prepared to take on a tough challenge,'" he said.

"Lorraine is an outstanding member of our caucus, [with] tremendous experience and [is] a great parliamentarian, and we don't want to lose that experience."

Before announcing his intentions, McCurdy polled the constituents of St. John's West, but didn't reveal the outcome Tuesday. 

"I think it can be fair to say that the results of the polling were encouraging to take on this riding and reinforce what I felt from the beginning, but I wanted to double check before I made a final decision."

The district is currently held by Environment and Conservation Minister Dan Crummell.

Former MP Siobhan Coady is the Liberal candidate for the district.

The provincial election will be held on November 30.