Conservative Leader Stephen Harper is days away from revisiting a Nova Scotia riding that’s expected to be hotly contested — but so far that’s nearly all the party is saying about the campaign stop.

“It’s a secret,” said Bill Casey, the longtime local MP and former Tory who is carrying the Liberal banner this time around.

Harper is slated to visit Amherst, N.S., on Sunday.

Other details about the campaign stop in the riding of Cumberland-Colchester have not yet been announced.

As Casey points out, those wishing to attend will have to apply online.

“If you do apply to go, you have to agree to be searched — your person and your belongings. If you don't consent to be searched, according to the website, you'll be denied entry,” Casey said.

But the Conservatives say that’s just partisan rhetoric.

Scott Armstrong, the Conservative candidate for Cumberland-Colchester, says the event is no secret.

As for the searches and security measures, Armstrong says those are questions better put to the RCMP.

“I don't think I'm qualified to talk about security issues. I'm not a security expert,” he said.

Local residents who spoke with CTV News on Thursday seemed to agree the security measures make sense.

What is drawing attention, however, is the attention Harper and his party appear to be paying to the riding of Cumberland-Colchester.

Sunday’s event will mark Harper’s second visit to the riding in three months, and his wife recently visited in a third, separate stop.

“Maybe he ought to get a house here,” quipped one resident.

The reason for all the interest in Cumberland-Colchester depends who you ask.

“This is a riding that's in the central part of Nova Scotia. It's the bridge between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, so by coming to this riding we can attract people from both sides of the border,” said Armstrong.

Armstrong is up against Casey in what is expected to be a tight race.

Casey represented the riding for 17 years as both a Tory and an independent MP.

He was kicked out of the Conservative caucus in 2007 when he voted against the budget.

“My campaign manager is the person I ran against in my first election, and now my opponent is my campaign manager in the last election,” Casey said.

Also in the running are Wendy Robinson, representing the NDP, and the Green Party’s Jason Blanche.

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV Atlantic’s Kayla Hounsell