Nova Scotia General Election 2024 Wrap Up

Tory supermajority, new leader of the opposition, Liberal collapse, and a continued decline in voter turnout. These were the main takeaways from the Nova Scotia General Election that concluded
on November 26.

The Houston PCs grew their majority to a whopping 43 (out of 55) seats. This gives the Premier a supermajority which means the PCs control enough seats in the legislature to pass changes
to the way the legislature operates. This could mean reducing the number and rules of committees and other procedural rules of the legislature. This has the potential to reduce the effectiveness of the Opposition and give Houston the power and control to forever change the way democracy is implemented in the province. The union will have to be strategic in dealing with the new government and consider the implications of a supermajority on labour relations and bargaining.

The election came as somewhat of a surprise as the first law the Tim Houston PCs passed when they were elected in 2021 was to implement a fixed election date. Nova Scotia was the only province
without a fixed election date. However, the PCs used their majority to override the law and called a snap election. Calling an election without notice to the opposition parties is a huge advantage.  The PCs had all their candidates nominated, all their advertising produced and ready for TV, radio, including social media ads and billboards, bus shelters and print material. The day after the election was called, the PCs had all their ads up and their campaign bus was on the road. Both the Liberals and NDP had a lot of catching up to do. When the campaign was over Nova Scotia had elected the first woman as Leader of the Official Opposition. Claudia Chender led the NDP to a three seats increase, from six to a total of nine, which was enough seats to become the official Opposition. It’s the first time the NDP have been official opposition since Darrell Dexter led the NDP in 2003.

The Nova Scotia Liberal Party suffered its greatest defeat in 100 years. The Liberals were reduced to just two seats, included in the loss was Liberal Leader Zach Churchill who was defeated in Yarmouth. The Liberals will start the process to rebuild in 2025 with a leadership contest as Churchill announced his resignation as leader.

This general election also included two NSGEU staff. Holly Fraughton (Communications) and Patricia MacDonald (LRO) ran as candidates in the election for the NDP and PCs respectively. Both ran strong campaigns but were unsuccessful in winning their ridings. Nova Scotia’s loss is the union’s gain as they have returned to their positions within the union. Thank you to all the  candidates who put their name on a ballot, as well to those who volunteered on a campaign. Now more than ever we need greater attention and participation in our political process, at all levels. The new cabinet includes a shuffle of former ministers and the appointment of several new ones. The union has reached out to the new ministers in those portfolios that directly impact our members so we can start to build relationships and move the priorities of the our members forward.