Nearly a week into campaigning, political parties in Nova Scotia have been making promises on affordability, health care, and taxes.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston called the general election on Oct. 27, several months ahead of the province’s fixed election date in July 2025.
Houston, who is leader of the Progressive Conservative party (PC), is up against Liberal Leader Zach Churchill, and NDP Leader Claudia Chender.
Among his early campaign commitments, Houston has promised a 1 percent
cut to the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), as well as a reduction to income tax rates. Houston said the cut to the HST would save the average Nova Scotian $250 a year.
The PC party also said it would increase the basic personal exemption on Nova Scotia income taxes from $8,744 to $11,744.
Houston has also said his government would increase the provincial minimum wage to $16.50 in one year’s time. Other promises the PC party has made include developing Canada’s first
menopause centre, and eliminating
tolls on the MacKay and Macdonald bridges.
The party is also touting its
record on health care, including training and recruiting more nurses and offering
free tuition for 30 licensed practical nurses (LPNs).
Houston’s PC party has 48 percent of voter support, according to pollster 338Canada. The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is the closest rival for the PCs with 25 percent voter support.
So far in the election campaign, the Liberals have made promises to
cut the HST by 2 percent and lower income taxes.
Cutting the HST is a move the Liberals say will save average families $1,416. They have also proposed to increase the basic personal tax exemption amount to $15,705.
“The government has enough money, people don’t,” Liberal Party leader Churchill said in an Oct. 31
news release.
“Our plan changes that. Our party will lower taxes so that Nova Scotians can keep more of their hard-earned money.”
The party has also committed to building 20 collaborative care clinics and expanding more across the province. The Liberals have also pledged to bring down
food prices by offering grants to independent grocery stores and reducing restrictions on where food stores can be built.
The NDP, polling closely behind the Liberals with 23 percent support, announced plans to tackle housing costs by bringing in
rent control, banning fixed-term leases, and reducing the annual rent increase from 5 percent to 2.5 percent.
“These protections we’re announcing today will save renters money. They’ll help keep our communities affordable and, most importantly, they will help people plan their futures without the constant fear of losing a home they can actually afford,” party leader Chender said in an Oct. 31
news release.
Advance voting runs from Nov. 16 to Nov. 23. The general election day is Nov. 26.
Houston has said he called the election early to avoid having it coincide with the next federal election, and said he needs a strong mandate before making significant investments to address affordability issues.
No Voter Cards
Elections Nova Scotia says it will not be printing out voter information cards (VICs) for the election. It
said the decision was made because of the potential Canada Post strike next week.
“It was a difficult decision not to print VICs but we wanted to make sure there was a clear message for voters if there is a postal strike,” says Dorothy Rice, chief electoral officer for Nova Scotia.
Rice said that voters did not need a card to cast a ballot. Rather, voters can take their identification with them when they go to vote. But even that is not necessary, according to the Elections Nova Scotia
website.
Voters in Nova Scotia can vote without identification by taking an oath to attest to their eligibility, the website said.
