Nova Scotia·New
Tim Houston led Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservatives to another majority government on Tuesday.
This will be the Tories’ second consecutive mandate
Aly Thomson · CBC News
· Posted: Nov 26, 2024 7:02 PM EST | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
Live Nova Scotia Election Results 2024
Full coverage of provincial election night results with the CBC News team, live from the Nova Scotia legislature.
Nova Scotians overwhelmingly voted for the Progressive Conservatives on Tuesday, as Tim Houston handily led his party to another majority government.
There was jubilant applause and hugging among a gathering of Tory supporters at a wellness centre in Pictou County when the projection was made shortly after 9 p.m. AT.
The event was being held in Houston’s riding of Pictou East, where he was re-elected.
Houston and the Tories were leading in 40 ridings around 10 p.m. AT.
The NDP were leading in 11 ridings, while the Liberals were leading in two.
NDP supporters smile in Dartmouth as election night results roll in. NDP Leader Claudia Chender was re-elected in her riding of Dartmouth South. (Dave Irish/CBC)In Halifax, cheers erupted from a hotel banquet room as NDP Leader Claudia Chender was re-elected in her riding of Dartmouth South.
The NDP, which has remained a third-place party since falling from power in the 2013 provincial election, made notable gains in Tuesday’s vote, launching into second place and becoming the Official Opposition.
And with that, Chender is slated to become the first elected female leader of the Opposition.
Independent Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin was also re-elected in the riding of Cumberland North.
The PC’s majority is not a surprise. Polls leading up to election day suggested the Tories were far ahead of the NDP and Liberals.
Thanks to the province’s new e-balloting system — which used electronic tablets for early voting — results poured in quickly, and within about seven minutes it was known the Progressive Conservatives would return for a second mandate.
WATCH | CBC News projects a PC majority government
Progressive Conservatives win majority in N.S. election
Celebrations were underway at Tim Houston’s campaign headquarters as early votes rolled in shortly after 9 p.m. AT Tuesday.
Houston called the snap election on Oct. 27, ignoring his government’s own election law, which had set Nova Scotia’s very first fixed election date of July 15, 2025.
Some analysts have said the early election call was to capitalize on the unpopularity of the Trudeau government.
But Houston contended it was to secure a second mandate to continue his party’s plans to tackle the major societal issues affecting Nova Scotians, like affordability and housing.
In 2021, his party campaigned and rose to power on a central promise: fixing health care.
This time around, Houston touted his government’s accomplishments in that sector to date, including hiring more doctors, and made his case for getting more time to improve the system.
Those three topics — affordability, housing and health care — were indeed pushed by all three main political parties as their top priorities, with some even making similar campaign promises.
Experts have said that left voters the challenge of differentiating between the parties and their platforms.
Analysts have also spoken about election fatigue, as voters across the province just went to the polls in October for the municipal elections.
Houston has made a number of clear-cut pledges, including cutting the HST from 15 per cent to 14 per cent, making parking at hospitals free and removing the toll from the Halifax bridges.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Aly Thomson is an award-winning journalist based in Halifax who loves helping the people of her home province tell their stories. She is particularly interested in issues surrounding justice, education and the entertainment industry. You can email her with tips and feedback at aly.thomson@cbc.ca.
