Almost all of the polls have closed in Nova Scotia’s provincial election

By The Canadian Press on November 26, 2024.

Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill, NDP Leader Claudia Chender and Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston attend the provincial election debate in Halifax on Nov. 14, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese

HALIFAX – All but one of the polls have closed in Nova Scotia after an election race that saw Progressive Conservative Premier Tim Houston insist he needed a new mandate to send a strong message to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Earlier in the day, Elections Nova Scotia confirmed it would begin counting ballots at 8 p.m., as expected, but the agency said it wouldn’t release results until 9 p.m. because a problem with election supplies forced a polling station on the Eastern Shore to stay open for the extra hour.

With his party riding high in the polls, Houston called a snap election, saying a second term would strengthen his bargaining position with the leader of the unpopular federal Liberal government on issues such as carbon pricing.

Houston’s critics pounced when he ignored the fixed-date election law his government passed in 2021. At the time, Houston said the law would “limit any perceived advantage by the government.”

Provincial Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and NDP Leader Claudia Chender – both contesting their first election as a party leader – accused the premier of breaking a promise on the first day of the campaign.

Houston also said he needed to seek voters’ approval for his plans to deal with a cost-of-living crisis and the province’s acute shortage of affordable housing amid a population boom.

When the Tories released their election platform Nov. 8, Houston said the stay-the-course document represented a “continuation of a plan that is already working.”

At dissolution, the Progressive Conservatives held 34 of the legislature’s 55 seats, the Liberals had 14 seats, the NDP six and there was one Independent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 26, 2024.