Tories surge to surprise win in N.S. election with a campaign focused on health care

Photo credit: Brian Cameron

Nova Scotia’s next Premier is from Pictou County.  Tim Houston and his Progressive Conservatives have won a majority government in the provincial election. With all but two of 55 ridings called Tuesday night, the Tories were elected in 31 districts.  28 is what was needed for a majority in the 55-seat legislature.  Houston says the public responded to the solutions he put forward and decided against simply rewarding the Liberals for competently handling the COVID-19 pandemic.  Liberal Leader Iain Rankin told supporters in Halifax he didn’t have immediate plans to step down, despite the resounding defeat.

The two ridings in which winners weren’t declared Tuesday night are Cumberland North, and Halifax Citadel-Sable Island.  Those two ridings and Halifax Chebucto, where NDP Leader Gary Burrill has been called as the winner, have had vote counting suspended until 10:00am Wednesday because of the number of votes and limited staff.  In Cumberland North, Independent Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin is leading by nearly a thousand votes.

Looking at the local results –the PC Leader, Tim Houston, won handily in Pictou East with unofficial results showing 4,918 votes over Liberal Joe MacDonald’s 1,585. Joy Polley brought in 500 votes for the NDP, while Jonathan Dean of the Atlantica Party received 55 votes.  In Pictou Centre, PC Pat Dunn had 4,092 votes, with Jim McKenna of the Liberals receiving 2,269.  NDP Vernon Theriault had 862 votes, while the Green Party’s Laura Moore had 114.  And in Pictou West, incumbent PC Karla MacFarlane had 4,487 votes, followed by Liberal Mary Wooldridge-Elliott with 1,510, NDP Rick Parker with 872, Green Party Clare Brett with 124, and Independent John Clark with 60.

Tim Houston and the Progressive Conservatives did focus on health care during the campaign, with a plan that includes $430 million in new spending in the health sector in the first year.  Houston promised to hire an additional 600 nurses and 1,400 continuing-care assistants, and also pledged to directly fund about 40 per cent of the cost of fertility treatments for people who want to become parents.  He said he would run deficits for five years to pay for improving the health system.

Houston was first elected to the legislature in 2013 and became Tory leader in 2018.  He’s from Halifax but moved to Bermuda in 1995, where he worked as a chartered accountant until 2007.  He was first elected to the legislature in 2013 and became Tory leader in 2018.  Houston lives in Pictou County with his wife Carol. They have two children.

 

1 new COVID-19 case in Nova Scotia; 22 active cases

Nova Scotia reported one new COVID-19 case on Tuesday and three recoveries.  The new case is in Central Zone and is related to travel.  As of today, Nova Scotia has 22 active cases of COVID-19.  Of those, one person is in hospital, in ICU.  Meanwhile, the province said Tuesday it is watching the increasing number of cases in New Brunswick, but has made no decisions about possible rule changes because of it.  New Brunswick announced 13 new cases on Tuesday for 110 active cases. On Monday, it announced a three-day tally of 40 new cases. (With files from CBC)

Nova Scotia Health Public Health is advising of a potential exposure to COVID-19 at one location in Central Zone and on three Air Canada flights. All potential exposure notifications are listed here: http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures.

 

Town of Pictou Begins Project to Develop Waterfront Plan

The Town of Pictou, in partnership with Develop Nova Scotia, is launching a new initiative to develop a Waterfront Master Plan for the Town of Pictou. The Plan will position the waterfront as the prime destination for residents, visitors, and businesses, and will work to tie ongoing initiatives along the waterfront together.  Over the next few months, the Town will work closely with residents, businesses and other community members to create a Plan with the goal of supporting and enhancing the natural, cultural, and historical qualities of the waterfront. There will be opportunities for community input over the next month.