Politics of Nova Scotia

The politics of Nova Scotia take place within the framework of a Westminster-style parliamentary constitutional monarchy. As Canada's head of state and monarch, Charles III is the sovereign of the province in his capacity as King in Right of Nova Scotia; his duties in Nova Scotia are carried out by the Lieutenant Governor, Michael Savage. The General Assembly is the legislature, consisting of the Lieutenant Governor and fifty-five members representing their electoral districts in the House of Assembly.^[1] The Government is headed by the Premier, Tim Houston, who took office on August 31, 2021. The capital city is Halifax, home to the Lieutenant Governor, the House of Assembly, and the Government. The House of Assembly has met in Halifax at Province House since 1819.^[2]

Politics of Nova Scotia
Coat of arms of Nova Scotia
Polity type	Province within a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Constitution	Constitution of Canada
Legislative branch
Name	General Assembly House of Assembly
Type	Unicameral
Meeting place	Province House, Halifax
Presiding officer	Speaker of the House of Assembly
Executive branch
Head of state
Currently	King Charles III represented by Michael Savage, Lieutenant Governor
Head of government
Currently	Premier Tim Houston
Appointer	Lieutenant Governor
Cabinet
Name	Executive Council
Leader	Premier (as President of the Executive Council)
Appointer	Lieutenant Governor
Headquarters	Halifax
Judicial branch
Court of Appeal
Chief judge	Michael Wood
Seat	Law Courts, Halifax

Monarchy

The role of the Crown is both legal and practical; it functions in Nova Scotia in the same way it does in all of Canada's other provinces, being the centre of a constitutional construct in which the institutions of government acting under the sovereign's authority share the power of the whole.^[3] It is thus the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the province.^[4] The Canadian monarch—since 8 September 2022, King Charles III—is represented and his duties carried out by the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, whose direct participation in governance is limited by the conventional stipulations of constitutional monarchy, with most related powers entrusted for exercise by the elected parliamentarians, the ministers of the Crown generally drawn from among them, and the judges and justices of the peace.^[5]

Legislative power

The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (French: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; Scottish Gaelic: Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the sole chamber of the unicameral General Assembly of Nova Scotia. The assembly is the oldest in Canada, having first sat in 1758;^[6] in 1848, it was the site of the first responsible government in the British Empire. Bills passed by the House of Assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia^[7] in the name of the King in Right of Nova Scotia.

When established in 1758, the General Assembly consisted of the Crown represented by the Governor (Lieutenant Governor post-confederation), the appointed Nova Scotia Council holding both executive and legislative duties and the elected House of Assembly (lower chamber). In 1838, the Council was replaced by an executive council with the executive function and a legislative council with the legislative functions based on the House of Lords. In 1928, the Legislative Council was abolished and the members pensioned off, resulting in a unicameral legislature with the House of Assembly as the sole chamber.

There are 55 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) representing 55 electoral districts.^[8] Members nearly always represent one of the three main political parties of the province: the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.

Executive power

The Government of Nova Scotia exercises the executive power. The chief body of the Government is the Executive Council, also known as Cabinet.^[9] The Premier of Nova Scotia is President of the Executive Council.^[9]

Electoral history

1867 to 1916

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia (1867–1916) – seats won by party

Government		Anti Confederation	Liberal		Con	Liberal
Party		1867	1871	1874	1878	1882	1886	1890	1897	1897	1901	1906	1911	1916
	Liberal	36	24	22	6	24	28	29	25	34	36	32	26	31
	Conservative	2	14	12	32	14	10	9	13	3	2	4	12	12
	Independent			4						1		2
Total		38	38	38	38	38	37	38	37	38	38	38	38	43

1920 to 1967

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia (1920–1967) – seats won by party

Government		Liberal	Con		Liberal						PC
Party		1920	1925	1928	1933	1937	1941	1945	1949	1953	1956	1960	1963	1967
	Liberal	29	3	18	22	25	22	28	27	22	18	15	4	6
	Conservative	3	40	24	8	5	5
	Progressive Conservative								8	13	24	27	39	40
	United Farmers	6
	Labour	5		1
	Cooperative Commonwealth Federation						3	2	2	2	1	1
Total		43	43	43	30	30	30	30	37	37	43	43	43	46

1970 to present

Elections to the Legislative Assembly of Nova Scotia (1970–present) – seats won by party

Government		Liberal		PC				Liberal		PC			NDP	Liberal		PC
Party		1970	1974	1978	1981	1984	1988	1993	1998	1999	2003	2006	2009	2013	2017	2021	2024
	Liberal	23	31	17	13	6	21	40	19	11	12	9	11	33	27	17	2
	Progressive Conservative	21	12	31	37	42	28	9	14	30	25	23	10	11	17	31	43
	New Democratic	2	3	4	1	3	2	3	19	11	15	20	31	7	7	6	9
	Cape Breton Labour				1	1	1
	Independent															1	1
Total		46	46	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	52	51	51	55	55

Of the registered voters in 2017, 53.4% voted. Voter turnout has decreased from 82% turnout in 1960.^[10]

Federal elections from 1968 to 2021

Elections to the Parliament of Canada from Nova Scotia (1968–2021) — seats won by party

Party		1968	1972	1974	1979	1980	1984	1988	1993	1997	2000	2004	2006	2008	2011	2015	2019	2021
	Liberal	1	1	2	2	6	2	6	11		4	6	6	5	4	11	10	8
	PC	10	10	8	8	5	9	5		6	4
	NDP			1	1					6	3	2	2	2	3
	Reform / Alliance
	Conservative											3	3	3	4		1	3
Total		11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

See also

• Canada portal
• Politics portal

• Monarchy in Nova Scotia
• Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
• Premier of Nova Scotia
• General Assembly of Nova Scotia
• Nova Scotia House of Assembly
• List of Nova Scotia general elections
• Government of Nova Scotia
• Executive Council of Nova Scotia
• Council of the Federation
• Politics of Canada
• Political culture of Canada