Nova Scotia Liberal Party

Nova Scotia Liberal Party
Active provincial party
Leader	Stephen McNeil
President	John Gillis
Founded	1883
Headquarters	Suite 304 1660 Hollis Street Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 2T3
Ideology	Liberalism
Official colours	Red
Seats in House of Assembly	13 / 52
Website
Official website
Politics of Nova Scotia Political parties Elections

The Liberal Party of Nova Scotia is a political party in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Origins

The party is descended from the pre-Confederation Reformers in Nova Scotia who coalesced around Joseph Howe demanding the institution of responsible government. The Liberals (Reformers) formed several governments in the colony between 1848 and 1867.

The party split during the debate on Confederation, with Howe and most other Liberals forming an Anti-Confederation Party, while supporters of confederation joined Tory Charles Tupper's Confederation Party. Howe, himself, initially opposed Confederation, but accepted it as a reality after initial attempts to scuttle it failed.

In 1868, Howe joined the pro-Confederation forces, serving for a time in the federal Cabinet of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The Anti-Confederation Party took most of Nova Scotia's seats in the Canadian House of Commons in 1867, as well as forming the government of the new province under William Annand. The new, post-1867 Liberal Party was organised by Annand and his anti-Confederate forces, while the Conservative Party was organised by Tupper and supporters of Sir John A. Macdonald's coalition in the province.

Prior to 1956, the Nova Scotia Liberal Party had ruled the province for 76 of its 89 years, most of that time with fewer than 5 opposition members. It had also ruled prior to confederation, and was responsible for bringing the first responsible government to North America.

The party in recent years

From 1956 the Tories gained significant ground with Robert Stanfield's reformation of the "Progressive Conservatives", and have successfully challenged the Liberals for control of the government. Recently, the Liberals have faltered in the province, and are currently the second-largest party in the Assembly with 12 seats to 31 for the New Democrats and 8 for the Progressive Conservatives. After the Nova Scotia Liberal Party's dismal performance in the 2006 election (and failing to win his own seat), leader Francis MacKenzie announced his resignation. He was succeeded by Stephen McNeil. In the 2009 election, the Liberals moved out of third-party status and formed the official opposition once again.

The Nova Scotia Liberals are the provincial section of the federal Liberal Party of Canada. The two parties have a shared membership, and Liberal Members of Parliament often become Liberal Members of the Legislative Assembly, and vice versa. Gerald Regan, for instance, became leader of the provincial party after serving as a Liberal MP. He joined the federal Liberal government after serving as premier of Nova Scotia. Angus L. Macdonald, the province's most storied Liberal premier, split his term into two by spending five years as a federal Liberal cabinet minister in the wartime government of William Lyon Mackenzie King.

Current elected members

Name	Riding	Year elected
Stephen McNeil	Annapolis	2003
Karen Casey	Colchester North	2006
Zach Churchill	Yarmouth	2010
Keith Colwell	Preston	2003
Wayne Gaudet	Clare	1993
Leo Glavine	Kings West	2003
Manning MacDonald	Cape Breton South	1993
Geoff MacLellan	Glace Bay	2010
Kelly Regan	Bedford-Birch Cove	2009
Michel Samson	Richmond	1998
Harold Theriault Jr.	Digby-Annapolis	2003
Diana Whalen	Halifax Clayton Park	2003
Andrew Younger	Dartmouth East	2009

See also

• List of Nova Scotia political parties
• List of Nova Scotia premiers
• Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election, 2007
• Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership elections

External links

• Liberal Party of Nova Scotia

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