Politics of Nova Scotia

Current provincial electoral map

Current federal electoral map

Nova Scotia is a parliamentary democracy. Its unicameral legislature, the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, consists of fifty-two members. As Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of Nova Scotia's chief executive government. Her duties in Nova Scotia are carried out by the Lieutenant-Governor, Mayann E. Francis. The government is headed by the Premier, Darrell Dexter, who took office 14 June, 2009. Halifax is home to the House of Assembly and Lieutenant-Governor.

History

Nova Scotia has elected three minority governments over the last decade. The Progressive Conservative government of John Hamm, and now Rodney MacDonald, has required the support of the New Democratic Party or Liberal Party since the election in 2003. Nova Scotia's politics are divided on regional lines in such a way that it has become difficult to elect a majority government. Rural mainland Nova Scotia has largely been aligned behind the Progressive Conservative Party, Halifax Regional Municipality has overwhelmingly supported the New Democrats, with Cape Breton voting for Liberals with a few Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats. This has resulted in a ⅓ split of votes on a Province wide basis for each party, and difficulty in any party gaining a majority. Progressive Conservative Premier Dr. Hamm announced his retirement in late 2005 and was replaced by Rodney MacDonald after MacDonald won a closely contested leadership convention, defeating former finance minister, and the race's frontrunner, Neil LeBlanc on the first ballot and Halifax businessman Bill Black on the second. MacDonald is the second youngest premier in Nova Scotia's history.

Current politics

The province's revenue comes mainly from the taxation of personal and corporate income, although taxes on tobacco and alcohol, its stake in the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, and oil and gas royalties are also significant. In 2006/07, the Province passed a budget of $6.9 billion, with a projected $72 million surplus. Federal equalization payments account for $1.385 billion, or 20.07% of the provincial revenue. While Nova Scotians have enjoyed balanced budgets for several years, the accumulated debt exceeds $12 billion (including forecasts of future liability, such as pensions and environmental cleanups), resulting in slightly over $897 million in debt servicing payments, or 12.67% of expenses.^[1] The province participates in the HST, a blended sales tax collected by the federal government using the GST tax system.

The election on June 13, 2006 elected 23 Progressive Conservatives, 20 New Democrats and 9 Liberals, leaving Nova Scotia with a Progressive Conservative minority government. The next election was held on June 9, 2009 with the NDP winning for the first time ever. They captured a majority with 31 seats to 11 for the Liberals and 10 for the PC Party.^[2]

Most recently MLA's were criticized by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation for their pension plan, which costs taxpayers $11 million annually.^[3] The ratio of funding for the pension, according to the report, is $22 taxpayer dollars per $1 contributed by public officials.^[3]

See also

Canadian politics portal

• List of Nova Scotia general elections
• List of Nova Scotia Premiers
• Monarchy in Nova Scotia
• Politics of Canada
• Political culture of Canada
• Council of the Federation

References

1. ^ Nova Scotia Finance (2006). "2006-2007 Estimates". Archived from the original on 2006-11-10. http://web.archive.org/web/20061110161401/http://www.gov.ns.ca/finance/budget06/2006-2007+estimates+book.pdf. Retrieved 2007-02-15. 
2. ^ Smith, Amy; Jackson, David (May 6, 2009). "N.S. heads to polls June 9". The Chronicle Herald. http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1120305.html. Retrieved May 11, 2009. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ ^{a b} Lacey, Kevin (Sept. 14, 2010). "CTF releases new study on Nova Scotia MLA pensions and benefits". Canadian Taxpayers Federation. http://www.taxpayer.com/atlantic/ctf-releases-new-study-nova-scotia-mla-pensions-and-benefitsl=google. Retrieved 2010-09-14. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Government of Nova Scotia
• How The East Was Won: Nova Scotia Elections (1949-2003)