The 2021

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Nova Scotia, under the leadership of Zach ...

leadership election A leadership election is a political contest held in various countries by which the members of a political party determine who will be the leader of their party. Generally, any political party can determine its own rules governing how and when a l ...

took place on February 6 to elect a leader to replace

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Stephen McNeil Stephen McNeil (born November 10, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the le ...

, who on August 6, 2020, announced his pending resignation after leading the party since 2007 and returning the party to government in

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

after being out of power for fourteen years.

Background

Stephen McNeil announced on August 6, 2020, pending resignation as party leader and premier, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia The COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On March 15, 2020, three presumptive ca ...

. McNeil remained as Premier and leader until the new leader was chosen.

Timeline

2020

*August 6 –

announces his pending resignation as Premier of Nova Scotia and leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. *August 22 – The party unveils the base set of rules for the election. *September 14 – The official rules for the leadership election will be released. *September 30 –

Labi Kousoulis Labi Kousoulis (born 1971) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, he represented the electoral district of Halifax Citadel-Sabl ...

declares his candidacy. *October 5 –

Iain Rankin Iain Thomas Rankin (born April 9, 1983) is a Canadian politician who served as the 29th premier of Nova Scotia from February 23, 2021, to August 31, 2021. He serves in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, repr ...

declares his candidacy. *October 8 –

Randy Delorey Randy Delorey is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. He was one of three candidates to succeed Stephen McNeil as the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party and Premier ...

declares his candidacy. *October 9 – Last day to register as a candidate.

2021

*January 7 – Last day to become an eligible party member.

Candidates

Declared

Randy Delorey

was the MLA for

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

, having served since 2013. Prior to announcing his candidacy, Delorey had been serving as Minister of Gaelic Affairs since 2013 and the Minister of Health and Wellness since 2017. Previously, he has served as the Minister of the Environment (2013–2015; 2015–2016) and as Minister of Finance and Treasury Board (2015–2017). :Candidacy announced: October 9, 2020 :Date registered with Elections Nova Scotia: :Campaign website: ;Policies

Labi Kousoulis

was the MLA for

Halifax Citadel-Sable Island Halifax Citadel-Sable Island is a provincial electoral district in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its current Member of the Legislative Assembly is Lisa Lachance of the Nova Scotia New ...

, having served since 2013. Additionally, he was the Minister of Labour and Advanced Education since 2017, having resigned to run in the leadership race. He previously served as the Minister of the Public Service Commission (2013–2017) and Minister of Internal Services (2014–2017). :Candidacy announced: September 30, 2020 :Date registered with Elections Nova Scotia: :Campaign website: ;Policies

Iain Rankin

was the MLA for

Timberlea-Prospect Timberlea—Prospect is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) since 2013 has been Iain Rankin of the Nova Scotia Liberal ...

, having served since 2013. Rankin served in cabinet as the Minister of Lands and Forestry since 2018, having resigned prior to announcing his candidacy. In addition, he previously served as Minister of Environment from 2017 to 2018 and was head of the Nova Scotia francophone parliamentarian association from 2014 to 2017. :Candidacy announced: October 5, 2020 :Date registered with Elections Nova Scotia: :Campaign website: ;Policies

Declined

Joanne Bernard Joanne Lynn Bernard (born October 4, 1963) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. As a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, she represented the electoral district of D ...

, former Minister of Community Services; former MLA for Dartmouth North *

Scott Brison Scott A. Brison (born May 10, 1967) is a Canadian former politician from Nova Scotia. Brison served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Kings-Hants from the 1997 federal election until July 2000, then from November 2000 to Febru ...

, former MP for

Kings—Hants Kings—Hants (formerly Annapolis Valley—Hants and Annapolis Valley) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Demographics :''According to the Canada 2 ...

; former federal

Minister of Public Works and Government Services The minister of public services and procurement (french: ministre des services publics et de l’approvisionnement) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's "common service ...

; former federal

President of the Treasury Board The president of the Treasury Board () is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. The president is the chair of the Treasury Board of Canada (a committee of Cabinet in the Privy Council) and is the minister responsible for the Treasury B ...

Bill Casey William D. Casey (born February 19, 1945) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, he later sat as Conservative ...

, former MP for Cumberland-Colchester (1988–1993, 1997–2009, 2015–2019), former Chair of the House of Commons Health Committee *

Zach Churchill Zachariah Churchill (born May 25, 1984) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia. He serves as the member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Yarmouth, first elected in 2010. Early life and education Churchill graduated from Saint Mary's U ...

, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development; MLA for

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

* Sean Fraser, MP for

Central Nova Central Nova (french: Nova-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 until 1996. In 1996, Antigonish County and part of Guysborough County were placed with Pic ...

Andy Fillmore Peter Alexander Fillmore (born April 25, 1966) is a Canadian Liberal politician who has represented the riding of Halifax in the House of Commons of Canada since 2015. Early life and education Born in Bloomington, Indiana to Atlantic Canadi ...

, MP for Halifax * Laurie Graham, chief of staff to

Bernadette Jordan Bernadette Jordan (born April 7, 1963) is a Canadian politician who served as Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, she was elected to represent the riding of Sou ...

, federal

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard The minister of fisheries, oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet responsible for supervising the fishing industry, administrating all navigable waterways in the country, and overseeing the o ...

; former federal

Minister of Rural Economic Development The minister of Rural Economic Development (french: Ministre du Développement économique rural) is a Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet. It is a new portfolio introduced during the government of Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre J ...

; MP for

South Shore—St. Margarets South Shore—St. Margarets (formerly South Shore—St. Margaret's and South Shore) is a federal electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. It c ...

Geoff MacLellan Geoffrey Curtis MacLellan (born December 18, 1978) is a Canadian politician in the province of Nova Scotia. Political career He was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in a by-election on June 22, 2010, and represented the electoral di ...

, Minister of Business, Trade, and Service; MLA for

Glace Bay Glace Bay (Scottish Gaelic: ''Glasbaidh'') is a community in the eastern part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It forms part of the general area referred to as Industrial Cape Breton. Formerly an incorporated t ...

* Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration; MLA for

Halifax Armdale Halifax Armdale is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. This Halifax district covers the growing population of the Fairmount, Armdale and Cowie Hill areas. The northe ...

Kelly Regan Kelly Maureen Regan (née Smith) MLA (born 4 February 1961) is a Canadian politician who has served in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly since 2009, most recently as the MLA for Bedford Basin. She was first elected as the Member for Bedford-Bi ...

, Minister of Community Services; MLA for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

; wife of former

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons (french: président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), they are elected at the beginning of each new parliament b ...

Geoff Regan Geoffrey Paul Regan (born 22 November 1959) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 36th Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he was the Member of Parliament (MP) for H ...

Darrell Samson Darrell Samson (born October 13, 1958) is a Canadian politician who has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Sackville—Preston—Chezzetcook since 2015. He is a former superintendent of the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, Nova Scot ...

, federal Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs; MP for Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook * Mike Savage,

Mayor of Halifax This is a list of mayors of the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax's first Mayor, Walter Fitzgerald (politician), Walter Fitzgerald, was elected in 1996 after the municipality was created by amalgamation. The Mayor of the Halifax holds the h ...

; former MP for

Dartmouth—Cole Harbour Dartmouth—Cole Harbour (formerly Dartmouth and Dartmouth—Halifax East) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Demographics ''From the 2021 census '' ...

Debates

Results

: = Eliminated from next round : = Winner

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election, 2021

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Liberal Party leadership eleciton 2021 elections in Canada 2021 political party leadership elections Liberal Party leadership election