The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia (formerly Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia), is a moderate political party in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been historically associated with the

Red Tory A Red Tory is an adherent of a centre to centre-right or paternalistic-conservative political philosophy derived from the Tory tradition, most predominantly in Canada but also in the United Kingdom and Australia. This philosophy tends to fa ...

faction of

Canadian conservatism Conservatism in Canada is generally considered a movement which is primarily represented by the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada in List of federal political parties in Canada, federal party politics, as well as various centre-right poli ...

. The party is currently led by

Pictou East Pictou East 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 the 2013 election is Tim Houston of the Progressive Conservativ ...

MLA

Tim Houston Timothy Jerome Houston (born April 10, 1970) is a Canadian politician who is the 30th and current premier of Nova Scotia since 2021. He was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the ...

. The party won a

majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...

in the 2021 provincial election.

History

The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, registered under the Nova Scotia Elections Act as the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, originated from the

Confederation Party ''Confederation Party'' was a term for the parties supporting Canadian confederation in the British colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland in the 1860s when politics became polarised between supporters and opponents of Confederati ...

Charles Tupper Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led N ...

. Tupper united members of the pre-

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Conservative Party (who were predominantly

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...

and members of the business elite) and supporters of Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

's national Conservative coalition. The party supported Macdonald's protectionist

National Policy The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876. After Macdonald led the Conservatives to victory in the 1878 Canadian federal election, he began implementing his policy in 1879. Th ...

, nation-building, and the unification of

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

was initially unpopular in

, and the party was out of government for most of the late 19th century. It formed government for only six years between 1867 and 1956. It bottomed out in 1945, when the party was shut out of the legislature altogether. The modern party was built by

Robert Stanfield Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Stanfield, the scion of a wealthy textile family, had considered himself

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

in university; though he later moderated his views, he always remained a progressive. Under his leadership, what was by then the "Progressive Conservative Party" became a moderate

organization. He was able to get the party back into the House of Assembly soon after taking the leadership. By 1956, he had built it into an organization that was able to sweep to power, winning re-election four times. As premier, he led reforms in human rights, education, municipal government and health care and also created

Industrial Estates Limited Industrial Estates Limited (IEL) was a Crown corporation established by the Government of Nova Scotia in 1957. IEL stemmed from the ''Voluntary Planning Act'', instituted by Premier Robert Stanfield's government in the same year. The first pre ...

, a crown corporation that successfully attracted investment from world companies such as Michelin Tire. He worked to modernized the road system, brought in the first form of Medicare, established the first economic development agency, invested heavily in education at all levels and established the predecessor to the

Nova Scotia Community College Nova Scotia Community College, commonly referred to as NSCC, is a community college serving the province of Nova Scotia through a network of 14 campuses and three community learning centres. The college delivers over 130 programs in five academ ...

. After Stanfield left provincial politics to become leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party in 1967, G. I. Smith served as premier until 1970. After being elected party leader in 1971, John Buchanan was elected premier in 1978. He was re-elected in 1981, 1984 and 1988. In the 1984 election, voters served his largest majority, capturing 42 of the 52 seats in the legislature. Buchanan's government first succeeded in convincing federal government to give Nova Scotia control over offshore resources such as gas and oil, resulting in future revenue for the province through the Crown Share.

Roger Bacon Roger Bacon (; la, Rogerus or ', also '' Rogerus''; ), also known by the scholastic accolade ''Doctor Mirabilis'', was a medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empiri ...

became premier in 1990 after Buchanan was appointed to the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

and until the party selected Donald W. Cameron as party leader and premier. During his term, Cameron reformed government finance practices, promoted anti-discrimination measures, introduced new government accountability measures and established the first non-partisan electoral boundaries revision commission in 1992.

The party in recent years

After six years of Liberal governments led by John Savage and later Russel MacLellan, PC leader

John Hamm John Frederick Hamm (born April 8, 1938) is a Canadian physician and politician, who served as the 25th premier of Nova Scotia from 1999 to 2006. Education Hamm, a graduate of the University of King's College and Dalhousie University, was a fa ...

was elected premier in 1999. After taking office, he invested more in

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

. implemented some

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

cuts and sold or closed government-owned industries such as Sydney Steel. His government also passed tough lobbyist registration legislation, introduced smoking cessation initiatives, provided new funding for community college modernization and achieved historically high economic growth and employment numbers. His government was the first to truly balance provincial finances in 25 years in 2002. TimHouston

Rodney MacDonald Rodney Joseph MacDonald (born January 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 ...

took the party reins from Hamm in 2006 and subsequently became Premier of Nova Scotia. Through strategic investments in rural broadband infrastructure, MacDonald continued to expand high-speed internet access throughout the province. MacDonald's government moved to help stabilize energy costs, grow the economy and attract new investment to the province. The 2006 election resulted in a reduced minority for MacDonald and the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to third-party status in the 2009 election. On June 24, 2009, MacDonald stepped down as leader and

Karen Casey Karen Lynn Casey (born April 24, 1947) is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Colchester North in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, first as a Progressive Conservative (2006 to 2011), and then as member of the Lib ...

was named the interim leader. As the only candidate in the leadership election,

Jamie Baillie Jamie Baillie (born April 28, 1966) is a Canadian former politician. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia from 2010 to 2018, and was the Leader of the Opposition from 2013 until January 2018, when he resigned ...

became leader of the PC Party on October 30, 2010. He led the party into the 2013 election, and won eleven seats to form the Official Opposition. In the 2017 election, the party retained official opposition status, and increased their seat count to 17. On November 1, 2017, Baillie announced he was stepping down as leader. Baillie was to remain in the position until a new

leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

was chosen, however on January 24, 2018, he resigned after the party executive requested his immediate resignation due to "allegations of inappropriate behaviour". Following his resignation, Pictou West MLA Karla MacFarlane was named interim leader. The party president is David Bond. The party also has a recognized youth wing called the Nova Scotia Young Progressive Conservative Association whose president is Tristan Shaw. In the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, the Progressive Conservative party won a majority government for the first time since 1999 and formed government for the first time since 2006.

Values and mission

According to the PC Party website, their mission is "to form a fiscally responsible, socially progressive government that promotes individual achievement and personal responsibility, is accountable to its citizens, listens to its people, embraces innovation, preserves the best of our unique heritage and diverse cultures and learns from the past". The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia and the Conservative Party of Canada are two separate entities.

Current elected members

Party leaders

James William Johnston James W. Johnston (29 August 1792 – 21 November 1873) was a Nova Scotia lawyer and politician. He served as Premier of the colony from 1857 to 1860 and again from 1864. He was also ''Government Leader'' prior to the granting of responsible ...

(1843–1864) *

(1864–1867) *

Hiram Blanchard Hiram Blanchard (January 17, 1820 – December 17, 1874) was a Nova Scotia lawyer, politician, and the first premier of Nova Scotia. Blanchard won election to the Nova Scotia legislative assembly in Inverness in 1859 as a Liberal. Early l ...

(1867–1874) *

Simon Hugh Holmes Simon Hugh Holmes (July 30, 1831 – October 14, 1919) was a Nova Scotia politician, publisher and lawyer. He was the fourth premier of Nova Scotia from 1878 to 1882. Holmes was born in Springville, Nova Scotia, in Pictou County. The son of ...

(1874–1882) *

John Sparrow David Thompson Sir John Sparrow David Thompson (November 10, 1845 – December 12, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Canada from 1892 until his death. He had previously been fifth premier of Nova Sco ...

(1882) *

Adam Carr Bell Adam Carr Bell (November 11, 1847 – October 30, 1912) was a Canadian politician. Born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, the son of Basil Bell and Mary Carr, Bell was educated in New Glasgow, Sackville Academy, and Glasgow University. From 1876 to 187 ...

(1882–1887) *

William McKay Lt.-Colonel William McKay (1772 – 18 August 1832) is remembered for leading the Canadian Forces to victory at the Siege of Prairie du Chien during the War of 1812. After the war, he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs at Drummo ...

(1887–1890) * Charles Cahan (1890–1894) *

(1894–1897) *

John Fitzwilliam Stairs John Fitzwilliam Stairs, also known as John Fitz William Stairs (January 19, 1848 – September 26, 1904) was an entrepreneur and statesman, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a member of the prominent Stairs family of merchants and shippers fo ...

(1897–1904) * Charles Wilcox (1898–1901) (''house leader'') * Charles E. Tanner (1901–1908) (''house leader'') * Charles Wilcox (1908–1909) (''house leader'') * John M. Baillie (1909–1912) (''house leader'') * Charles E. Tanner (1912–1922) * W.L. Hall (1922–1925) *

Edgar Nelson Rhodes Edgar Nelson Rhodes, (January 5, 1877 – March 15, 1942), was a Canadian Member of Parliament (Canada), parliamentarian from Nova Scotia who served as Premier of Nova Scotia from 1925 to 1930. He was first elected to the House of Commons ...

(1925–1930) * Gordon Sidney Harrington (1930–1937) * Percy C. Black (1937–1940) * Leonard William Fraser (1940–1948) * Fred M. Blois (1940–1945) (''house leader'') *

(1948–1967) * G.I. Smith (1967–1971) * John Buchanan (1971–1990) *

Roger Stuart Bacon Roger Stuart Bacon (June 29, 1926 – October 4, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 21st premier of Nova Scotia from 1990 to 1991. Political career He was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1970 as a Progres ...

(1990–1991) (''interim'') * Donald W. Cameron (1991–1993) *

Terry Donahoe Terence Richard Boyd Donahoe (October 30, 1944 – November 29, 2005) was a Nova Scotia opposition leader, cabinet minister, and MLA. Early life and education Terry Donahoe was born in Halifax on October 30, 1944. His father Richard was ...

(1993–1995) (''interim'') *

(1995–2006) *

(2006–2009) *

(2009–2010) (''interim'') *

(2010–2018) *

Karla MacFarlane Karla Michelle MacFarlane (born 1969) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, she represents the electoral d ...

(2018) (''interim'') *

(2018–present)

Election results

References

{{Nova Scotia politics Provincial political parties in Nova Scotia Conservative parties in Canada 1867 establishments in Nova Scotia Political parties established in 1867