The Government of Nova Scotia (french: Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse, gd, Riaghaltas Alba Nuadh) refers to the provincial government of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

. Nova Scotia is one of Canada's four Atlantic Provinces, and the second-smallest province by area. The

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the province, Halifax, is Nova Scotia's largest city and its political capital. Halifax is where the Province House, Canada's oldest legislative building, is located. The Government of Nova Scotia consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Its powers and structure are set out in the

Constitution Act, 1867 The ''Constitution Act, 1867'' (french: Loi constitutionnelle de 1867),''The Constitution Act, 1867'', 30 & 31 Victoria (U.K.), c. 3, http://canlii.ca/t/ldsw retrieved on 2019-03-14. originally enacted as the ''British North America Act, 186 ...

. In modern Canadian use, the term "government" refers broadly to the cabinet of the day (formally the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the Cabinet is sim ...

), elected from the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

and the non-political staff within each provincial department or agency – that is, the civil service. The

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

is governed by a unicameral legislature, the

, which operates in the Westminster system of government. In total 55 representatives are elected to serve the interests of the province. The political party that wins the largest number of seats in the legislature normally forms the government, and the party's leader becomes

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 ...

of the province (the head of the government). The current government of the province is led by the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, headed by Premier

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 Pr ...

who was sworn into office in August 2021.

History

The history of Canadian parliamentary institutions begins in Nova Scotia. In 1758, it was granted an elected assembly, becoming the first Canadian colony to enjoy a representative political institution. The representatives of Nova Scotia's House of Assembly were elected by a limited number of individuals who were required to own property and swear on certain oaths. This changed in 1836 when political reformer Joseph Howe started the movement for Responsible Government. Responsible Government is described as a government that is dependent on the support of an elected assembly instead of a monarch.Under the guidance of Joseph Howe, who led the Reformers (Liberals), the first genuine political party appeared in the election of 1836.

Premier of Nova Scotia

The Premier, or First Minister, of Nova Scotia is the head of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Being the head of government in Nova Scotia, the premier exercises a substantial amount of power. Hon. James B. Uniacke was the first Premier of Nova Scotia and led the government from 1848 to 1854. The current Premier,

, was sworn in as

on August 31, 2021. He is the 30th Premier of the Province of Nova Scotia since Confederation.

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia

The functions of the Sovereign,

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

King of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

, and known in Nova Scotia as the King in Right of Nova Scotia, are exercised by the

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia () is the viceregal representative in Nova Scotia of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other Commonwealt ...

. The Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

on the recommendation of the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

, in consultation with the

Premier of Nova Scotia The premier of Nova Scotia is the first minister to the lieutenant governor of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia and presides over the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. Following the Westminster system, the premier is normally the leader of ...

. In the case of unconstitutional actions, the Lieutenant Governor has the power to dismiss a government by refusing a decision of the Executive Council. This power is rarely used as it would disrupt the affairs of the elected government.

The Executive Branch

The Executive branch is referred to as the government. The Executive Council, also called the Cabinet, makes the final decision for the Government of Nova Scotia. It is responsible for the operations and management of government as well as for making key policy decisions. The Executive Council is made up of Ministers, also called MLAs (Members in the Legislative Assembly). They are chosen by the Premier and appointed by the Lieutenant Governor.

Finance

The Nova Scotia government ended 2010–2011 with a surplus of $569 million and reduced its debt to $12.8 billion, down $217.8 million. The Nova Scotia government projects total revenues for 2018–2019 to be $10.810 billion. Expenses for fiscal year 2018-2019 are budgeted at $10.781 billion. The government budget for 2018–2019 projects a surplus of $29.4 million

Ministries

Departments

* Department of Agriculture * Department of Business * Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism, and Heritage ** Acadian Affairs ** African Nova Scotian Affairs ** Gaelic Affairs * Department of Business * Department of Community Services *

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pu ...

* Department of Energy and Mines * Department of Environment * Department of Finance and Treasury Board * Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture * Department of Health and Wellness * Department of Intergovernmental Affairs * Department of Justice * Department of Labour and Advanced Education * Department of Lands and Forestry * Department of Municipal Affairs and Housing * Department of Seniors * Department of Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services *

Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal The Department of Public Works of the Government of Nova Scotia is responsible for transportation, communications, construction, property, and accommodation of government departments and agencies in the province. Kim Masland is its current minis ...

Offices and agencies

* Communications Nova Scotia * Executive Council Office * Emergency Management Office * Office of Aboriginal Affairs * Office of the Fire Marshal * Office of Immigration * Office of Regulatory Affairs and Service Effectiveness * Office of Workplace Mental Health * Public Service Commission

Outsourcing

In 2012 Nova Scotia signed a 10-year contract starting at $Cdn 8.4 million per year, with multinational information technology firm, IBM Canada to outsource the government's SAP information management system, which includes "payroll, procurement, human resources and other information from government departments, district health authorities, school boards, housing authorities and some municipal bodies. One hundred public sector jobs will be privatized in the first stage. Workers whose jobs were privatized would "earn 30 per cent less, with many fewer benefits" than in the public sector. The deal is worth approximately $100 million. There is a concern that IT outsourcing will spread throughout the government. Kevin Quigley, the director of Dalhousie University's School of Public Administration, argued that while outsourcing may cut costs but it also leads to a dependency on an external source and a loss of control over software, capacity-building and human resource development. IBM Canada will make Halifax a global delivery centre, with a potential for 500 employees by 2021.

References

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control Business process outsourcing Outsourcing in Canada