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 A deliberative assembly is a meeting of members who use parliamentary procedure. Etymology In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the British Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became the ...

of the

General Assembly of Nova Scotia Each General Assembly of the legislature of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, consists of one or more sessions and comes to an end upon dissolution (or constitutionally by the effluxion of time — approximately five years) and an ensuing gener ...

of the province of

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. The assembly is the oldest in Canada, having first sat in 1758, and in 1848 was the site of the first

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive bran ...

in the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. Bills passed by the House of Assembly are given royal assent 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 ...

in the name of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

. Originally (in 1758), the Legislature consisted of the Crown represented by a governor (later a lieutenant governor), the appointed

Nova Scotia Council Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Counci ...

holding both executive and legislative duties and an elected House of Assembly (lower chamber). In 1838, the council was replaced by an executive council with the executive function and a legislative council with the legislative functions based on the House of Lords. In 1928, the Legislative Council was abolished and the members pensioned off. There are 55

Members of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLAs) representing 55

electoral districts An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

. (Expanded from 51 electoral districts.) Members nearly always represent one of the three main political parties of the province: the

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 ...

Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia (formerly Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia), is a moderate political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been historically as ...

, and

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic, progressive provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial entity of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (C ...

. The assembly meets in Province House. Located in Halifax, Province House is a National Historic Site and Canada's oldest and smallest legislative building. It opened on February 11, 1819. The building was also originally home to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, and the location of the "Freedom of the Press" trial of Joseph Howe. Its main entrance is found on Hollis Street in Halifax.

Officers

A number of officers of the house are appointed in accordance with legislation passed by the house. These officers fulfil numerous functions as prescribed in the relevant legislation. There are two categories of officers:

Officers under the Authority of the Speaker

The Speaker of the House has authority over the following offices and officers: * Clerk * Hansard * House Operations * Legislative Committees * Legislative Counsel * Legislative Library * Legislative Television Broadcasting Services * Sergeant-at-Arms * Speaker’s Administration Office

Independent Officers

These include the

Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Freq ...

, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. The Chief Electoral Officer of Nova Officer as head of

Elections Nova Scotia Elections Nova Scotia is the non-partisan agency in Nova Scotia, of the legislative assembly charged with running provincial elections and administering provincial referendums. The ''Elections Act 2011'' established Elections Nova Scotia as an ind ...

is also appointed by a majority vote of the house and is considered an officer of the house.

Party standings

Current members

Committees

Standing Committees

*Assembly Matters *Community Services *Natural Resources and Economic Development *Health *Human Resources *Internal Affairs *Law Amendments *Private & Local Bills *Public Accounts *Veterans Affairs

Committees of the Whole House

*Bills *Supply **Supply Subcommittee

Select Committee

Recent Former Select Committees

(final reports filed) *Electoral Boundaries *Fire Safety *National Unity *Petroleum Product Pricing *Workers' Compensation Act

Special Committee

*to Review the Estimates of the Auditor General and the Chief Electoral Officer

Seating Plan

''Current as of October 2022''

References

External links

Nova Scotia House of Assembly official YouTube channelNova Scotia LegislatureNova Scotia House of Assembly seating plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Scotia House Of Assembly * Unicameral legislatures 1758 establishments in Nova Scotia Legislatures of Canadian provinces and territories