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 ...

is a parliamentary democracy. Its legislature consists of 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 Commonweal ...

and fifty-five members representing their electoral districts in 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 ...

. As Canada's head of state,

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 ...

is the head of

's chief executive government. His duties in Nova Scotia are carried out by the

Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a " second-in-co ...

Arthur LeBlanc Arthur Joseph LeBlanc (born 1943) is the 33rd and current lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia. Early life and education Born in West Arichat, Nova Scotia, LeBlanc attended St. Francis Xavier University, in 1964 with a Bachelor of Commerce Deg ...

. The government is headed by the

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 ...

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 ...

, who took office August 31, 2021. Halifax is home to the House of Assembly and Lieutenant-Governor. The House of Assembly has met in Halifax at Province House since 1819.

History

The first general assembly in Nova Scotia sat in May, 1758, making it the oldest in Canada. Of the registered voters in 2017, 53.4% voted. Voter turnout has decreased from 82% turnout in 1960.

From Confederation to World War I

From 1920 to 1967

From 1970 to present

Nova Scotia elected

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...

s in the 2006, 2003, and 1998. The Progressive Conservative government of

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 ...

, and later

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 ...

, required the support of the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

after the election in 2003. The Liberal party won both the October 8th, 2013 and most recent provincial

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...

on May 30, 2017, each with a majority government. Prior to that, the election on June 9, 2009 was won by the NDP party for the first time ever. They captured a majority with 31 seats to 11 for the Liberals and 10 for the PC Party. The

on June 13, 2006 elected 23 Progressive Conservatives, 20

New Democrats New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...

and 9 Liberals, leaving Nova Scotia with a Progressive Conservative minority government. 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.

Current politics

On May 30, 2017, the Liberal Party won its second consecutive majority government. In the 2018/19 budget, results were $10.78 billion in expenses, $10.81 billion in revenue, and a projected surplus of $29.4 million. The surplus is largely related to expected tax income from the future sale of cannabis within the province. 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 The Atlantic Lottery Corporation (ALC) (French: Société des loteries de l'Atlantique), branded as simply Atlantic Lottery or Loto Atlantique, is a Canadian organization that provides government-regulated and responsible lottery products in Atlan ...

, and oil and gas royalties are also significant. The province participates in the HST, a blended sales tax collected by the federal government using the

GST GST may refer to: Taxes * General sales tax * Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions: ** Goods and services tax (Australia) ** Goods and Services Tax (Canada) ** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Kong) **Go ...

tax system. In the

2021 Nova Scotia general election The 2021 Nova Scotia general election was held on August 17, 2021, to elect members to the 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia. In April 2019, the Electoral Boundaries Commission released its final report entitled, ''Balancing Effective Represe ...

, the Progressive Conservatives won a majority government.

References

External links

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