Five key issues as Nova Scotia heads into a provincial election campaign

Nova Scotians are set to go to the polls in a provincial election called for Nov. 26. Here are five key issues the Progressive Conservatives, Liberals and NDP are expected to highlight during the campaign:

Health care

The Progressive Conservatives were elected in 2021 on a pledge to “fix” the province’s ailing system. The Tories say they have made inroads in recruiting doctors and nurses and in providing more resources for emergency medical care, while the Liberals and NDP will highlight the 145,000 Nova Scotians who still don’t have access to a family doctor.

Affordable housing

Homelessness has become a growing problem in the province, with 1,287 people in the Halifax Regional Municipality alone reporting they were without housing as of early October. The Tories have extended a five per cent rent cap and plan to build 273 new public housing units, but the Liberals and NDP say the use of fixed-term leases undermines the rent cap and the government has only scratched the surface of what’s needed to create affordable homes.

Cost of living

The Tories are promising to lower the province’s harmonized sales tax by one percentage point to 14 per cent from 15 on April 1, while they have also brought in a province-wide school lunch program. The Liberals have advocated for a two percentage point cut in the HST and free public transit, while the NDP says it would establish rent control and provide a tax credit for renters from low- and middle-income households.

Climate change

The province has endured a number of severe weather events that damaged infrastructure and claimed lives over the last three years. The Tories have pledged to get the province off coal-fired electrical generation by 2030 and to kickstart an offshore wind industry. The Liberals and NDP will highlight the government’s controversial decision to scrap the Coastal Protection Act, which was passed in the legislature with all-party support in 2019, but was never proclaimed as law.

Ottawa

The Tories have made it clear that they plan to make Nova Scotia’s relationship with the federal government an issue. They are opposed to Ottawa’s carbon pricing scheme and want the federal government to pay the entire cost of work needed to protect the Chignecto Isthmus between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from flooding. However, the Liberals and NDP say the Tories are simply trying to divert the public’s attention away from their own lack of action in tackling climate-related issues.

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