2024 Nova Scotia general election

The 2024 Nova Scotia general election was held on November 26, 2024, to elect members to the 65th General Assembly of Nova Scotia. The election was held under first-past-the-post voting.

2024 Nova Scotia general election

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55 seats in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly 28 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	45.19% ( 9.88 pp)
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Tim Houston Claudia Chender Zach Churchill Party Progressive Conservative New Democratic Liberal Leader since October 27, 2018 June 25, 2022 July 9, 2022 Leader's seat Pictou East Dartmouth South Yarmouth (lost re-election) Last election 31 seats, 38.44% 6 seats, 20.93% 17 seats, 36.67% Seats before 34 6 14 Seats won 43 9 2 Seat change 9 3 12 Popular vote 187,047 79,008 80,854 Percentage 52.49% 22.17% 22.69% Swing 14.05 pp 1.24 pp 13.98 pp
Popular vote by riding.
Premier before election Tim Houston Progressive Conservative Premier after election Tim Houston Progressive Conservative

The incumbent Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia (PC) government, led by Premier Tim Houston since 2021, called a snap election and won a second consecutive majority government. It is the first time since 1984 that the PCs won over half of the popular vote, and a supermajority (i.e., greater than two-thirds) of seats in the General Assembly means that it can alter procedural rules without the collaboration of the other parties.^[1] In raw numbers (but not proportion of seats), this is the largest government caucus they have ever had. The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, led by Claudia Chender, formed the official opposition for the first time since 2006, though they narrowly came in third in votes. The Nova Scotia Liberal Party, led by Zach Churchill, recorded its worst result in party history.

This election had the lowest turnout in Nova Scotia history, with only 45% of those eligible participating. This was the first Nova Scotia general election where less than half of eligible voters cast their vote.^[2]

Background

During the 2021 election, the Progressive Conservatives included a commitment in their platform to introduce fixed election dates in the province. Under amendments to the provincial Elections Act introduced and passed in October 2021, the first fixed election date following the 2021 Nova Scotia general election was set as 15 July 2025 with all subsequent elections to take place on the third Tuesday in July of the fourth calendar year following the previous election.^[3] However, the general assembly may be dissolved earlier by order of the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia on the advice of the premier, which was the case for this election.^[4][5]

Standings in the 64th General Assembly^[6]

Affiliation		House members
		2021 election results	At dissolution
	Progressive Conservative	31	34
	Liberal	17	14
	New Democratic	6	6
	Independent	1	1
	Vacant	0	0

Incumbents not running for reelection

The following MLAs announced that they would not run in the election:

Party		MLA	Riding
	Liberal	Rafah DiCostanzo	Clayton Park West[7]
		Tony Ince	Cole Harbour[7]
		Keith Irving	Kings South[8]
		Lorelei Nicoll	Cole Harbour-Dartmouth[7]
		Kelly Regan	Bedford Basin[9]
	New Democratic	Gary Burrill	Halifax Chebucto[10]
	PC	Keith Bain	Victoria-The Lakes[11]
		Steve Craig	Sackville-Cobequid[12]
		Pat Dunn	Pictou Centre[12]
		Larry Harrison	Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley[13]
		Allan MacMaster	Inverness[14]

Timeline

See also: 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia

• August 17, 2021 – The Progressive Conservative Association, led by Tim Houston, wins the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, the Liberal Party becomes the official opposition, and the New Democratic Party remains at third party status.
• October 23, 2021 - Anthony Edmonds is elected leader and Jo-Ann Roberts is elected deputy leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia.^[15]
• November 9, 2021 – Gary Burrill, leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, announces his resignation, triggering a leadership election for the party.^[16]
• December 16, 2021 – Nova Scotians United becomes Nova Scotia's newest registered political party.^[17]
• January 5, 2022 – Iain Rankin, leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, announces his resignation, triggering a leadership election for the party.^[18]
• June 25, 2022 – Claudia Chender is elected leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.^[19]
• July 9, 2022 – Zach Churchill is elected leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.^[20]
• April 30, 2024 – The Atlantica Party is voluntarily deregistered by Elections Nova Scotia.^[21]
• October 22, 2024 – Liberal Fred Tilley crosses the floor to the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives.^[22]
• October 27, 2024 – Premier Tim Houston calls a general election for November 26, 2024.^[5]
• November 6, 2024 – Candidate nomination deadline.^[23]
• November 26, 2024 – General election held, resulting in a majority government for the Progressive Conservatives.

Seat	Before				Change
	Date	Member	Party	Reason	Date	Member	Party
Preston	April 1, 2023[24]	Angela Simmonds	█ Liberal	Resignation	August 8, 2023	Twila Grosse	█ PC
Halifax Atlantic	February 22, 2024[25]	Brendan Maguire	█ Liberal	Joined Progressive Conservative caucus			█ PC
Pictou West	April 12, 2024[26]	Karla MacFarlane	█ PC	Resignation	May 21, 2024	Marco MacLeod	█ PC
Northside-Westmount	October 22, 2024[27]	Fred Tilley	█ Liberal	Joined Progressive Conservative caucus			█ PC

Changes in seats held (2021–2024)

Campaign

Candidate contests^[28]

Candidates nominated	Constituencies	Party
		PC	Lib	NDP	Grn	Ind	Totals
3	30	30	30	29		1	90
4	24	24	24	24	22	2	96
5	1	1	1	1	1	1	5
Total	55	55	55	54	23	4	191

Leaders' debates

2024 Nova Scotia general election debates
Date	Organizers	Venue	Moderator(s)	P  Participant  A  Absent invitee  N  Non-invitee					Source
				PC	Liberal	NDP	Green	NSU
November 14, 2024	CBC Nova Scotia	CBC Studios, Halifax	Tom Murphy, Amy Smith	P Houston	P Churchill	P Chender	N Edmonds	N Baker	[29]
November 21, 2024	CTV Atlantic	CTV Studios, Halifax	Todd Battis	P Houston	P Churchill	P Chender	N Edmonds	N Baker	[30]

Results

Two judicial recounts took place in December:^[31]

Recount results

Constituency	Date held	Reason	Confirmed
Yarmouth	December 9	on request of the losing incumbent	Y[32]
Annapolis	December 10	automatic due to narrowness of margin	Y[33]

Results by party

Summary of the 2024 Nova Scotia House of Assembly election^[34]

Party		Leader	Candidates	Votes						Seats
				#	±	%	Change (pp)			2021	2024	±
	Progressive Conservative	Tim Houston	55	187,047	24,574	52.49	14.05		14.05	31	43 / 55	12
	Liberal	Zach Churchill	55	80,854	74,172	22.69	-13.98			17	2 / 55	15
	New Democratic	Claudia Chender	54	79,008	9,469	22.17	1.24		1.24	6	9 / 55	3
	Green	Anthony Edmonds	23	2,941	6,101	0.83	-1.31
	Independent		4	4,220	740	1.18	0.10		0.1	1	1 / 55
Total				354,070		100.00%
Rejected ballots				2,250	539
Turnout				356,320	66,392	45.19	9.88
Registered voters				788,427	20,809

Candidates by constituency

Legend
bold denotes party leader
† denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election

Annapolis Valley

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Green		Independent
Annapolis		David Bowlby[35]		Carman Kerr[13]		Cheryl Burbidge[36]		Sara Adams[13]				Carman Kerr
Clare		Ryan Robicheau[37]		Ronnie LeBlanc[13]		Dre Taylor[13]						Ronnie LeBlanc
Digby-Annapolis		Jill Balser[38]		Joey Amero[39]		Shannon Long[13]						Jill Balser
Hants West		Melissa Sheehy-Richard[40]		Brian Casey[41]		Simon Greenough[42]				James Omand[13]		Melissa Sheehy-Richard
Kings North		John A. Lohr[43]		Richelle Brown Redden[44]		Gillian Yorke[45]		Dave Lowe[13]				John Lohr
Kings South		Julie Vanexan[13]		Mike Hamm[13]		Ramona Jennex[42]		Sheila G. Richardson[13]				Keith Irving†
Kings West		Chris Palmer[46]		Brad Beardsley[47]		Paul Doerr[13]		Madeline Taylor[13]				Chris Palmer

South Shore

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Green
Argyle		Colton LeBlanc[48]		Lorelei Murphy[49]		Lauren Skabar[42]		Lynette Amirault[13]		Colton LeBlanc
Chester-St. Margaret's		Danielle Barkhouse[50]		Laura Mulrooney[51]		Brendan Mosher[52]				Danielle Barkhouse
Lunenburg		Susan Corkum-Greek[53]		Melissa Duggan[54]		Nick Jennery[42]		Frank Fawson[13]		Susan Corkum-Greek
Lunenburg West		Becky Druhan[55]		Jonathan Crouse[56]		Nicholas Piovesan[13]		Mitchell Thomas-Langford[13]		Becky Druhan
Queens		Kim Masland[57]		Cathy DeRome[47]		Brian Skabar[45]				Kim Masland
Shelburne		Nolan Young[58]		Debbie Muise[13]		Bridget Taylor[13]				Nolan Young
Yarmouth		Nick Hilton[59]		Zach Churchill[47]		Gillian Rowley[13]		Adam Randall[60]		Zach Churchill

Fundy-Northeast

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Green		Independent
Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley		Scott Armstrong[13]		Gwynneth (Gwyn) Bellefontaine[47]		Janet Moulton[42]						Larry Harrison†
Colchester North		Tom Taggart[61]		Dustin Rekunyk[13]		Christina McCarron[42]		Jillian Foster[13]				Tom Taggart
Cumberland North		Bill Dowe[62]		Kurt Ditner[13]		Tyson Boyd[13]				Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin[13]		Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin
Cumberland South		Tory Rushton[63]		Liam MacDonald[13]		Larry Duchesne[42]						Tory Rushton
Hants East		John A. MacDonald[64]		Shannon MacWilliam[13]		Abby Cameron[45]						John A. MacDonald
Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River		Dave Ritcey[65]		Frank Johnston[13]		Cailen Pygott[13]						Dave Ritcey

Central Halifax

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Green
Clayton Park West		Adegoke Fadare[66]		Elizabeth Eustaquio-Domondon[13]		Wendy Hood-Morris[67]				Rafah DiCostanzo†
Fairview-Clayton Park		Nicole Mosher[13]		Patricia Arab[68]		Lina Hamid[42]				Patricia Arab
Halifax Armdale		Craig Myra[69]		Ali Duale[70]		Rod Wilson[36]				Ali Duale
Halifax Chebucto		Tonya Malay[13]		Gerard Bray[71]		Krista Gallagher[42]		Jonathan Bradet-Legris[13]		Gary Burrill†
Halifax Citadel-Sable Island		Eleanor Humphries[13]		Rob Grace[72]		Lisa Lachance[42]		Karen Beazley[13]		Lisa Lachance
Halifax Needham		Trayvone Clayton[73]		Jon Frost[13]		Suzy Hansen[42]		Amethyste Hamel-Gregory[13]		Suzy Hansen

Suburban Halifax

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Green
Bedford Basin		Tim Outhit[13]		Doris Robbins[47]		Ryan Lutes[42]				Kelly Regan†
Bedford South		Damian Stoilov[13]		Braedon Clark[74]		Isaac G. Wilson[13]		Ron G. Parker[13]		Braedon Clark
Halifax Atlantic		Brendan Maguire[75]		Phil Chisholm[13]		Cathy Cervin[76]		Gadfly Stratton[13]		Brendan Maguire
Hammonds Plains-Lucasville		Rick Burns[77]		Ben Jessome[13]		Terry J. Eyland[13]		Roger Croll[13]		Ben Jessome
Sackville-Cobequid		Paul Russell[78]		Agatha Bourassa[13]		Paul Wozney[79]				Steve Craig†
Sackville-Uniacke		Brad Johns[80]		Thomas Trappenberg[81]		Lisa Blackburn[82]				Brad Johns
Timberlea-Prospect		Trish MacDonald[83]		Iain Rankin[13]		Rose Gillam[36]		Jane Matheson[13]		Iain Rankin
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank		Brian Wong[84]		Elizabeth Booth[85]		Donna McCarthy[36]		Anthony Edmonds[13]		Brian Wong

Dartmouth/Cole Harbour/Eastern Shore

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Green		Independent
Cole Harbour		Leah Martin[86]		Tania Meloni[13]		Alec Stratford[87]		John E. McStay[13]				Tony Ince†
Cole Harbour-Dartmouth		Brad McGowan[13]		Vishal Bhardwaj[13]		Kayley Dixon[88]						Lorelei Nicoll†
Dartmouth East		Timothy Halman[89]		Stacy Chesnutt[90]		Holly Fraughton[45]						Tim Halman
Dartmouth North		Karina Sanford[91]		Pam Cooley[13]		Susan Leblanc[42]						Susan Leblanc
Dartmouth South		Bea MacGregor[13]		Barb Henderson[13]		Claudia Chender[42]						Claudia Chender
Eastern Passage		Barbara Adams[92]		Chris Peters[13]						Tammy Jakeman[a]		Barbara Adams
Eastern Shore		Kent Smith[94]		Doyle Safire[13]		Don Carney[13]		Kevin Conrod[95]				Kent Smith
Preston		Twila Grosse[96]		Carlo Simmons[13]		Colter (C.C.) Simmonds[42]		Andre Anderson[13]				Twila Grosse

Central Nova

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Green
Antigonish		Michelle Thompson[97]		Sheila Sears[98]		John MacIsaac[99]				Michelle Thompson
Guysborough-Tracadie		Greg Morrow[100]		George Grant[13]		Deborah Martinello[13]				Greg Morrow
Pictou Centre		Danny MacGillivray[101]		Kris MacFarlane[13]		Mary Stewart[45]				Pat Dunn†
Pictou East		Tim Houston[102]		Stephanie Quinn[13]		Vernon Theriault[42]				Tim Houston
Pictou West		Marco MacLeod[103]		Mary Wooldridge-Elliott[13]		Carol Ferguson[13]		Clare Brett[13]		Marco MacLeod

Cape Breton

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	PC		Liberal		NDP		Green		Independent
Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier		Darren O'Quinn[104]		Joleen Magliaro[47]		Kendra Coombes[42]						Kendra Coombes
Cape Breton East		Brian Comer[105]		Joe Ward[13]		Isabelle Lalonde[13]						Brian Comer
Glace Bay-Dominion		John White[106]		David Alexander MacLeod[13]		Kathy Chapman[13]						John White
Inverness		Kyle MacQuarrie[107]		Jaime Beaton[108]		Joanna Clark[45]						Allan MacMaster†
Northside-Westmount		Fred Tilley[13]		Danny Laffin[13]		Katelyn Armstrong[13]						Fred Tilley
Richmond		Trevor Boudreau[109]		Rochelle Heudes[13]		Marc Currie[13]						Trevor Boudreau
Sydney-Membertou		Brian MacArthur[110]		Derek Mombourquette[13]		Alison Aho[111]		Steven McGrath[13]				Derek Mombourquette
Victoria-The Lakes		Dianne Timmins[112]		Stephen MacAskill[13]		Samuel Stirling[13]		Adrianna MacKinnon[13]		Stemer MacLeod[13]		Keith Bain†

Opinion polls

Voting intentions in Nova Scotia since the 2021 election

Opinion polls
Polling firm	Dates conducted	Link	PC	Liberal	NDP	Green	Others	Margin of error	Sample size	Polling method	Lead
2024 general election	26 Nov 2024	[p 1]	52.50	22.73	22.15	0.83	1.17	—	357,048	—	29.77
Forum Research	23–25 Nov 2024	[p 2]	47	23	27	2	1	±3.0%	1,472	IVR	20
Liaison Strategies	23–24 Nov 2024	[p 3]	51	20	25	2	2	±3.99%	602	IVR	26
Mainstreet Research	21–23 Nov 2024	[p 4]	54	18	25	—	4	±3.6%	743	SMS to online	29
Abacus Data	21–23 Nov 2024	[p 5]	48	22	28	1	—	±3.8%	645	Online	20
MQO Research	14–20 Nov 2024	[p 6]	51	22	24	2	1	±4.4%	392	Online	27
Narrative Research	4–17 Nov 2024	[p 7]	44	24	28	3	1	±4.3%	526	Telephone	16
Cardinal Research	7–15 Nov 2024	[p 8]	48	26	20	3	3	±3.5%	799	Telephone	22
Abacus Data	7–10 Nov 2024	[p 9]	47	25	23	4	—	±4.1%	600	Online	22
MQO Research	3–10 Nov 2024	[p 10]	47	20	24	7	2	±5.0%	396	Online	23
Mainstreet Research	1–2 Nov 2024	[p 11]	50	22	25	—	3	±3.9%	635	Smart IVR	25
Abacus Data	28–31 Oct 2024	[p 12]	45	25	26	4	—	±4.1%	600	Online	19
Liaison Strategies	28–29 Oct 2024	[p 13]	38	26	29	5	2	±3.7%	701	IVR	9
Narrative Research	31 Jul – 14 Aug 2024	[p 14]	53	24	19	4	1	±4.9%	400	Telephone	29
Narrative Research	7–29 May 2024	[p 15]	50	23	22	3	2	±4.9%	400	Telephone	27
Narrative Research	6–17 Feb 2024	[p 16]	49	25	20	5	1	±4.9%	400	Telephone	24
Narrative Research	1–21 Nov 2023	[p 17]	52	21	22	3	1	±4.9%	400	Telephone	30
Narrative Research	1–14 Aug 2023	[p 18]	47	23	24	4	2	±4.9%	400	Telephone	23
Narrative Research	3–16 May 2023	[p 19]	39	31	24	5	1	±4.9%	400	Telephone	8
Narrative Research	8–23 Feb 2023	[p 20]	46	25	24	4	2	±4.6%	450	Telephone	21
Narrative Research	2–28 Nov 2022	[p 21]	42	27	25	5	1	±4.0%	605	Telephone	15
Narrative Research	4–23 Aug 2022	[p 22]	43	30	22	4	1	±4.0%	585	Telephone	13
Angus Reid	7–13 Jun 2022	[p 23]	46	21	27	3	2	±5.0%	330	Online	24
Narrative Research	3–22 May 2022	[p 24]	42	27	25	4	1	±5.0%	380	Telephone	15
Abacus Data	14–21 Apr 2022	[p 25]	39	31	23	—	7	±4.4%	500	Online	8
Angus Reid	10–15 Mar 2022	[p 26]	47	25	22	2	5	±5.0%	366	Online	22
Narrative Research	8–23 Feb 2022	[p 27]	44	27	20	6	2	±4.9%	396	Telephone	17
Angus Reid	7–12 Jan 2022	[p 28]	38	28	26	1	6	±6.0%	320	Online	10
MQO Research	14–24 Nov 2021	[p 29]	41	23	27	5	3	±4.9%	400	Telephone	14
Narrative Research	4–21 Nov 2021	[p 30]	42	26	24	5	3	±4.2%	557	Telephone	16
Angus Reid	29 Sep – 3 Oct 2021	[p 31]	39	21	32	4	5	N/A	264	Online	7
2021 general election	17 Aug 2021	[p 32]	38.43	36.67	20.94	2.14	1.41	—	422,754	—	1.76
Polling firm	Dates conducted	Link					Others	Margin of error	Sample size	Polling method	Lead
			PC	Liberal	NDP	Green

Notes

1. Jakeman was the NDP candidate, but was removed by the party after the candidate deadline. She was subsequently listed as an independent candidate by Elections Nova Scotia.^[13][93]