The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a
centrist
Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...
provincial political party in
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 Engl ...
, Canada and the provincial section of the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
. The party currently forms the Official Opposition in Nova Scotia, under the leadership of
Zach Churchill
Zachariah Churchill (born May 25, 1984) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia. He serves as the member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Yarmouth, first elected in 2010.
Early life and education
Churchill graduated from Saint Mary's ...
. The party was in power most recently from the
2013 election until the
2021 election.
Origins
The party is descended from the pre-
Confederation Reformers in
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 Engl ...
who coalesced around
Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer ha ...
demanding the institution of
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 bra ...
. The Liberals (Reformers) formed several governments in the colony between 1848 and 1867.
The party split during the debate on Confederation, with Howe and most other Liberals forming an
Anti-Confederation Party
''Anti-Confederation'' was the name used in what is now the Maritimes by several parties opposed to Canadian Confederation. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the Confederation Party, that is, the Conservative and Liberal- ...
, while supporters of confederation joined Tory
Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led ...
's
Confederation Party
''Confederation Party'' was a term for the parties supporting Canadian confederation in the British colonies of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland in the 1860s when politics became polarised between supporters and opponents of Confederati ...
. Howe, himself, initially opposed Confederation, but accepted it as a reality after initial attempts to scuttle it failed.
In 1868, Howe joined the pro-Confederation forces, serving for a time in the federal
Cabinet of Sir
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...
.
The
Anti-Confederation Party
''Anti-Confederation'' was the name used in what is now the Maritimes by several parties opposed to Canadian Confederation. The Anti-Confederation parties were accordingly opposed by the Confederation Party, that is, the Conservative and Liberal- ...
took most of Nova Scotia's seats in the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Commons i ...
in 1867, as well as forming the government of the new province under
William Annand. The new, post-1867 Liberal Party was organised by Annand and his anti-Confederate forces, while the
Conservative Party was organised by Tupper and supporters of Sir
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...
's coalition in the province.
Prior to 1956, the Nova Scotia Liberal Party had ruled the province for 76 of its 89 years, most of that time with fewer than 5 opposition members. It had also ruled prior to confederation, and was responsible for bringing 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 bra ...
to North America. From 1882 to 1925, the Liberals held power for an unbroken 43 years, the second longest serving political dynasty in Canadian history, behind the
Alberta PCs.
The party in recent years
From 1956 the Tories gained significant ground with
Robert Stanfield
Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...
's reformation of the "
Progressive Conservatives", and have successfully challenged the Liberals for control of the government. The Liberals faltered in the province at the beginning of the 21st century, and for a time were the third-largest party in the House of Assembly, behind the Tories and the
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 ( ...
. After the Nova Scotia Liberal Party's dismal performance in the
2006 election (and failing to win his own seat), leader
Francis MacKenzie
Francis MacKenzie (born May 7, 1960) is a former leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. He won the leadership for the party on October 23, 2004.
Early life
Following graduation from St. Francis Xavier University in 1982, MacKenzie worked in O ...
announced his resignation. He was succeeded by
Stephen McNeil
Stephen McNeil (born November 10, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the le ...
. In the
2009 election, the Liberals moved out of third-party status and formed the
official opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...
once again. In the
2013 election, the Liberals won a majority government, their first since the
1993 election under
John Savage, and took office for the first time in 14 years. Under McNeil, a self-described
fiscal conservative
Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and '' laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., ...
, the party pushed for balanced provincial budgets and took a firm stance against public sector unions.
The Nova Scotia Liberals are the provincial section of the federal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
. The two parties have a shared membership, and Liberal
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members ofte ...
often become Liberal
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 ...
, and vice versa.
Gerald Regan
Gerald Augustine Paul Regan (February 13, 1928 – November 26, 2019) was a Canadian politician (as federal MP and later as Nova Scotia MLA), who served as the 19th premier of Nova Scotia from 1970 to 1978.
Early life and education
Regan was ...
, for instance, became leader of the provincial party after serving as a Liberal MP. He joined the federal Liberal government after serving as
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 Nova Scotia.
Angus L. Macdonald, the province's most storied Liberal premier, split his term into two by spending five years as a federal Liberal cabinet minister in the wartime government of
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
.
In the
2009 election,
Stephen McNeil
Stephen McNeil (born November 10, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the le ...
led the Liberals to
Official Opposition
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...
status, winning 11 seats.
In the
2013 election, the McNeil Liberals won a majority government, defeating the
NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National De ...
government of
Darrell Dexter
Darrell Elvin Dexter (born 1957) is a Canadian lawyer, journalist and former naval officer who served as the 27th premier of Nova Scotia from 2009 to 2013. A member of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, he served as party leader from 2001 to ...
.
In the
2017 election, the McNeil Liberals retained a reduced majority of 27 seats in the legislature.
On August 6, 2020, McNeil announced he will step down as party leader and that he will continue to act as premier and as the party's leader until the a replacement is found. On February 23, 2021, Rankin became the 29th Premier of Nova Scotia, replacing McNeil. Rankin called a
snap election
A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled.
Generally, a snap election in a parliamentary system (the dissolution of parliament) is called to capitalize on an unusual electoral opportunity or to ...
for August 17, 2021, which his Liberal Party lost. Rankin was personally re-elected in
Timberlea-Prospect
Timberlea—Prospect is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Its Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) since 2013 has been Iain Rankin of the Nova Scotia Liberal Pa ...
.
Current elected member
Party leaders
*
James B. Uniacke (1840–1854)
*
William Young (1854–1860)
*
Joseph Howe
Joseph Howe (December 13, 1804 – June 1, 1873) was a Nova Scotian journalist, politician, public servant, and poet. Howe is often ranked as one of Nova Scotia's most admired politicians and his considerable skills as a journalist and writer ha ...
(1860–1864)
*
Adams G. Archibald (1864–1867)
*
William Annand (1867–1875)
*
Philip Carteret Hill (1875–1878)
*
William F. McCurdy (1878–1882) (''house leader'')
*
William Thomas Pipes (1882–1884)
*
William Stevens Fielding
William Stevens Fielding, (November 24, 1848 – June 23, 1929) was a Canadian Liberal politician, the seventh premier of Nova Scotia (1884–96), and the federal Minister of Finance from 1896 to 1911 and again from 1921 to 1925.
Early life
...
(1884–1896)
*
George Henry Murray
George Henry Murray (June 7, 1861 – January 6, 1929) was a Nova Scotia politician who served as the eighth premier of Nova Scotia for 26 years and 188 days, the longest unbroken tenure for a head of government in Canadian history.
Early lif ...
(1896–1923)
*
Ernest Howard Armstrong (1923–1925)
*
William Chisholm (1925–1930)
*
Angus L. Macdonald (1930–1940)
*
A.S. MacMillan (1940–1945)
*
Angus L. Macdonald (1945–1954)
*
Harold Connolly (1954) (''interim'')
*
Henry Hicks (1954–1961)
*
Earl W. Urquhart (1961–1965) (''house leader 1961–1962'')
*
Gerald Regan
Gerald Augustine Paul Regan (February 13, 1928 – November 26, 2019) was a Canadian politician (as federal MP and later as Nova Scotia MLA), who served as the 19th premier of Nova Scotia from 1970 to 1978.
Early life and education
Regan was ...
(1965–1980)
*
Benoit Comeau (1980) (''interim'')
*
Sandy Cameron (1980–1985)
*
Vince MacLean (1985)
*
Bill Gillis (1985–1986) (''interim'')
*
Vince MacLean (1986–1992)
*
John Savage (1992–1997)
*
Russell MacLellan (1997–2000)
*
Wayne Gaudet
Wayne Jean Gaudet (born August 12, 1955) is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Clare in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1993 to 2013. He is a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.
Early life
Born in Con ...
(2000–2002) (''interim'')
*
Danny Graham (2002–2004)
*
Wayne Gaudet
Wayne Jean Gaudet (born August 12, 1955) is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Clare in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1993 to 2013. He is a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.
Early life
Born in Con ...
(2004) (''interim'')
*
Francis MacKenzie
Francis MacKenzie (born May 7, 1960) is a former leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. He won the leadership for the party on October 23, 2004.
Early life
Following graduation from St. Francis Xavier University in 1982, MacKenzie worked in O ...
(2004–2006)
*
Michel Samson (2006–2007) (''interim'')
*
Stephen McNeil
Stephen McNeil (born November 10, 1964) is a Canadian politician who served as the 28th premier of Nova Scotia, from 2013 to 2021. He also represented the riding of Annapolis in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2003 to 2021 and was the le ...
(2007–2021)
*
Iain Rankin
Iain Thomas Rankin (born April 9, 1983) is a Canadian politician who served as the 29th premier of Nova Scotia from February 23, 2021, to August 31, 2021. He serves in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, repr ...
(2021–2022)
*
Zach Churchill
Zachariah Churchill (born May 25, 1984) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia. He serves as the member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Yarmouth, first elected in 2010.
Early life and education
Churchill graduated from Saint Mary's ...
(2022-Present)
Election results
See also
*
List of Nova Scotia political parties
*
List of Nova Scotia premiers
*
2021 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election
The 2021 Nova Scotia Liberal Party Leadership convention, leadership election took place on February 6 to elect a leader to replace Premier of Nova Scotia, Premier Stephen McNeil, who on August 6, 2020, announced his pending resignation after l ...
*
Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership elections This page lists the results of leadership convention, leadership elections held by the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. Before 1930 leaders were chosen by the caucus.
1930 leadership convention
(Held on October 1, 1930)
*Angus Lewis Macdonald 314
*Willi ...
References
External links
Liberal Party of Nova Scotia
{{Major Canadian Liberal Parties
Liberal Party of Canada
Provincial political parties in Nova Scotia
Liberal parties in Canada
Centrist parties in Canada