Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin (born September 7, 1969) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

politician. She was elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

in the 2017 provincial election. She is an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

member and represents the electoral district of

Cumberland North Cumberland North is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. Prior to 1993, it was part of Cumberland East. The communities of Amherst and Pugwash are within its boun ...

Early life and education

Smith-McCrossin was born and raised on a dairy farm in

Linden, Nova Scotia Linden is located between Amherst and Pugwash, in Cumberland County Nova Scotia. It is an old farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a ...

. She graduated from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in 1991 with a bachelor of science in nursing. She earned an executive MBA from Saint Mary's University in 2013.

Politics

Smith-McCrossin was elected to the

in the 2017 provincial election. She was a member of the Progressive Conservative party until ousted on June 24, 2021, for failing to accept responsibility and apologize for her role in an illegal blockade of the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

. Smith-McCrossin launched a bid for the leadership of the PC Party of Nova Scotia on February 6, 2018. Her leadership campaign was co-chaired by Halifax-businessman Rob Batherson and former Member of Parliament Scott Armstrong. She lost to

Tim Houston Timothy Jerome Houston (born April 10, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 30th and current premier of Nova Scotia since 2021, and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party since 2017. He was first elected to the Nova Sco ...

. Smith-McCrossin was re-elected as an Independent in the 2021 provincial election. Smith-McCrossin’s victory in

marked the first occasion since

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

that an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

won election to the Nova Scotia legislature. She was re-elected in

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, marking the first time an independent was re-elected to the Nova Scotia legislature in history.

Controversies

In February 2020, during the

2020 Canadian pipeline and railway protests From January to March 2020, a series of civil disobedience protests were held in Canada over the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL) through of Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation territory in British Columbia (BC), land that is unce ...

, McCrossin tweeted: “The rail blockades must be removed today. Businesses are being affected in Cumberland North and layoffs are coming soon for many if they are not removed immediately,” said the MLA at the time, calling those blockades “illegal”. On June 22, 2021, Smith-McCrossin was accused of inciting a blockade of the

in protest to the ongoing closures of the border. This led to her being ejected from the Progressive Conservative caucus and barred from running for the party in the upcoming election. Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative leader

said "As colleagues for the past four years, I owed her an opportunity to explain her actions, and the efforts she took to conceal those actions from her caucus colleagues. Ms. Smith-McCrossin refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing and — when explicitly asked by her caucus — refused to apologize to Nova Scotians as she didn't take part in the border blockade." In April 2023, Smith-McCrossin asserted that a woman who once worked in her constituency office was persuaded into signing a non-disclosure agreement with the Progressive Conservative caucus when she worked there in 2018. MLA and Minister Karla MacFarlane tabled a motion to expel Smith-McCrossin from the

, a legislative concept never before heard of in Westminster-style Parliaments of Commonwealth countries, the government later relenting. Smith-McCrossin is pursuing legal action. This matter is currently before the courts and is set to be heard in November 2024. Following the Resignation of Karla McFarlane the Notice of Motion became moot and the case was dropped.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith-McCrossin, Elizabeth Dalhousie University alumni Living people People from Amherst, Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Independent MLAs Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Saint Mary's University (Halifax) alumni Women MLAs in Nova Scotia 21st-century Canadian women politicians 1969 births 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly