The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the

deliberative assembly A deliberative assembly is a meeting of members who use parliamentary procedure. Etymology In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Po ...

of the

General Assembly of Nova Scotia The General Assembly of Nova Scotia is the legislature of the province of Nova Scotia. It consists of one or more sessions and comes to an end upon dissolution (or constitutionally by the effluxion of time — approximately five years) and an ens ...

, and together with the

lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia () is the representative in Nova Scotia of the monarch, who Monarchy in Nova Scotia, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other jurisdictions of ...

makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is the oldest in Canada, having first sat in 1758; in 1848, it was the site of 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 br ...

in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. Bills passed by the House of Assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor in the name of the

King of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's Government#Forms, form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty and sits at the core of Canadian federalism, Canada's cons ...

. Originally (in 1758), the Legislature consisted of the Crown represented by a governor (later a lieutenant governor), the appointed

Nova Scotia Council Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Counci ...

holding both executive and legislative duties and an elected House of Assembly (lower chamber). In 1838, the council was replaced by an executive council with the executive function and a

legislative council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

with the legislative functions based on the House of Lords. In 1928, the Legislative Council was abolished and the members pensioned off. There are 55

Members of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...

(MLAs) representing 55

electoral districts An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

. Members nearly always represent one of the three main political parties of the province: the

Nova Scotia Liberal Party The Nova Scotia Liberal Party (officially the Liberal Association of Nova Scotia) is a Centrist politics, centrist provincial political party in Nova Scotia, Canada and the provincial section of the Liberal Party of Canada. The party currently hol ...

Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, more commonly known as the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, is a political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been histor ...

, and

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (Nova Scotia NDP) is a social democratic political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial section for the province of the federal New Democratic Party. It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwe ...

. The assembly meets in Province House. Located in Halifax, Province House is a National Historic Site and Canada's oldest and smallest legislative building. It opened on February 11, 1819. The building was also originally home to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, and the location of the "Freedom of the Press" trial of Joseph Howe. Its main entrance is found on Hollis Street in Halifax.

Officers

A number of officers of the house are appointed in accordance with legislation passed by the house. These officers fulfil numerous functions as prescribed in the relevant legislation. There are two categories of officers:

Officers under the authority of the speaker

The

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

has authority over the following offices and officers: * Clerk * Hansard * House Operations * Legislative Committees * Legislative Counsel * Legislative Library * Legislative Television Broadcasting Services * Sergeant-at-Arms * Speaker's Administration Office

Independent officers

These include the

Auditor General An auditor general, also known in some countries as a comptroller general or comptroller and auditor general, is a senior civil servant charged with improving government accountability by auditing and reporting on the government's operations. Freq ...

, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. The Chief Electoral Officer of Nova Scotia as head of

Elections Nova Scotia Elections Nova Scotia is the non-partisan agency in Nova Scotia, of the legislative assembly charged with running provincial elections and administering provincial referendums. The ''Elections Act 2011'' established Elections Nova Scotia as an ind ...

is also appointed by a majority vote of the house and is considered an officer of the house.

Party standings

Current members

Committees

Standing Committees

*Assembly Matters *Community Services *Natural Resources and Economic Development *Health *Human Resources *Internal Affairs *Law Amendments *Private & Local Bills *Public Accounts *Veterans Affairs

Committees of the Whole House

*Bills *Supply **Supply Subcommittee

Select Committee

Recent Former Select Committees

(final reports filed) *Electoral Boundaries *Fire Safety *National Unity *Petroleum Product Pricing *Workers' Compensation Act

Special Committee

*to Review the Estimates of the Auditor General and the Chief Electoral Officer

Seating plan

''Current as of February 2025''

References

External links

Nova Scotia House of Assembly official YouTube channelNova Scotia LegislatureNova Scotia House of Assembly seating plan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Scotia House Of Assembly * Unicameral legislatures 1758 establishments in Nova Scotia Legislatures of Canadian provinces and territories