Nova Scotia’s main party leaders spar in final televised debate of election campaign

HALIFAX — Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston asked Nova Scotians on Thursday to be patient, saying his government’s plan for health care, housing, and affordability is working — and that he needs a second term in office to see his vision through.

But during the final televised leaders debate of the election campaign, Houston’s opponents — Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and NDP Leader Claudia Chender — said he squandered his first term in office and voters know his time is up.

During a “roundtable discussion” hosted by CTV News that oftentimes became fiery, Houston, riding high in the polls, told voters the economy is growing, there are hundreds more doctors and thousands more nurses in the province than before his party won the 2021 election, and that thousands of homes are being built.

But Churchill and Chender reminded voters that the doctor wait-list has doubled since 2021, that there are more emergency room closures, and that the housing and affordability crises are starting to make people sour on immigration.

“When it comes to affordability we know that global inflation and high interest rates are making it very hard for families,” Houston said. “We have a plan to support where we can that includes lowering the HST and that includes lowering the personal income tax burden. The plan is working, it’s time to continue on with that plan and get Nova Scotians the supports they need.”

Chender, whose party appears to be in a dead heat with the Liberals for second place in recent polls, said the cost of living and the high cost of rent is quickly making it too expensive for many young families to live in Nova Scotia.

“These are the stories that drive our work and we have been working to deliver solutions, not excuses,” Chender said.

Churchill looked into the television cameras and asked viewers, “We heard from Mr. Houston that he has a plan and it’s working. Is that plan working for you? Is your paycheque going further than it did a few short years ago?”

Houston defended his government’s decision to invest in health care instead of cutting taxes, saying his party promised in the last election to fix the ailing health system and grow the economy. His government created a school lunch program, he said, and offered voters targeted measures to help with affordability.

“But we know right now with what’s happening in the world we need broader supports … we know the government can’t solve every challenge Nova Scotians are facing, but we should do something — we can and we will.”

The Tories are promising to cut the provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax by one percentage point to 14 per cent, while the Liberals are pledging to cut it by two percentage points — moves scoffed at by Chender, whose party is promising to remove the HST from groceries that aren’t already tax free, from cellphone and internet bills and from the purchase of heat pumps.

“The reality is that we need help for all Nova Scotians every day … we are offering all of the HST off essentials that every single Nova Scotian needs,” she said.

Both Chender and Churchill attacked Houston’s record on housing, saying his government’s five per cent cap on rent increases isn’t enough to help renters. Houston’s refusal to reform the fixed-term lease system allows landlords to increase rents once the leases expire, they said.

But Houston sidestepped the issue by pointing to his government’s efforts to increase housing stock through private developers and with the creation of more public housing, the first to be built in the province since the 1990s.

“The plan is working,” Houston repeated again. “We are getting housing built. Yes, I wish it was faster but we just need to follow our plan.”

Voters go to the polls on Tuesday. At dissolution, the Progressive Conservatives held 34 seats in the 55-seat legislature and the Liberals held 14 seats, while the NDP had six and there was one Independent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 21, 2024.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press