# Leader of the Opposition (Nova Scotia)

The leader of the Opposition (French: Chef de l'Opposition) in Nova Scotia is the MLA in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly who leads the political party recognized as the Official Opposition. This status generally goes to the leader of the second largest party in the Legislative Assembly. Claudia Chender, the leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, is the current leader of the opposition.
Since 1928, when its upper house, the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia was abolished, the province has had a unicameral parliamentary government. From Confederation, however, Nova Scotia has exclusively followed the modern Westminster convention whereby the leader of the opposition is the leader of the party that controls the second most seats in the House of Assembly.

## Leaders of the opposition of the colony of Nova Scotia (1847–1866)

| Name | Party | Term |
| James W. Johnston | Conservative | 1848–1857 |
| William Young | Liberal | 1857–1860 |
| James W. Johnston | Conservative | 1860–1864 |
| A.G. Archibald | Liberal | 1864–1867 |

## Leaders of the opposition of the Province of Nova Scotia, since Confederation (1867–present)

| Name | Party | Term |
| Hiram Blanchard | Liberal Conservative | 1867–1874 |
| Simon H. Holmes | Conservative | 1875–1878 |
| N/A | Liberal | 1879–1882 |
| Adam C. Bell | Liberal Conservative | 1883–1886 |
| William McKay | Liberal Conservative | 1887–1890 |
| C.H. Cahan | Liberal Conservative | 1891–1894 |
| William McKay | Liberal Conservative | 1895–1897 |
| Charles S. Wilcox | Liberal Conservative | 1898–1901 |
| Charles E. Tanner | Liberal Conservative | 1902–1908 |
| Charles S. Wilcox | Liberal Conservative | 1909 |
| John M. Baillie | Liberal Conservative | 1910–1911 |
| Charles E. Tanner | Liberal Conservative | 1912–1916 |
| W.L. Hall | Liberal Conservative | 1917–1920 |
| Daniel G. McKenzie | United Farmers/Labour | 1921–1925 |
| William Chisholm | Liberal | 1926–1930 |
| Alexander S. MacMillan | Liberal | 1931–1933 |
| Gordon S. Harrington | Conservative | 1934–1937 |
| Percy C. Black | Conservative | 1938–1939 |
| Fred M. Blois | Conservative | 1940 |
| Leonard W. Fraser | Conservative | 1941 |
| Fred M. Blois | Conservative | 1942–1945 |
| Russell Cunningham | CCF | 1946–1949 |
| Robert L. Stanfield | Progressive Conservative | 1950–1956 |
| Henry D. Hicks | Liberal | 1957–1960 |
| Earl W. Urquhart | Liberal | 1961–1963 |
| Peter M. Nicholson | Liberal | 1964–1967 |
| Gerald A. Regan | Liberal | 1968–1970 |
| George I. Smith | Progressive Conservative | 1970–1971 |
| John Buchanan | Progressive Conservative | 1971–1978 |
| Gerald A. Regan | Liberal | 1978–1979 |
| Benoit Comeau | Liberal | 1980 |
| A.M. (Sandy) Cameron | Liberal | 1980–1984 |
| Vincent MacLean | Liberal | 1985 |
| Bill Gillis | Liberal | 1985–1986 |
| Vincent MacLean | Liberal | 1986–1992 |
| Bill Gillis | Liberal | 1992–1993 |
| Terrence Donahoe | Progressive Conservative | 1993–1995 |
| John Hamm | Progressive Conservative | 1995–1998 |
| Robert Chisholm | New Democratic Party | 1998–1999 |
| Robert Chisholm (NDP), Russell MacLellan (Liberal), Wayne Gaudet (Liberal) | Duties shared between Liberals and NDP | 1999–2001 |
| John MacDonell | New Democratic Party | 2001 |
| Darrell Dexter | New Democratic Party | 2001–2009 |
| Stephen McNeil | Liberal | 2009–2013 |
| Jamie Baillie | Progressive Conservative | 2013–2018 |
| Karla MacFarlane | Progressive Conservative | 2018 |
| Tim Houston | Progressive Conservative | 2018–2021 |
| Iain Rankin | Liberal | 2021–2022 |
| Zach Churchill | Liberal | 2022–2024 |
| Claudia Chender | New Democratic Party | 2024–present |