# 2024 Nova Scotia general election

The 2024 Nova Scotia general election was held on November 26, 2024, to elect members to the 65th General Assembly of Nova Scotia. The election was held under first-past-the-post voting.
The incumbent Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia (PC) government, led by Premier Tim Houston since 2021, called a snap election and won a second consecutive majority government. It is the first time since 1984 that the PCs won over half of the popular vote, and a supermajority (i.e., greater than two-thirds) of seats in the General Assembly means that it can alter procedural rules without the collaboration of the other parties. In raw numbers (but not proportion of seats), this is the largest government caucus they have ever had. The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, led by Claudia Chender, formed the official opposition for the first time since 2006, though they narrowly came in third in votes. The Nova Scotia Liberal Party, led by Zach Churchill, recorded its worst result in party history.
This election had the lowest turnout in Nova Scotia history, with only 45% of those eligible participating. This was the first Nova Scotia general election where less than half of eligible voters cast their vote.

## Background

During the 2021 election, the Progressive Conservatives included a commitment in their platform to introduce fixed election dates in the province. Under amendments to the provincial Elections Act introduced and passed in October 2021, the first fixed election date following the 2021 Nova Scotia general election was set as 15 July 2025 with all subsequent elections to take place on the third Tuesday in July of the fourth calendar year following the previous election. However, the general assembly may be dissolved earlier by order of the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia on the advice of the premier, which was the case for this election.
Standings in the 64th General Assembly :
| Affiliation | Affiliation | House members | House members |
| Affiliation | Affiliation | 2021 election results | At dissolution |
| | Progressive Conservative | 31 | 34 |
| | Liberal | 17 | 14 |
| | New Democratic | 6 | 6 |
| | Independent | 1 | 1 |
| | Vacant | 0 | 0 |

### Incumbents not running for reelection

The following MLAs announced that they would not run in the election:
| Party | MLA | Riding |
| Liberal | Rafah DiCostanzo | Clayton Park West |
| Liberal | Tony Ince | Cole Harbour |
| Liberal | Keith Irving | Kings South |
| Liberal | Lorelei Nicoll | Cole Harbour-Dartmouth |
| Liberal | Kelly Regan | Bedford Basin |
| New Democratic | Gary Burrill | Halifax Chebucto |
| PC | Keith Bain | Victoria-The Lakes |
| PC | Steve Craig | Sackville-Cobequid |
| PC | Pat Dunn | Pictou Centre |
| PC | Larry Harrison | Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley |
| PC | Allan MacMaster | Inverness |

## Timeline

* August 17, 2021 – The Progressive Conservative Association, led by Tim Houston, wins the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, the Liberal Party becomes the official opposition, and the New Democratic Party remains at third party status.
* October 23, 2021 - Anthony Edmonds is elected leader and Jo-Ann Roberts is elected deputy leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia.
* November 9, 2021 – Gary Burrill, leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party, announces his resignation, triggering a leadership election for the party.
* December 16, 2021 – Nova Scotians United becomes Nova Scotia's newest registered political party.
* January 5, 2022 – Iain Rankin, leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, announces his resignation, triggering a leadership election for the party.
* June 25, 2022 – Claudia Chender is elected leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.
* July 9, 2022 – Zach Churchill is elected leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.
* April 30, 2024 – The Atlantica Party is voluntarily deregistered by Elections Nova Scotia.
* October 22, 2024 – Liberal Fred Tilley crosses the floor to the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives.
* October 27, 2024 – Premier Tim Houston calls a general election for November 26, 2024.
* November 6, 2024 – Candidate nomination deadline.
* November 26, 2024 – General election held, resulting in a majority government for the Progressive Conservatives.
| Seat | Before | Before | Before | Before | Change | Change | Change |
| Seat | Date | Member | Party | Reason | Date | Member | Party |
| Preston | April 1, 2023 | Angela Simmonds | █ Liberal | Resignation | August 8, 2023 | Twila Grosse | █ PC |
| Halifax Atlantic | February 22, 2024 | Brendan Maguire | █ Liberal | Joined Progressive Conservative caucus | | | █ PC |
| Pictou West | April 12, 2024 | Karla MacFarlane | █ PC | Resignation | May 21, 2024 | Marco MacLeod | █ PC |
| Northside-Westmount | October 22, 2024 | Fred Tilley | █ Liberal | Joined Progressive Conservative caucus | | | █ PC |

## Campaign

Candidate contests :
| Candidates nominated | Constituencies | Party | Party | Party | Party | Party | Party |
| Candidates nominated | Constituencies | PC | Lib | NDP | Grn | Ind | Totals |
| 3 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | | 1 | 90 |
| 4 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 2 | 96 |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Total | 55 | 55 | 55 | 54 | 23 | 4 | 191 |

### Leaders' debates

2024 Nova Scotia general election debates :
| Date | Organizers | Venue | Moderator(s) | P Participant A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Participant A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Participant A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Participant A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | P Participant A Absent invitee N Non-invitee | Source |
| Date | Organizers | Venue | Moderator(s) | PC | Liberal | NDP | Green | NSU | Source |
| November 14, 2024 | CBC Nova Scotia | CBC Studios, Halifax | Tom Murphy, Amy Smith | P Houston | P Churchill | P Chender | N Edmonds | N Baker | |
| November 21, 2024 | CTV Atlantic | CTV Studios, Halifax | Todd Battis | P Houston | P Churchill | P Chender | N Edmonds | N Baker | |

## Results

Two judicial recounts took place in December:
Recount results :
| Constituency | Date held | Reason | Confirmed |
| Yarmouth | December 9 | on request of the losing incumbent | Y |
| Annapolis | December 10 | automatic due to narrowness of margin | Y |

### Results by party

Summary of the 2024 Nova Scotia House of Assembly election :
| Party | Party | Leader | Candidates | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Votes | Seats | Seats | Seats |
| Party | Party | Leader | Candidates | # | ± | % | Change (pp) | Change (pp) | Change (pp) | 2021 | 2024 | ± |
| | Progressive Conservative | Tim Houston | 55 | 187,047 | 24,574 | 52.49 | 14.05 | | 14.05 | 31 | 43 / 55 | 12 |
| | Liberal | Zach Churchill | 55 | 80,854 | 74,172 | 22.69 | -13.98 | | | 17 | 2 / 55 | 15 |
| | New Democratic | Claudia Chender | 54 | 79,008 | 9,469 | 22.17 | 1.24 | | 1.24 | 6 | 9 / 55 | 3 |
| | Green | Anthony Edmonds | 23 | 2,941 | 6,101 | 0.83 | -1.31 | | |
| | Independent | | 4 | 4,220 | 740 | 1.18 | 0.10 | | 0.1 | 1 | 1 / 55 | |
| Total | Total | Total | | 354,070 | 354,070 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 2,250 | 539 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 356,320 | 66,392 | 45.19 | 9.88 |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | 788,427 | 20,809 |

## Candidates by constituency

Legend bold denotes party leader † denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election

### Annapolis Valley

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Independent | Independent | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Annapolis | | David Bowlby | | Carman Kerr | | Cheryl Burbidge | | Sara Adams | | | Carman Kerr |
| Clare | | Ryan Robicheau | | Ronnie LeBlanc | | Dre Taylor | | | | | Ronnie LeBlanc |
| Digby-Annapolis | | Jill Balser | | Joey Amero | | Shannon Long | | | | | Jill Balser |
| Hants West | | Melissa Sheehy-Richard | | Brian Casey | | Simon Greenough | | | | James Omand | Melissa Sheehy-Richard |
| Kings North | | John A. Lohr | | Richelle Brown Redden | | Gillian Yorke | | Dave Lowe | | | John Lohr |
| Kings South | | Julie Vanexan | | Mike Hamm | | Ramona Jennex | | Sheila G. Richardson | | | Keith Irving† |
| Kings West | | Chris Palmer | | Brad Beardsley | | Paul Doerr | | Madeline Taylor | | | Chris Palmer |

### South Shore

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Argyle | | Colton LeBlanc | | Lorelei Murphy | | Lauren Skabar | | Lynette Amirault | Colton LeBlanc |
| Chester-St. Margaret's | | Danielle Barkhouse | | Laura Mulrooney | | Brendan Mosher | | | Danielle Barkhouse |
| Lunenburg | | Susan Corkum-Greek | | Melissa Duggan | | Nick Jennery | | Frank Fawson | Susan Corkum-Greek |
| Lunenburg West | | Becky Druhan | | Jonathan Crouse | | Nicholas Piovesan | | Mitchell Thomas-Langford | Becky Druhan |
| Queens | | Kim Masland | | Cathy DeRome | | Brian Skabar | | | Kim Masland |
| Shelburne | | Nolan Young | | Debbie Muise | | Bridget Taylor | | | Nolan Young |
| Yarmouth | | Nick Hilton | | Zach Churchill | | Gillian Rowley | | Adam Randall | Zach Churchill |

### Fundy-Northeast

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Independent | Independent | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley | | Scott Armstrong | | Gwynneth (Gwyn) Bellefontaine | | Janet Moulton | | | | | Larry Harrison† |
| Colchester North | | Tom Taggart | | Dustin Rekunyk | | Christina McCarron | | Jillian Foster | | | Tom Taggart |
| Cumberland North | | Bill Dowe | | Kurt Ditner | | Tyson Boyd | | | | Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin | Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin |
| Cumberland South | | Tory Rushton | | Liam MacDonald | | Larry Duchesne | | | | | Tory Rushton |
| Hants East | | John A. MacDonald | | Shannon MacWilliam | | Abby Cameron | | | | | John A. MacDonald |
| Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River | | Dave Ritcey | | Frank Johnston | | Cailen Pygott | | | | | Dave Ritcey |

### Central Halifax

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Clayton Park West | | Adegoke Fadare | | Elizabeth Eustaquio-Domondon | | Wendy Hood-Morris | | | Rafah DiCostanzo† |
| Fairview-Clayton Park | | Nicole Mosher | | Patricia Arab | | Lina Hamid | | | Patricia Arab |
| Halifax Armdale | | Craig Myra | | Ali Duale | | Rod Wilson | | | Ali Duale |
| Halifax Chebucto | | Tonya Malay | | Gerard Bray | | Krista Gallagher | | Jonathan Bradet-Legris | Gary Burrill† |
| Halifax Citadel-Sable Island | | Eleanor Humphries | | Rob Grace | | Lisa Lachance | | Karen Beazley | Lisa Lachance |
| Halifax Needham | | Trayvone Clayton | | Jon Frost | | Suzy Hansen | | Amethyste Hamel-Gregory | Suzy Hansen |

### Suburban Halifax

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Bedford Basin | | Tim Outhit | | Doris Robbins | | Ryan Lutes | | | Kelly Regan† |
| Bedford South | | Damian Stoilov | | Braedon Clark | | Isaac G. Wilson | | Ron G. Parker | Braedon Clark |
| Halifax Atlantic | | Brendan Maguire | | Phil Chisholm | | Cathy Cervin | | Gadfly Stratton | Brendan Maguire |
| Hammonds Plains-Lucasville | | Rick Burns | | Ben Jessome | | Terry J. Eyland | | Roger Croll | Ben Jessome |
| Sackville-Cobequid | | Paul Russell | | Agatha Bourassa | | Paul Wozney | | | Steve Craig† |
| Sackville-Uniacke | | Brad Johns | | Thomas Trappenberg | | Lisa Blackburn | | | Brad Johns |
| Timberlea-Prospect | | Trish MacDonald | | Iain Rankin | | Rose Gillam | | Jane Matheson | Iain Rankin |
| Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank | | Brian Wong | | Elizabeth Booth | | Donna McCarthy | | Anthony Edmonds | Brian Wong |

### Dartmouth/Cole Harbour/Eastern Shore

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Independent | Independent | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Cole Harbour | | Leah Martin | | Tania Meloni | | Alec Stratford | | John E. McStay | | | Tony Ince† |
| Cole Harbour-Dartmouth | | Brad McGowan | | Vishal Bhardwaj | | Kayley Dixon | | | | | Lorelei Nicoll† |
| Dartmouth East | | Timothy Halman | | Stacy Chesnutt | | Holly Fraughton | | | | | Tim Halman |
| Dartmouth North | | Karina Sanford | | Pam Cooley | | Susan Leblanc | | | | | Susan Leblanc |
| Dartmouth South | | Bea MacGregor | | Barb Henderson | | Claudia Chender | | | | | Claudia Chender |
| Eastern Passage | | Barbara Adams | | Chris Peters | | | | | | Tammy Jakeman | Barbara Adams |
| Eastern Shore | | Kent Smith | | Doyle Safire | | Don Carney | | Kevin Conrod | | | Kent Smith |
| Preston | | Twila Grosse | | Carlo Simmons | | Colter (C.C.) Simmonds | | Andre Anderson | | | Twila Grosse |

### Central Nova

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Antigonish | | Michelle Thompson | | Sheila Sears | | John MacIsaac | | | Michelle Thompson |
| Guysborough-Tracadie | | Greg Morrow | | George Grant | | Deborah Martinello | | | Greg Morrow |
| Pictou Centre | | Danny MacGillivray | | Kris MacFarlane | | Mary Stewart | | | Pat Dunn† |
| Pictou East | | Tim Houston | | Stephanie Quinn | | Vernon Theriault | | | Tim Houston |
| Pictou West | | Marco MacLeod | | Mary Wooldridge-Elliott | | Carol Ferguson | | Clare Brett | Marco MacLeod |

### Cape Breton

| Electoral district | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Incumbent |
| Electoral district | PC | PC | Liberal | Liberal | NDP | NDP | Green | Green | Independent | Independent | Incumbent | Incumbent |
| Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier | | Darren O'Quinn | | Joleen Magliaro | | Kendra Coombes | | | | | Kendra Coombes |
| Cape Breton East | | Brian Comer | | Joe Ward | | Isabelle Lalonde | | | | | Brian Comer |
| Glace Bay-Dominion | | John White | | David Alexander MacLeod | | Kathy Chapman | | | | | John White |
| Inverness | | Kyle MacQuarrie | | Jaime Beaton | | Joanna Clark | | | | | Allan MacMaster† |
| Northside-Westmount | | Fred Tilley | | Danny Laffin | | Katelyn Armstrong | | | | | Fred Tilley |
| Richmond | | Trevor Boudreau | | Rochelle Heudes | | Marc Currie | | | | | Trevor Boudreau |
| Sydney-Membertou | | Brian MacArthur | | Derek Mombourquette | | Alison Aho | | Steven McGrath | | | Derek Mombourquette |
| Victoria-The Lakes | | Dianne Timmins | | Stephen MacAskill | | Samuel Stirling | | Adrianna MacKinnon | | Stemer MacLeod | Keith Bain† |

## Opinion polls
### Voting intentions in Nova Scotia since the 2021 election

Opinion polls :
| Polling firm | Dates conducted | Link | PC | Liberal | NDP | Green | Others | Margin of error | Sample size | Polling method | Lead |
| 2024 general election | 26 Nov 2024 | | 52.50 | 22.73 | 22.15 | 0.83 | 1.17 | — | 357,048 | — | 29.77 |
| Forum Research | 23–25 Nov 2024 | | 47 | 23 | 27 | 2 | 1 | ±3.0% | 1,472 | IVR | 20 |
| Liaison Strategies | 23–24 Nov 2024 | | 51 | 20 | 25 | 2 | 2 | ±3.99% | 602 | IVR | 26 |
| Mainstreet Research | 21–23 Nov 2024 | | 54 | 18 | 25 | — | 4 | ±3.6% | 743 | SMS to online | 29 |
| Abacus Data | 21–23 Nov 2024 | | 48 | 22 | 28 | 1 | — | ±3.8% | 645 | Online | 20 |
| MQO Research | 14–20 Nov 2024 | | 51 | 22 | 24 | 2 | 1 | ±4.4% | 392 | Online | 27 |
| Narrative Research | 4–17 Nov 2024 | | 44 | 24 | 28 | 3 | 1 | ±4.3% | 526 | Telephone | 16 |
| Cardinal Research | 7–15 Nov 2024 | | 48 | 26 | 20 | 3 | 3 | ±3.5% | 799 | Telephone | 22 |
| Abacus Data | 7–10 Nov 2024 | | 47 | 25 | 23 | 4 | — | ±4.1% | 600 | Online | 22 |
| MQO Research | 3–10 Nov 2024 | | 47 | 20 | 24 | 7 | 2 | ±5.0% | 396 | Online | 23 |
| Mainstreet Research | 1–2 Nov 2024 | | 50 | 22 | 25 | — | 3 | ±3.9% | 635 | Smart IVR | 25 |
| Abacus Data | 28–31 Oct 2024 | | 45 | 25 | 26 | 4 | — | ±4.1% | 600 | Online | 19 |
| Liaison Strategies | 28–29 Oct 2024 | | 38 | 26 | 29 | 5 | 2 | ±3.7% | 701 | IVR | 9 |
| Narrative Research | 31 Jul – 14 Aug 2024 | | 53 | 24 | 19 | 4 | 1 | ±4.9% | 400 | Telephone | 29 |
| Narrative Research | 7–29 May 2024 | | 50 | 23 | 22 | 3 | 2 | ±4.9% | 400 | Telephone | 27 |
| Narrative Research | 6–17 Feb 2024 | | 49 | 25 | 20 | 5 | 1 | ±4.9% | 400 | Telephone | 24 |
| Narrative Research | 1–21 Nov 2023 | | 52 | 21 | 22 | 3 | 1 | ±4.9% | 400 | Telephone | 30 |
| Narrative Research | 1–14 Aug 2023 | | 47 | 23 | 24 | 4 | 2 | ±4.9% | 400 | Telephone | 23 |
| Narrative Research | 3–16 May 2023 | | 39 | 31 | 24 | 5 | 1 | ±4.9% | 400 | Telephone | 8 |
| Narrative Research | 8–23 Feb 2023 | | 46 | 25 | 24 | 4 | 2 | ±4.6% | 450 | Telephone | 21 |
| Narrative Research | 2–28 Nov 2022 | | 42 | 27 | 25 | 5 | 1 | ±4.0% | 605 | Telephone | 15 |
| Narrative Research | 4–23 Aug 2022 | | 43 | 30 | 22 | 4 | 1 | ±4.0% | 585 | Telephone | 13 |
| Angus Reid | 7–13 Jun 2022 | | 46 | 21 | 27 | 3 | 2 | ±5.0% | 330 | Online | 24 |
| Narrative Research | 3–22 May 2022 | | 42 | 27 | 25 | 4 | 1 | ±5.0% | 380 | Telephone | 15 |
| Abacus Data | 14–21 Apr 2022 | | 39 | 31 | 23 | — | 7 | ±4.4% | 500 | Online | 8 |
| Angus Reid | 10–15 Mar 2022 | | 47 | 25 | 22 | 2 | 5 | ±5.0% | 366 | Online | 22 |
| Narrative Research | 8–23 Feb 2022 | | 44 | 27 | 20 | 6 | 2 | ±4.9% | 396 | Telephone | 17 |
| Angus Reid | 7–12 Jan 2022 | | 38 | 28 | 26 | 1 | 6 | ±6.0% | 320 | Online | 10 |
| MQO Research | 14–24 Nov 2021 | | 41 | 23 | 27 | 5 | 3 | ±4.9% | 400 | Telephone | 14 |
| Narrative Research | 4–21 Nov 2021 | | 42 | 26 | 24 | 5 | 3 | ±4.2% | 557 | Telephone | 16 |
| Angus Reid | 29 Sep – 3 Oct 2021 | | 39 | 21 | 32 | 4 | 5 | N/A | 264 | Online | 7 |
| 2021 general election | 17 Aug 2021 | | 38.43 | 36.67 | 20.94 | 2.14 | 1.41 | — | 422,754 | — | 1.76 |
| Polling firm | Dates conducted | Link | | | | | Others | Margin of error | Sample size | Polling method | Lead |
| Polling firm | Dates conducted | Link | PC | Liberal | NDP | Green | Others | Margin of error | Sample size | Polling method | Lead |