# Claudia Chender

Claudia Chender (born 1976) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who has been serving as the leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party since June 25, 2022. She was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2017 general election, representing the electoral district of Dartmouth South. She became Nova Scotia's first female leader of the Opposition on a permanent basis, after her party won the second most seats in the 2024 general election.

## Early life and education

Chender is a lawyer by training and has worked in the not for profit and private sectors. Three of Chender's grandparents were Holocaust survivors and she was taught about the Holocaust by her Polish-Jewish grandmother. Many of her relatives died in the Holocaust, including some at Auschwitz. She graduated from Dalhousie University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts and then from the University of Victoria in 2004 with a Bachelor of Laws.

## Leader of the NSNDP

After the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, provincial NDP leader Gary Burrill re-appointed Chender as the party's House Leader, a role she had held since 2018. She returned to her role as the spokesperson for Justice and Status of Women as well as the critic for Economic Development and Natural Resources and Renewables.
On November 9, 2021, Burrill announced that he would resign as leader once a successor was chosen at a future convention. On February 14, 2022, Chender declared her candidacy to replace Burrill as leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (NSNDP). On May 21, 2022 registration closed for the leadership race, with Chender being the sole candidate.
Chender was elected leader of the Nova Scotia NDP after a general membership vote on June 25, 2022. She is the third female leader of the NSNDP, following Alexa McDonough and Helen MacDonald; fourth leader, if interim leader Maureen MacDonald is included. Aside from her responsibilities as leader of the third party, Chender also serves as the NDP caucus spokesperson for Intergovernmental Relations (as of September 22, 2024).
Chender has introduced a number of bills in the Nova Scotia Legislature around affordable housing, reducing poverty, energy efficiency, and lowering grocery bills and child care costs. She successfully advocated for the indexing of Income Assistance Rates, the expansion of the province’s Down Payment Assistance Program, and banning waitlist fees for daycare.
In October 2023, Chender was removed from the legislature after challenging Education Minister Becky Druhan’s statement that every student in Nova Scotia had access to food in schools. The government later launched a "pay-what-you-can" school food program.
On September 12, 2024, the legislature passed Chender's bill declaring domestic violence an epidemic with all-party support. The bill legislated a recommendation from the Mass Casualty Commission, which investigated the 2020 Nova Scotia attacks.

## Electoral record

vte2024 Nova Scotia general election: Dartmouth South :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Claudia Chender | 4,415 | 68.5% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bea MacGregor | 1,449 | 30.7% |
| | Liberal | Barb Henderson | 585 | 9.1% |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,449 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing |
| Source: Elections Nova Scotia |||||||
vte2021 Nova Scotia general election: Dartmouth South :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Claudia Chender | 4,209 | 58.13 | +18.48 | $56,622.56 |
| | Liberal | Lesley MacKay | 1,603 | 22.14 | -15.31 | $18,386.71 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Chris Curtis | 1,262 | 17.43 | +1.57 | $31,677.39 |
| | Green | Skylar Martini | 167 | 2.31 | -3.35 | $200.00 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 7,241 | 99.64 | – | $80,768.46 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 26 | 0.36 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 7,267 | 52.96 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 13,721 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | +16.90 |
| Source: Elections Nova Scotia |||||||
vte2017 Nova Scotia general election: Dartmouth South :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Claudia Chender | 3,545 | 39.65% | +4.40 |
| | Liberal | Vishal Bhardwaj | 3,348 | 37.45% | +3.46 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jad Crnogorac | 1,418 | 15.86% | -7.30 |
| | Green | June Trenholm | 506 | 5.66% | |
| | Atlantica | Jim Murray | 123 | 1.38% | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 9,007 | 99.26 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 67 | 0.74 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,074 | 51.56 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 17,598 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | +0.47 |
| Source: Elections Nova Scotia |||||||