Nova Scotia.

• Date: 22 September 2021
• Author: Locke, Cara

This scope of this Legislative Report is from January 2021 to July 12, 2021. It covers three key areas : 1. People: transitions in key positions at the House of Assembly; 2. Place: developments around the precinct; and 3. Work: legislative work accomplished over the last seven months.

People

Leadership

Since Nova Scotia's last Legislative Report in January 2021, the Province has had a new Premier and a new Cabinet.

Stephen McNeil ended his seven-year tenure as Nova Scotia's 28th Premier in February 2021, having previously announced his intention to retire from public office last summer. After stepping down as Premier, Mr. McNeil remained in his seat as the Member for Annapolis until May 3, 2021. To date, Mr. McNeil's former seat in the Annapolis district is vacant.

Following a three-way leadership race, Iain Rankin of Timberlea-Prospect took the helm of the governing Liberal Party. Upon invitation of the Lieutenant Governor to form Government, Mr. Rankin became Premier-Designate on February 9, 2021, the day after McNeil officially tendered his resignation to the Lieutenant Governor.

On February 23, 2021, Lieutenant Governor Arthur J. LeBlanc presided over the Swearing-In Ceremony for the Executive Council of Nova Scotia. The swearing-in ceremony took place at the new Halifax Convention Centre on Argyle Street, midway between Province House on Hollis and Government House on Barrington. Alongside the new Premier, who became President of the Executive Council, sixteen MLAs took the Executive Council Oath and their respective Ministerial Oaths of Office, including three first-time Ministers: Keith Irving as Minister of Environment and Climate Change plus Chair of the Treasury and Policy Board, Ben Jessome as Minister of the Public Service Commission, and Brendan Maguire as Minister of Municipal Affairs.

Seats

Effective June 1, 2021, Margaret Miller resigned both her membership in the Liberal party caucus and her seat as the Member for the district of Hants East.

On June 24, 2021, Tim Houston, the leader of the Official Opposition, informed the Speaker that Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin, the Member for the district Cumberland North, had been removed from the Progressive Conservative Caucus. As a result, Ms. Smith-McCrossin now sits as an Independent.

Factoring in the resignations of Mr. McNeil and Ms. Miller from the House and the removal of Ms. Smith-McCrossin from the PC caucus, the 51-seat distribution in the House now stands as follows:

* Liberal 24

* Progressive Conservative (PC) 17

* New Democratic Party (NDP) 5

* Independent 3

* Vacant 2

Currently, there are less than 11-months left until the 5-year limit for the 63 (rd) General Assembly expires. While the date at which the writ will happen to drop is stirring much speculation...