On Tuesday, Nova Scotians overwhelmingly voted for the Progressive Conservatives as Tim Houston deftly steered the party back into majority government.
The projection, which took place just after 9 p.m. PT, sparked jubilant applause and hugs among Conservative supporters gathered at the Pictou County Wellness Center.
The event was held at the Pictou East Riding in Houston, where he was re-elected.
Houston and the Conservatives were leading by 40 mounts around 10pm (AT).
The NDP led with 11 ridings and the Liberals led with two.
In Halifax, cheers erupted from a hotel ballroom as NDP Leader Claudia Chender was re-elected in Dartmouth South.
The NDP, which has remained the third-largest party since being ousted in the 2013 provincial election, made a significant jump in Tuesday’s vote, moving into second place and becoming the official opposition party.
This will make Chender the first elected opposition leader.
Independent Elizabeth Smith McCrossin was also re-elected in the Cumberland North constituency.
It’s no surprise that PCs are the majority. Opinion polls leading up to Election Day suggested the Conservatives were well ahead of the NDP and Liberals.
Thanks to the state’s new electronic voting system, which used electronic tablets for early voting, results arrived quickly and within about seven minutes, the Progressive Conservatives were back in office for a second time.
View | CBC News predicts PC majority government
Celebrations were taking place at Tim Houston’s campaign headquarters as early voting began Tuesday after 9 p.m.
Houston called a snap election on Oct. 27, ignoring the government’s own election laws that set Nova Scotia’s first fixed election date for July 15, 2025.
Some analysts say the early election call was an attempt to capitalize on the Trudeau government’s unpopularity.
But Houston insisted it was to secure a second mandate to continue the party’s plan to tackle key social issues affecting Nova Scotians, such as affordability and housing.
His party won power in 2021, campaigning on a central promise of improving health care.
This time, Houston touted the government’s achievements so far in this area, such as increasing the number of doctors employed, and argued for more time to improve the system.
These three themes – affordability, housing, and health care – are actually promoted as top priorities by all three major political parties, and some even have similar campaign promises.
Experts said this left voters with the challenge of distinguishing between parties and their platforms.
Analysts also spoke of election fatigue as voters across the state just went to the polls for local elections in October.
The City of Houston has made a number of clear commitments, including reducing HST tolls from 15 percent to 14 percent, making hospital parking free, and making Halifax Bridge toll free. .
