Nova Scotia Liberal Party

Nova Scotia Liberal Party
Active provincial party
Leader Stephen McNeil
President John Gillis
Founded 1883
Headquarters 5151 George Street
Suite 1400
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 2T3
Ideology Liberalism
Political position Centre
Colours Red
Seats in House of Assembly
34 / 51
Website
Official website
Wikinews has related news: Stephen McNeil becomes leader of the Nova Scotia Liberals

The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a political party in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Origins

The party is descended from the pre-Confederation Reformers in Nova Scotia who coalesced around Joseph Howe demanding the institution of responsible government. The Liberals (Reformers) formed several governments in the colony between 1848 and 1867.

The party split during the debate on Confederation, with Howe and most other Liberals forming an Anti-Confederation Party, while supporters of confederation joined Tory Charles Tupper's Confederation Party. Howe, himself, initially opposed Confederation, but accepted it as a reality after initial attempts to scuttle it failed.

In 1868, Howe joined the pro-Confederation forces, serving for a time in the federal Cabinet of Sir John A. Macdonald.

The Anti-Confederation Party took most of Nova Scotia's seats in the Canadian House of Commons in 1867, as well as forming the government of the new province under William Annand. The new, post-1867 Liberal Party was organised by Annand and his anti-Confederate forces, while the Conservative Party was organised by Tupper and supporters of Sir John A. Macdonald's coalition in the province.

Prior to 1956, the Nova Scotia Liberal Party had ruled the province for 76 of its 89 years, most of that time with fewer than 5 opposition members. It had also ruled prior to confederation, and was responsible for bringing the first responsible government to North America. From 1882 to 1925, the Liberals held power for an unbroken 43 years, the second longest serving political dynasty in Canadian history, behind the Alberta PCs.[1]

The party in recent years

From 1956 the Tories gained significant ground with Robert Stanfield's reformation of the "Progressive Conservatives", and have successfully challenged the Liberals for control of the government. The Liberals faltered in the province at the beginning of the 21st century, and for a time were the third-largest party in the House of Assembly, behind the Tories and the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party. After the Nova Scotia Liberal Party's dismal performance in the 2006 election (and failing to win his own seat), leader Francis MacKenzie announced his resignation.[2] He was succeeded by Stephen McNeil. In the 2009 election, the Liberals moved out of third-party status and formed the official opposition once again. In the 2013 election, the Liberals won a majority government, their first since the 1993 election under John Savage, and took office for the first time in 14 years.[3]

The Nova Scotia Liberals are the provincial section of the federal Liberal Party of Canada. The two parties have a shared membership, and Liberal Members of Parliament often become Liberal Members of the Legislative Assembly, and vice versa. Gerald Regan, for instance, became leader of the provincial party after serving as a Liberal MP. He joined the federal Liberal government after serving as premier of Nova Scotia. Angus L. Macdonald, the province's most storied Liberal premier, split his term into two by spending five years as a federal Liberal cabinet minister in the wartime government of William Lyon Mackenzie King.

Current elected members

Name Riding Year elected
Stephen McNeil Annapolis 2003
Patricia Arab Fairview-Clayton Park 2013
Joanne Bernard Dartmouth North 2013
Karen Casey Colchester North 2006
Zach Churchill Yarmouth 2010
Keith Colwell Preston 2003
Randy Delorey Antigonish 2013
Lena Diab Halifax Armdale 2013
Pam Eyking Victoria-The Lakes 2013
Terry Farrell Cumberland North 2013
Mark Furey Lunenburg West 2013
Leo Glavine Kings West 2003
Stephen Gough Sackville-Beaver Bank 2013
Lloyd Hines Guysborough–Eastern Shore–Tracadie 2013
Bill Horne Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank 2013
Tony Ince Cole Harbour-Portland Valley 2013
Keith Irving Kings South 2013
Ben Jessome Hammonds Plains-Lucasville 2013
Labi Kousoulis Halifax Citadel-Sable Island 2013
Suzanne Lohnes-Croft Lunenburg 2013
Geoff MacLellan Glace Bay 2010
Brendan Maguire Halifax Atlantic 2013
Margaret Miller Hants East 2013
Derek Mombourquette Sydney-Whitney Pier 2015
Kevin Murphy Eastern Shore 2013
Chuck Porter Hants West 2006
Iain Rankin Timberlea-Prospect 2013
Kelly Regan Bedford-Birch Cove 2009
Michel Samson Cape Breton-Richmond 1998
Joachim Stroink Halifax Chebucto 2013
Joyce Treen Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage 2013
Diana Whalen Halifax Clayton Park 2003
Gordon Wilson Clare-Digby 2013
David Wilton Cape Breton Centre 2015

Party leaders

Election results 1867–2013

General election Liberal
Leader
 Seats
won
 Seat
change
 Seats
place
 Popular vote % of popular vote
1867 William Annand
36 / 38
 Steady Steady1st 58.6%
1871
24 / 38
 Decrease12 Steady 52.2%
1874 Philip Carteret Hill
22 / 38
 Decrease2 Steady 55.0%
1878
6 / 38
 Decrease16 Decrease2nd 45.1%
1882 None
24 / 38
 Increase18 Increase1st 51.8%
1886 William Stevens Fielding
28 / 38
 Increase4 Steady 54.7%
1890
29 / 38
 Increase1 Steady 52.2%
1894
25 / 38
 Decrease4 Steady 51.9%
1897 George Henry Murray
34 / 38
 Increase9 Steady 55.0%
1901
36 / 38
 Increase2 Steady 56.7%
1906
32 / 38
 Decrease4 Steady 53.2%
1911
26 / 38
 Decrease6 Steady 51.1%
1916
31 / 43
 Increase5 Steady 50.4%
1920
29 / 43
 Decrease2 Steady 44.4%
1925 Ernest Howard Armstrong
3 / 43
 Decrease26 Decrease2nd 36.3%
1928 William Chisholm
18 / 43
 Increase15 Steady 47.2%
1933 Angus Lewis MacDonald
22 / 30
 Increase4 Increase1st 52.6%
1937
25 / 30
 Increase3 Steady 51.0%
1941 Alexander Stirling MacMillan
22 / 30
 Decrease3 Steady 52.7%
1945 Angus Lewis MacDonald
28 / 30
 Increase6 Steady 52.7%
1949
27 / 37
 Decrease1 Steady 51.0%
1953
22 / 37
 Decrease5 Steady 49.0%
1956 Henry Hicks
18 / 43
 Decrease4 Decrease2nd 48.2%
1960
15 / 43
 Decrease3 Steady 42.6%
1963 Earl Wallace Urquhart
4 / 43
 Decrease11 Steady 39.7%
1967 Gerald Regan
6 / 46
 Increase2 Steady 41.8%
1970
23 / 46
 Increase17 Increase1st 46.1%
1974
31 / 46
 Increase8 Steady 47.9%
1978
17 / 52
 Decrease14 Decrease2nd 39.4%
1981 Sandy Cameron
13 / 52
 Decrease4 Steady 33.2%
1984
6 / 52
 Decrease7 Steady 129,310 31.3%
1988 Vince MacLean
21 / 52
 Increase15 Steady 186,007 39.6%
1993 John Savage
40 / 52
 Increase19 Increase1st 243,298 49.7%
1998 Russell MacLellan
19 / 52
 Decrease21 Steady 158,620 35.34%
1999
11 / 52
 Decrease8 Decrease3rd 128,795 29.81
2003 Danny Graham
12 / 52
 Increase1 Steady 128,417 31.47%
2006 Francis MacKenzie
9 / 52
 Decrease3 Steady 94,872 23.44%
2009 Stephen McNeil
11 / 52
 Increase2 Increase2nd 112,160 27.20%
2013
33 / 52
 Increase22 Increase1st 190,112 45.71%

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Liberal Party of Nova Scotia.

References

  1. ↑ "Alberta keeps Tories". The Chronicle Herald. April 24, 2012. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
  2. ↑ "MacKenzie steps down as Liberal leader". CBC News. June 20, 2006. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
  3. ↑ "Stephen McNeil leads Liberals to majority in Nova Scotia". CBC News. October 8, 2013. Retrieved 2013-10-09.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/15/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.