Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia

The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, is a moderate and centrist[1] political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, they have been historically associated with the "Red Tory"[2] faction within Canadian conservatism. The party is currently led by Pictou East MLA Tim Houston.

Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia
Active provincial party
LeaderTim Houston
PresidentJulie Chaisson
Founded1867
Headquarters1660 Hollis Street
Suite 1003
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 1V7
IdeologyFiscal conservatism
Social progressivism
Environmentalism
ColoursBlue
Seats in House of Assembly
18 / 51
Website
pcparty.ns.ca

History

The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, registered under the Nova Scotia Elections Act as the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, originated from the Confederation Party of Charles Tupper. Tupper united members of the pre-Confederation Conservative Party (who were predominantly United Empire Loyalists and members of the business elite) and supporters of Sir John A. Macdonald's national Conservative coalition. The party supported Macdonald's protectionist National Policy, nation-building, and the unification of British North America.

Canadian Confederation was initially unpopular in Nova Scotia, and the party was out of government for most of the late 19th century. It formed government for only six years between 1867 and 1956. It bottomed out in 1945, when the party was shut out of the legislature altogether.

The modern party was built by Robert Stanfield after World War II. Stanfield, the scion of a wealthy textile family, considered himself a socialist at university and, while he later moderated his views, he always remained a progressive. Under his leadership, what was by then the "Progressive Conservative Party" became a moderate Red Tory organization.[3] He was able to get the party back into the House of Assembly soon after taking the leadership. By 1956, he had built it into an organization that was able to sweep to power, winning re-election four times.

As premier, he led reforms in human rights, education, municipal government and health care and also created Industrial Estates Limited, a crown corporation that successfully attracted investment from world companies such as Michelin Tire.[4] He worked to modernized the road system, brought in the first form of Medicare, established the first economic development agency, invested heavily in education at all levels and established the predecessor to the Nova Scotia Community College.

After Stanfield left provincial politics to become leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party in 1967, G. I. Smith served as premier until 1970.[5] After being elected party leader in 1971, John Buchanan was elected premier in 1978.[6] He was re-elected in 1981, 1984 and 1988. In the 1984 election, voters served his largest majority, capturing 42 of the 52 seats in the legislature.[7] Buchanan's government first succeeded in convincing federal government to give Nova Scotia control over offshore resources such as gas and oil, resulting in future revenue for the province through the Crown Share.[8]

Roger Bacon became premier in 1990 after Buchanan was appointed to the Senate of Canada and until the party selected Donald W. Cameron as party leader and premier. During his term, Cameron reformed government finance practices, promoted anti-discrimination measures, introduced new government accountability measures and established the first non-partisan electoral boundaries revision commission in 1992.[9]

The party in recent years
John Hamm

After six years of Liberal governments led by John Savage and later Russel MacLellan, PC leader John Hamm was elected premier in 1999. After taking office, he invested more in education and health care. implemented some tax cuts and sold or closed government-owned industries such as Sydney Steel.[10] His government also passed tough lobbyist registration legislation, introduced smoking cessation initiatives, provided new funding for community college modernization and achieved historically high economic growth and employment numbers.[11] His government was the first to truly balance provincial finances in 25 years in 2002.[12]

Tim Houston is the current leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia.

Rodney MacDonald took the party reins from Hamm in 2006 and subsequently became Premier of Nova Scotia. Through strategic investments in rural broadband infrastructure, MacDonald continued to expand high-speed internet access throughout the province.[13] MacDonald’s government moved to help stabilize energy costs, grow the economy and attract new investment to the province.

The 2006 election resulted in a reduced minority for MacDonald and the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to third-party status in the 2009 election.[14] On June 24, 2009, MacDonald stepped down as leader and Karen Casey was named the interim leader.

As the only candidate in the leadership election, Jamie Baillie became leader of the PC Party on October 30, 2010.[15] He led the party into the 2013 election, and won eleven seats to form the Official Opposition.[16] In the 2017 election, the party retained official opposition status, and increased their seat count to 17.[17]

On November 1, 2017, Baillie announced he was stepping down as leader.[18][19] Baillie was to remain in the position until a new leader was chosen, however on January 24, 2018, he resigned after the party executive requested his immediate resignation due to "allegations of inappropriate behaviour".[20][21] Following his resignation, Pictou West MLA Karla MacFarlane was named interim leader.[20]

The party president is Julie Chaisson.[22] The party also has a recognized youth wing called the Nova Scotia Young Progressive Conservative Association whose president is Daniel MacKenzie.[23]

Values and mission

According to the PC Party website, their mission is "to form a fiscally responsible, socially progressive government that promotes individual achievement and personal responsibility, is accountable to its citizens, listens to its people, embraces innovation, preserves the best of our unique heritage and diverse cultures and learns from the past".[24]

Current elected members
Name Riding Year elected
Tim Houston Pictou East 2013
Barbara Adams Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage 2017
Keith Bain Victoria-The Lakes 2017
Brian Comer Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg 2019
Steve Craig Sackville-Cobequid 2019
Pat Dunn Pictou Centre 2013
Tim Halman Dartmouth East 2017
Larry Harrison Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley 2013
Karla MacFarlane Pictou West 2013
Brad Johns Sackville-Beaver Bank 2017
Colton LeBlanc Argyle-Barrington 2019
John Lohr Kings North 2013
Allan MacMaster Inverness 2009
Kim Masland Queens-Shelburne 2017
Tory Rushton Cumberland South 2018
Dave Ritcey Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River 2020
Murray Ryan Northside-Westmount 2019
Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin Cumberland North 2017

Party leaders

Election results
Election Leader Votes % Seats +/– Position Government
1867 Hiram Blanchard 38.5
2 / 38
 0 2nd Opposition
1871 43.7
14 / 38
 12 2nd Opposition
1874 Simon Hugh Holmes 43.6
12 / 38
 2 2nd Opposition
1878 51.7
32 / 38
 20 1st Majority
1882 John Sparrow David Thompson 46.9
14 / 38
 18 2nd Opposition
1886 Adam Carr Bell 28.6
10 / 38
 4 2nd Opposition
1890 William McKay 46.7
9 / 38
 1 2nd Opposition
1894 47.3
13 / 38
 4 2nd Opposition
1897 44.4
3 / 38
 10 2nd Opposition
1901 Charles Smith Wilcox 41.7
2 / 38
 1 2nd Opposition
1906 Charles Elliott Tanner 42.1
4 / 38
 2 2nd Opposition
1911 John M. Baillie 45.4
12 / 38
 8 2nd Opposition
1916 Charles Elliott Tanner 48.8
12 / 43
 0 2nd Opposition
1920 24.7
3 / 43
 9 4th Opposition
1925 Edgar Nelson Rhodes 60.9
40 / 43
 37 1st Majority
1928 51.7
24 / 43
 16 1st Majority
1933 Gordon Sidney Harrington 45.9
8 / 30
 16 2nd Opposition
1937 46.0
5 / 30
 3 2nd Opposition
1941 Frederick Murray Blois 40.3
5 / 30
 0 2nd Opposition
1945 33.5
0 / 30
 5 3rd No Seats
1949 Robert Stanfield 39.2
8 / 37
 8 2nd Opposition
1953 43.6
13 / 37
 5 2nd Opposition
1956 48.6
24 / 43
 11 1st Majority
1960 48.3
27 / 43
 3 1st Majority
1963 56.2
39 / 43
 12 1st Majority
1967 52.8
40 / 46
 1 1st Majority
1970 George Isaac Smith 46.9
21 / 46
 19 2nd Opposition
1974 John Buchanan 38.6
12 / 46
 9 2nd Opposition
1978 45.8
31 / 52
 19 1st Majority
1981 45.8
37 / 52
 6 1st Majority
1984 209,298 50.6
42 / 52
 5 1st Majority
1988 204,150 43.4
28 / 52
 14 1st Majority
1993 Donald William Cameron 151,383 31.1
9 / 52
 19 2nd Opposition
1998 John Hamm 133,540 29.75
14 / 52
 5 3rd Third party
1999 169,383 39.20
30 / 52
 16 1st Majority
2003 148,182 36.32
25 / 52
 5 1st Minority
2006 Rodney MacDonald 160,119 39.57
23 / 52
 2 1st Minority
2009 101,203 24.54
10 / 52
 13 3rd Third party
2013 Jamie Baillie 109,452 26.31
11 / 51
 1 2nd Opposition
2017 142,672 35.8
17 / 51
 6 2nd Opposition

See also

References
  1. "PC 2017 Election Platform" (PDF). 2017.
  2. "Nova Scotia Tories launch election campaign with promise to heal wounds". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
  3. Lewis, Robert. "Robert Stanfield (Obituary)". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  4. "Industrial Estates Limited Act". nslegislature.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  5. "Premier named party leader by N.S. Tories". The Globe and Mail. November 4, 1967.
  6. "N.S. Tories swing to right with election of Buchanan as leader". The Globe and Mail. March 8, 1971.
  7. "Buchanan Tories crush opponents in N.S. election". The Globe and Mail. November 7, 1984.
  8. "Historic Crown share settlement a political victory — Editorials — The News". www.ngnews.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  9. "Just Boundaries: Recommendations for Effective Representation for the People of Nova Scotia" (PDF). Nova Scotia Legislature. Nova Scotia Legislature.
  10. "No more steel from Cape Breton as Sysco closes". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  11. "Building a New Normal: Changing Social Norms Around Tobacco" (PDF). Smoke Free Kings.
  12. "Co-operation, More Money for Health Care, Balanced Budget". novascotia.ca. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  13. "Former premier Rodney MacDonald recalls the glory days — Local — Cape Breton Post". www.capebretonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  14. "June 9th, 2009 Nova Scotia Provincial General Election, Elections Nova Scotia". electionsnovascotia.ca. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  15. "New N.S. PC leader promises fiscal restraint". CBC News, October 30, 2010.
  16. "Baillie leads PCs into 2nd". The Chronicle Herald, October 9, 2013.
  17. "Liberals score back-to-back majorities in Nova Scotia nail-biter". CBC News. May 30, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
  18. "Jamie Baillie quitting role as leader of Progressive Conservatives". CBC News. November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  19. "Jamie Baillie stepping down as Nova Scotia PC leader". The Chronicle Herald. November 1, 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-02.
  20. "PC Leader Jamie Baillie forced out after allegations of 'inappropriate behaviour'". CBC News. January 24, 2018. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  21. Leeder, Jessica (January 24, 2018). "Nova Scotia PC leader Jamie Baillie resigns amid sexual harassment allegations". The Globe and Mail. The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  22. "PC Party President". PC Party. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  23. "NS Young PC". PC Party. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  24. "Our Mission". PC Party. Retrieved 2016-04-04.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.