Nova Scotia House of Assembly
Nova Scotia House of Assembly Chambre d'assemblée de la Nouvelle-Écosse Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh | |
|---|---|
| 63rd General Assembly of Nova Scotia | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | Lower house (1758–1928) then unicameral house of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia |
| History | |
| Founded | 1758 |
| Leadership | |
House Leader | |
Opposition House Leader | |
Premier | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 51 |
 | |
Political groups | Government
Official Opposition
Other Parties
|
| Elections | |
Last election | May 30, 2017 |
Next election | TBD |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Legislative Chamber, Province House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada | |
| Website | |
| nslegislature.ca/ | |
The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (Template:Lang-fr; Template:Lang-gd), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The assembly is the oldest in Canada, having first sat in 1758,[1] and in 1848 was the site of the first responsible government in the British Empire. Bills passed by the House of Assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia[2] in the name of the Queen.
Originally (in 1758), the Legislature consisted of the Crown represented by a governor (later a lieutenant governor), the appointed Nova Scotia Council holding both executive and legislative duties and an elected House of Assembly (lower chamber). In 1838, the council was replaced by an executive council with the executive function and a legislative council with the legislative functions based on the House of Lords. In 1928, the Legislative Council was abolished and the members pensioned off.
There are 51 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) representing 51 electoral districts. (With the next general election, there will be 55 electoral districts.[3]) Members nearly always represent one of the three main political parties of the province: the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotia New Democratic Party.
The assembly meets in Province House. Located in Halifax Province House is a National Historic Site and Canada's oldest and smallest legislative building. It opened on February 11, 1819. The building was also originally home to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, and the location of the "Freedom of the Press" trial of Joseph Howe. Its main entrance is found on Hollis Street in Halifax.
Officers
A number of officers of the house are appointed in accordance with legislation passed by the house. These officers fulfil numerous functions as prescribed in the relevant legislation.There are two categories of officers:
Officers under the Authority of the Speaker
The Speaker of the House has authority over the following offices and officers:
- Clerk
- Hansard
- House Operations
- Legislative Committees
- Legislative Counsel
- Legislative Library
- Legislative Television Broadcasting Services
- Sergeant-at-Arms
- Speaker’s Administration Office
Independent Officers
These include the Auditor General, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner.[4]
The Chief Electoral Officer of Nova Officer as head of Elections Nova Scotia is also appointed by a majority vote of the house and is considered an officer of the house.
Party standings
| Affiliation | Members | |
| Liberal | 26 | |
| Progressive Conservative | 18 | |
| New Democratic | 5 | |
| Independent | 2 | |
| Vacant | 0 | |
| Total |
51 | |
| Government majority |
1 | |
Current members
| Riding | Member | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annapolis | Stephen McNeil | Liberal | Premier of Nova Scotia | |
| Antigonish | Randy Delorey | Liberal | ||
| Argyle-Barrington | Chris d'Entremont | Progressive Conservative | Resigned July 31, 2019 | |
| Colton LeBlanc | Progressive Conservative | Elected September 3, 2019 | ||
| Bedford | Kelly Regan | Liberal | ||
| Cape Breton Centre | Tammy Martin | NDP | Resigned February 6, 2020 | |
| Kendra Coombes | NDP | Elected March 10, 2020 | ||
| Cape Breton-Richmond | Alana Paon | Progressive Conservative | Progressive Conservative until June 24, 2019; removed from caucus after refusing to comply with a motion from the House of Assembly management commission to have the driveway to her constituency office paved to bring her office in line with the province’s accessibility rules. | |
| Independent | ||||
| Chester-St. Margaret's | Hugh MacKay | Liberal | Liberal until February 23, 2020; resigned from caucus after facing charges of impaired driving. | |
| Independent | ||||
| Clare-Digby | Gordon Wilson | Liberal | ||
| Clayton Park West | Rafah DiCostanzo | Liberal | ||
| Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley | Larry Harrison | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Colchester North | Karen Casey | Liberal | ||
| Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage | Barbara Adams | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Cole Harbour-Portland Valley | Tony Ince | Liberal | ||
| Cumberland North | Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Cumberland South | Jamie Baillie | Progressive Conservative | Resigned January 24, 2018 | |
| Tory Rushton | Progressive Conservative | Elected June 19, 2018 | ||
| Dartmouth East | Tim Halman | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Dartmouth North | Susan Leblanc | NDP | ||
| Dartmouth South | Claudia Chender | NDP | ||
| Eastern Shore | Kevin Murphy | Liberal | ||
| Fairview-Clayton Park | Patricia Arab | Liberal | ||
| Glace Bay | Geoff MacLellan | Liberal | ||
| Guysborough–Eastern Shore–Tracadie | Lloyd Hines | Liberal | ||
| Halifax Armdale | Lena Diab | Liberal | ||
| Halifax Atlantic | Brendan Maguire | Liberal | ||
| Halifax Chebucto | Gary Burrill | NDP | Leader of the New Democratic Party | |
| Halifax Citadel-Sable Island | Labi Kousoulis | Liberal | ||
| Halifax Needham | Lisa Roberts | NDP | ||
| Hammonds Plains-Lucasville | Ben Jessome | Liberal | ||
| Hants East | Margaret Miller | Liberal | ||
| Hants West | Chuck Porter | Liberal | ||
| Inverness | Allan MacMaster | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Kings North | John Lohr | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Kings South | Keith Irving | Liberal | ||
| Kings West | Leo Glavine | Liberal | ||
| Lunenburg | Suzanne Lohnes-Croft | Liberal | ||
| Lunenburg West | Mark Furey | Liberal | ||
| Northside-Westmount | Eddie Orrell | Progressive Conservative | Resigned July 31, 2019 | |
| Murray Ryan | Progressive Conservative | Elected September 3, 2019 | ||
| Pictou Centre | Pat Dunn | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Pictou East | Tim Houston | Progressive Conservative | Leader of the Opposition | |
| Pictou West | Karla MacFarlane | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Preston-Dartmouth | Keith Colwell | Liberal | ||
| Queens-Shelburne | Kim Masland | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Sackville-Beaver Bank | Brad Johns | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Sackville-Cobequid | Dave Wilson | NDP | Resigned November 16, 2018 | |
| Steve Craig | Progressive Conservative | Elected June 19, 2019 | ||
| Sydney-Whitney Pier | Derek Mombourquette | Liberal | ||
| Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg | Alfie MacLeod | Progressive Conservative | Resigned July 31, 2019 | |
| Brian Comer | Progressive Conservative | Elected September 3, 2019 | ||
| Timberlea-Prospect | Iain Rankin | Liberal | ||
| Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River | Lenore Zann | Independent | Resigned September 12, 2019 | |
| Dave Ritcey | Progressive Conservative | Elected March 10, 2020 | ||
| Victoria-The Lakes | Keith Bain | Progressive Conservative | ||
| Waverley-Fall River-Beaverbank | Bill Horne | Liberal | ||
| Yarmouth | Zach Churchill | Liberal |
Committees
Standing Committees
- Assembly Matters
- Community Services
- Natural Resources and Economic Development
- Health
- Human Resources
- Internal Affairs
- Law Amendments
- Private & Local Bills
- Public Accounts
- Veterans Affairs
Committees of the Whole House
- Bills
- Supply
- Supply Subcommittee
Select Committee
- Participation in the Democratic Process
Recent Former Select Committees
(final reports filed)
- Electoral Boundaries
- Fire Safety
- National Unity
- Petroleum Product Pricing
- Workers' Compensation Act
Special Committee
- to Review the Estimates of the Auditor General and the Chief Electoral Officer
Seating plan
See also
- List of Nova Scotia General Assemblies
- List of political parties in Nova Scotia
- Executive Council of Nova Scotia (Cabinet)
- Province House (Nova Scotia)
- Politics of Nova Scotia
References
- ^ How Canadians Govern Themselves
- ^ Constitution Act, 1867, ss. 69 & 88; Nova Scotia House of Assembly
- ^ Chapter 32 of Nova Scotia Acts of 2019
- ^ "Supporting Offices". Nova Scotia Legislature. Nova Scotia House of Assembly. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
External links
- Nova Scotia House of Assembly official YouTube channel
- Nova Scotia Legislature
- Nova Scotia House of Assembly seating plan
| The Crown |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant-Governor | ||
| Premier | ||
| Opposition leader | ||
| House of Assembly | ||
| Speaker of the Assembly | ||
| Political parties | ||
| Elections | ||
| Other provinces and territories | ||