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Nova Scotia House of Assembly

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Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse
64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
SovereignThe lieutenant governor (representing the King of Canada)
History
Founded1758; 266 years ago (1758)
Leadership
Vacant
Tim Houston, PC
since August 31, 2021
Leader of Opposition
House Leader
Kim Masland, PC
since September 24, 2021
Opposition House Leader
Derek Mombourquette, Liberal
since September 24, 2021
Structure
Seats55
Svgfiles 2021-09-13-01-52-42-048410-8415435312584107616.svg
Political groups
Government
  •   Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia (33)

Official Opposition

Other Parties

Elections
Last election
August 17, 2021
Next election
TBD
Meeting place
Legislative Chamber, Province House, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Website
nslegislature.ca/

The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (French: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; Scottish Gaelic: Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature.[1]

The assembly is the oldest in Canada, having first sat in 1758;[2] in 1848, it 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[3] in the name of the King of Canada.

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 55 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) representing 55 electoral districts.[4] 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

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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

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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

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These include the Auditor General, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Office of the Conflict of Interest Commissioner.[5]

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

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Affiliation Members
  Progressive Conservative 33
  Liberal 15
  New Democratic 6
  Independent 1
Vacant 0
Total
55
Government majority
+9

Current members

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Riding Member Party Notes
  Annapolis Carman Kerr Liberal
  Antigonish Michelle Thompson Progressive Conservative
  Argyle Colton LeBlanc Progressive Conservative
  Bedford Basin Kelly Regan Liberal
  Bedford South Braedon Clark Liberal
  Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier Kendra Coombes NDP
  Cape Breton East Brian Comer Progressive Conservative
  Chester-St. Margaret's Danielle Barkhouse Progressive Conservative
  Clare Ronnie LeBlanc Liberal
  Clayton Park West Rafah DiCostanzo Liberal
  Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley Larry Harrison Progressive Conservative
  Colchester North Tom Taggart Progressive Conservative
  Cole Harbour-Dartmouth Lorelei Nicoll Liberal
  Cole Harbour Tony Ince Liberal
  Cumberland North Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin Independent
  Cumberland South Tory Rushton Progressive Conservative
  Dartmouth East Tim Halman Progressive Conservative
  Dartmouth North Susan Leblanc NDP
  Dartmouth South Claudia Chender NDP Leader of the New Democratic Party
  Digby-Annapolis Jill Balser Progressive Conservative
  Eastern Passage Barbara Adams Progressive Conservative
  Eastern Shore Kent Smith Progressive Conservative
  Fairview-Clayton Park Patricia Arab Liberal
  Glace Bay-Dominion John White Progressive Conservative
  Guysborough-Tracadie Greg Morrow Progressive Conservative
  Halifax Armdale Ali Duale Liberal
  Halifax Atlantic Brendan Maguire Liberal Liberal until February 22, 2024; joined Progressive Conservative caucus.
  Progressive Conservative
  Halifax Chebucto Gary Burrill NDP
  Halifax Citadel-Sable Island Lisa Lachance NDP
  Halifax Needham Suzy Hansen NDP
  Hammonds Plains-Lucasville Ben Jessome Liberal
  Hants East John A. MacDonald Progressive Conservative
  Hants West Melissa Sheehy-Richard Progressive Conservative
  Inverness Allan MacMaster Progressive Conservative
  Kings North John Lohr Progressive Conservative
  Kings South Keith Irving Liberal
  Kings West Chris Palmer Progressive Conservative
  Lunenburg Susan Corkum-Greek Progressive Conservative
  Lunenburg West Becky Druhan Progressive Conservative
  Northside-Westmount Fred Tilley Liberal
  Pictou Centre Pat Dunn Progressive Conservative
  Pictou East Tim Houston Progressive Conservative Premier of Nova Scotia
  Pictou West Karla MacFarlane Progressive Conservative Resigned April 12, 2024
  Marco MacLeod Progressive Conservative Elected May 21, 2024
  Preston Angela Simmonds Liberal Resigned April 1, 2023
  Twila Grosse Progressive Conservative Elected August 8, 2023
  Queens Kim Masland Progressive Conservative
  Richmond Trevor Boudreau Progressive Conservative
  Sackville-Cobequid Steve Craig Progressive Conservative
  Sackville-Uniacke Brad Johns Progressive Conservative
  Shelburne Nolan Young Progressive Conservative
  Sydney-Membertou Derek Mombourquette Liberal
  Timberlea-Prospect Iain Rankin Liberal
  Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River Dave Ritcey Progressive Conservative
  Victoria-The Lakes Keith Bain Progressive Conservative
  Waverley-Fall River-Beaverbank Brian Wong Progressive Conservative
  Yarmouth Zach Churchill Liberal Leader of the Opposition

Committees

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Standing Committees

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  • 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

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  • Bills
  • Supply
    • Supply Subcommittee

Select Committee

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Recent Former Select Committees

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(final reports filed)

  • Electoral Boundaries
  • Fire Safety
  • National Unity
  • Petroleum Product Pricing
  • Workers' Compensation Act

Special Committee

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  • to Review the Estimates of the Auditor General and the Chief Electoral Officer

Seating Plan

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Kerr R. LeBlanc Tilley Smith-McCrossin
Clark Jessome Nicoll Duale DiConstanzo Lachance Burrill Hansen
Arab Irving Ince Mombourquette CHURCHILL Regan Rankin CHENDER S. Leblanc Coombes
MacFarlane
Johns Rushton Adams Masland HOUSTON MacMaster Grosse Thompson Lohr C. LeBlanc Halman Smith
Young White Druhan Morrow Boudreau Balser Maguire Comer Corkum-Greek Wong Ritcey
MacDonald Dunn Bain Palmer Sheehy-Richard Barkhouse Taggart Harrison Craig

Current as of February 2024[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Government of Nova Scotia (2016-09-06). "About the Legislature". Nova Scotia Legislature. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
  2. ^ How Canadians Govern Themselves
  3. ^ Constitution Act, 1867, ss. 69 & 88; Nova Scotia House of Assembly
  4. ^ Chapter 32 of Nova Scotia Acts of 2019
  5. ^ "Supporting Offices". Nova Scotia Legislature. Nova Scotia House of Assembly. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Seating Plan". Nova Scotia Legislature. Nova Scotia House of Assembly. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
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