N.S. Liberals, NDP criticize PC Leader Tim Houston for snubbing fixed election date

PC Leader Tim Houston's political rivals are hoping to convince voters he doesn't deserve a second term because he can't be trusted to live up to his promises and only cares about himself and his friends.

On the first full day of the Nova Scotia election campaign, Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and NDP Leader Claudia Chender both took aim at Houston's integrity and trustworthiness.

They asserted his decision to call a snap election rather than respect the fixed election date he enshrined in law three years agois further proof he does not live up to his promises.

"Tim Houston is a guywho, I believe, will prioritize his own ambition over the needs of Nova Scotians," Liberal Leader Zach Churchill saidMonday. "He's called an election because he knows he hasn't delivered on what he promised.

"It seems that the premier thinks he's above the law and above the rules and no premier should ever feel that way."

Chender used a Hogan Court building in West Bedfordthat was conceived as a hotel, bought by the province andtransferred to a long-term care provideras a backdrop for her condemnation of the Houston government. She called the series of transactions, worth millions of dollars, a boondoggle.

"This unfinished building might be the best example of Tim Houston's failure to fix health careand was recently the subject of a scathing report from the auditor general," said Chender, who characterized the Houston government's first term as rife with "backroom deals" and handouts to "wealthy friends and donors."

"Maybe someday this unfinished building will be put to use, but we won't get back the tens of millions of dollars that Tim Houston wasted in the meantime by choosing politics over health care and putting his friends over the needs of Nova Scotians."

Houstononce againdefended his decision to turn his back on the fixed election date, reiterating his claim that he needs a strongnew mandate in order to get the federal government to take the province more seriously in federal-provincial dealings.

"My word is important to me, like that's really important to me, but the thing that's more important to me is Nova Scotia and Nova Scotians," said Houston. "I will always put Nova Scotians above myself and above my political party.

"There's not a lot of leaders in this province that can say that."

Responding to the criticism levelled at the Hogan Court development, Houston called it a big, new initiative that was "challenging" but said the investment was "well placed."

To try to bring "integrity and accountability to the premier's office,"the Liberals are promising to hire an ethics commissioner, give order-making power to the province's information and privacy commissioner,boost the budget of the auditor general's office, and impose a $250,000 fine on any government that defies future election dates.

Churchill was a member of Stephen McNeil's Liberal government that failed to deliver on the promise to give order-making power to the information and privacy commissioner during its 7years in office.

Churchill said the Liberalgovernment "should have" lived up to that promise and that he will.

Green Party Leader Anthony Edmonds also expressed concernthe early election could affect turnout.

"I fear that the snap election will see many voters stay home, which is disheartening in this era of record-low turnouts at the polls," Edmonds wrote in a news release.

Former PC caucus member Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin also took a swipe at her former leader, saying in a release that the election call was "a betrayal of Nova Scotians'trust."

The Independent candidate for Cumberland North was first elected in 2017 as a PC candidate, but Houston kicked her out of caucus in 2021 for taking part in a blockade.

"This snap election is a continuation of a troubling pattern of behaviour, where commitments to Nova Scotians are broken in favour of personal and political gain," said Smith-McCrossin, who accused Houston of "bullying and intimidation tactics."

WATCH | Day 2 of the Nova Scotia election race:

Liberals, NDP take aim at Tim Houston's credibility as a leader

8 days ago

Duration 2:23

On the second day of the provincial election, Tory Leader Tim Houston talked about affordability. Michael Gorman has the story.