2013 Nova Scotia general election

2013 Nova Scotia general election

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51 seats in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly 26 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Turnout	59.08%
Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Stephen McNeil Jamie Baillie Darrell Dexter Party Liberal Progressive Conservative New Democratic Leader since April 28, 2007 October 26, 2010 June 2, 2002 Leader's seat Annapolis Cumberland South Cole Harbour ran in Cole Harbour-Portland Valley (lost) Last election 11 seats, 27.20% 10 seats, 24.54% 31 seats, 45.24% Seats before 12 7 31 Seats won 33 11 7 Seat change 21 4 24 Popular vote 190,112 109,452 111,622 Percentage 45.71% 26.31% 26.84% Swing 18.51pp 1.77pp 18.40pp
Popular vote by riding. As this is an FPTP election, seat totals are not determined by popular vote, but instead via results by each riding. Riding names are listed at the bottom of the map.
Premier before election Darrell Dexter New Democratic Premier after election Stephen McNeil Liberal

The 2013 Nova Scotia general election was held on October 8, 2013, to elect members to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.

The result of the election was a Liberal victory under the leadership of Stephen McNeil, with the party winning its first election since 1998. The Progressive Conservatives, under the leadership of Jamie Baillie, improved on their 2009 results and formed the Official Opposition, despite winning fewer votes than the New Democratic Party (NDP). The NDP, which had won power for the first time in 2009 under the leadership of Darrell Dexter was reduced to third place and became only the second one-term government in the province's history, and the first since 1882. Dexter himself was defeated in Cole Harbour-Portland Valley by Liberal candidate Tony Ince.

Timeline

• June 24, 2009 – The New Democratic Party under Darrell Dexter win 31 out of 52 seats. The Progressive Conservatives are reduced to 10 seats and Rodney MacDonald announces that he will step down as leader. Karen Casey is named as interim leader. ^[1]
• September 4, 2009 – Antigonish MLA Angus MacIsaac resigns his seat, citing family reasons.
• September 10, 2009 – Former Premier Rodney MacDonald resigns his Inverness seat in the legislature.
• October 20, 2009 – By-elections are held in Inverness and Antigonish. PC candidate Allan MacMaster and NDP candidate Maurice Smith are elected, respectively.
• February 9, 2010 – Richard Hurlburt resigns from the legislature following revelations that he had spent his constituency allowance on a generator and a 40" television, which together cost over $11,000. ^[2]
• March 11, 2010 – Dave Wilson resigns from the legislature and is later charged and pleaded guilty.
• March 25, 2010 – Trevor Zinck is suspended from the NDP caucus over problems with his constituency expenses. ^[3]
• June 22, 2010 – Two byelections are held to replace Hurlburt and Wilson in Yarmouth and Glace Bay, respectively. Zach Churchill is elected in Yarmouth and Geoff MacLellan is elected in Glace Bay.
• August 16, 2010 – Karen Casey announces her resignation as interim leader of the Progressive Conservatives. ^[4]
• August 18, 2010 – Jamie Baillie is chosen as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party.
• October 26, 2010 – Jamie Baillie wins a byelection and represents the constituency of Cumberland South.
• January 10, 2011 – PC MLA Karen Casey crosses the floor to join the Liberal caucus.
• February 14, 2011 – Trevor Zinck is announced as one of four people facing criminal charges in connection with the RCMP investigation into 2010s MLA expense scandal. Zinck is charged with fraud exceeding $5,000, breach of trust by a public officer, and 2 counts of theft over $5,000. ^[5]
• March 25, 2011 – Cape Breton North PC MLA Cecil Clarke resigns his seat to run in the 2011 federal election.
• June 21, 2011 – PC candidate Eddie Orrell wins the by-election in Cape Breton North.
• April 19, 2012 – Former MLA Dave Wilson is sentenced to 9 months in jail and to a period of 18 months probation for his role in the expenses scandal. ^[6]
• June 5, 2012 – The Atlantica Party is deregistered by Elections Nova Scotia. ^[7]
• July 27, 2012 – Former MLA Richard Hurlburt is sentenced to 12 months of house arrest, followed by 12 months of probation for his role in the expenses scandal. ^[8]
• May 29, 2013 – Manning MacDonald resigns his seat in the legislature as MLA for Cape Breton South. ^[9]
• June 19, 2013 – Trevor Zinck resigns his seat in the legislature after he pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and breach of trust. ^[10]
• September 7, 2013 – Premier Darrell Dexter calls a general election for October 8, 2013.

Redistribution of ridings

In September 2012, the Electoral Boundaries Commission released its report which recommended changing the number of electoral districts from 52 to 51, including the abolition of the four protected districts of Argyle, Clare, Preston and Richmond. ^[11] That move sparked significant controversy and debate. ^[12] The Nova Scotia Legislature subsequently passed An Act to Amend Chapter 1 (1992 Supplement) of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the House of Assembly Act , SNS 2012, c. 61 , taking effect upon the next election.

Several amendments were passed before the election:

• to make minor boundary adjustments:

• An Act to Make Various Administrative Amendments to the Statutes of Nova Scotia , SNS 2013, c. 10, s. 4

• to rename certain electoral districts:

• An Act to Amend Chapter 61 of the Acts of 2012, An Act to Amend Chapter 1 (1992 Supplement) of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the House of Assembly Act , SNS 2013, c. 19

• An Act to Amend Chapter 61 of the Acts of 2012, An Act to Amend Chapter 1 (1992 Supplement) of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the House of Assembly Act , SNS 2013, c. 20

• An Act to Amend Chapter 61 of the Acts of 2012, An Act to Amend Chapter 1 (1992 Supplement) of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the House of Assembly Act , SNS 2013, c. 21

• An Act to Amend Chapter 61 of the Acts of 2012, An Act to Amend Chapter 1 (1992 Supplement) of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the House of Assembly Act , SNS 2013, c. 22

• An Act to Amend Chapter 61 of the Acts of 2012, An Act to Amend Chapter 1 (1992 Supplement) of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the House of Assembly Act , SNS 2013, c. 23

The net effect of the above changes is summarized thus:

Abolished ridings	New ridings
Renaming of districts
Argyle	Argyle-Barrington
Bedford-Birch Cove	Bedford
Cape Breton North	Northside-Westmount
Cape Breton West	Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg
Guysborough-Sheet Harbour	Guysborough–Eastern Shore–Tracadie
Halifax Citadel	Halifax Citadel-Sable Island
Halifax Clayton Park	Clayton Park West
Halifax Fairview	Halifax Armdale
Preston	Preston-Dartmouth
Richmond	Cape Breton-Richmond
Truro-Bible Hill	Truro–Bible Hill–Millbrook–Salmon River
New districts
	Fairview-Clayton Park [a 1]
Reorganization of districts
Annapolis Clare Digby-Annapolis	Annapolis Clare-Digby
Cole Harbour Dartmouth South-Portland Valley	Cole Harbour-Portland Valley Dartmouth South
Division of districts
Hammonds Plains-Upper Sackville	Hammonds Plains-Lucasville Sackville-Beaver Bank
Merger of districts
Cape Breton Nova Cape Breton South	Sydney-Whitney Pier
Queens Shelburne	Queens-Shelburne

1. From parts of Halifax Fairview and Halifax Clayton Park.

Campaign

The election campaign began the week after Labour Day, when the legislature would normally have been expected to return to work, had there been no election campaign. As criticism or defence of government policy would dominate the agenda, and by convention electoral mandates are understood to last about four years, despite a lack of fixed election dates, the timing was not controversial.

The Muskrat Falls or Lower Churchill Project, its associated Maritime Link, and electricity policy generally, immediately emerged as the key issue in the early campaign. ^[ permanent dead link ] ^[ permanent dead link ] . Liberals emphasized Nova Scotia Power's (NSPI) dominance of power generation, and its ability to exclude alternatives through its near-monopoly ownership of the distribution network, covering 129/130 Nova Scotians. They also promised to remove a conservation charge, named for demand response programs that never materialized (though many passive conservation programs run by Efficiency Nova Scotia did prove effective) – instead proposing that NSPI pay for it from its return. Liberals and Conservatives criticized NSPI's unaccountable 9.2% guaranteed rate of return even for unwise investments. Conservatives acknowledged that it was under pressure to meet a tough renewable standard (which they would relax) but also promised to freeze rates. The NDP government continued to defend Muskrat Falls as the only viable alternative to replace coal-fired power, even though this project was before the Nova Scotia Utilities Review Board as of the election call, remained unchanged and this was reflected in their campaign materials – they criticized the Liberal plan as likely to lead to higher power rates. The basis for these criticisms was unclear. However, a similar attempt to open generation competition in New Brunswick failed, in part because New Brunswick Power retained monopoly control of the distribution and transmission network, which intimidates competitors and makes it easy in practice to exclude them.

Other issues in the campaign:

• A proposed passenger ferry from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Portland, Maine, re-instituting summer service that ran for decades until the 1990s, replacing a car-focused service that ran to Bar Harbor, Maine until the NDP government cancelled it. This was of particular interest to South Shore candidates, especially Yarmouth. Associated issues include the collapse of all public transit on the South Shore (with the withdrawal of TryTown from operating public buses from Yarmouth to Halifax) and a general lack of transport strategy, that could leave some of the 130,000 passengers per year stranded. It remained unclear as of election time whether an announced deal to resume service May 1, 2014, had held, and what other transport policy applied Darrell Dexter had referred to stories from Yarmouth about the impact of the loss of ferries a "mythology" which effectively made this a campaign issue before the campaign had begun.

Results

↓

33	11	7
Liberal	Progressive Conservative	New Democratic

Summary of the 2013 Nova Scotia House of Assembly election ^[13]

Party		Leader	Candidates	Votes						Seats
				#	±	%	Change (pp)			2009	2013	±
	Liberal	Stephen McNeil	51	190,112	77,952	45.71	18.51		18.51	11	33 / 51	22
	New Democratic	Darrell Dexter	51	111,622	(74,934)	26.84	-18.41			31	7 / 51	24
	Progressive Conservative	Jamie Baillie	51	109,452	8,249	26.31	1.77		1.77	10	11 / 51	1
	Green	John Percy	16	3,528	(6,108)	0.85	-1.49
	Independent		7	1,238	(1,558)	0.30	-0.38
Total			176	415,952		100.00%
Rejected ballots				3,139	1,619
Turnout				419,091	5,220	59.08%	1.17
Registered voters				709,360	5,315

Results by region

Party name			HRM	C.B.	Valley	S. Shore	Fundy	Central	Total
Parties winning seats in the legislature
	New Democratic Party	Seats:	2	2	-	2	1	-	7
		Popular vote:	31.29%	25.16%	17.40%	24.68%	26.26%	31.51%	26.84%
	Liberal	Seats:	18	3	4	3	3	2	33
		Popular vote:	48.72%	46.89%	52.02%	43.55%	40.68%	28.71%	45.71%
	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	-	3	2	1	2	3	11
		Popular vote:	18.62%	27.69%	27.58%	30.76%	32.01%	39.78%	26.31%
Parties not winning seats in the legislature
	Green	Popular vote:	0.98%	0.00%	2.11%	1.01%	1.05%	0.00%	0.85%
	Independents	Popular vote:	0.39%	0.26%	0.89%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.3%
Total seats:			20	8	6	6	6	5	51

Synopsis of results

Results by riding - 2013 Nova Scotia general election [13]
Riding	Winning party										Turnout [a 1]	Votes
	2009 (Redist.) [a 2]		1st place		Votes	Share	Margin #	Margin %	2nd place			Lib	NDP	PC	Grn	Ind	Total
Annapolis		Lib		Lib	7,710	75.88%	6,320	62.20%		PC	65.47%	7,710	834	1,390	227	–	10,161
Antigonish		NDP		Lib	3,882	42.78%	1,014	11.17%		PC	67.05%	3,882	2,324	2,868	–	–	9,074
Argyle-Barrington		PC		PC	3,935	54.69%	1,030	14.32%		Lib	60.00%	2,905	355	3,935	–	–	7,195
Bedford		Lib		Lib	6,081	60.66%	4,055	40.45%		PC	56.92%	6,081	1,701	2,026	217	–	10,025
Cape Breton Centre		NDP		NDP	3,440	45.29%	158	2.08%		Lib	58.99%	3,282	3,440	873	–	–	7,595
Cape Breton-Richmond		Lib		Lib	4,369	56.51%	2,673	34.57%		PC	71.62%	4,369	1,667	1,696	–	–	7,732
Chester-St. Margaret's		NDP		NDP	3,341	35.25%	148	1.56%		PC	65.31%	2,943	3,341	3,193	–	–	9,477
Clare-Digby		Lib		Lib	5,122	54.68%	2,211	23.60%		PC	68.01%	5,122	842	2,911	–	492	9,367
Clayton Park West		Lib		Lib	5,929	67.81%	4,414	50.49%		NDP	53.06%	5,929	1,515	1,299	–	–	8,743
Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley		NDP		PC	3,304	42.27%	1,011	12.93%		NDP	58.45%	2,220	2,293	3,304	–	–	7,817
Colchester North		PC		Lib	5,003	61.00%	2,841	34.64%		PC	59.72%	5,003	1,037	2,162	–	–	8,202
Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage		NDP		Lib	3,057	40.62%	143	1.90%		NDP	54.61%	3,057	2,914	1,555	–	–	7,526
Cole Harbour-Portland Valley		NDP		Lib	4,002	41.04%	21	0.22%		NDP	57.55%	4,002	3,981	1,769	–	–	9,752
Cumberland North		NDP		Lib	2,944	39.74%	732	9.88%		PC	59.33%	2,944	1,974	2,212	279	–	7,409
Cumberland South		PC		PC	3,655	50.96%	771	10.75%		Lib	67.13%	2,884	486 [a 3]	3,655	147	–	7,172
Dartmouth East		Lib		Lib	5,469	63.85%	3,540	41.33%		NDP	59.93%	5,469	1,929	1,167	–	–	8,565
Dartmouth North		NDP		Lib	2,953	44.06%	933	13.92%		NDP	45.55%	2,953	2,020	1,729	–	–	6,702
Dartmouth South		NDP		Lib	4,049	46.24%	1,131	12.92%		NDP	55.82%	4,049	2,918	1,612	–	178	8,757
Eastern Shore		NDP		Lib	3,770	52.99%	1,848	25.97%		NDP	60.87%	3,770	1,922	1,423	–	–	7,115
Fairview-Clayton Park		NDP		Lib	3,364	46.43%	1,090	15.04%		NDP	45.98%	3,364	2,274	1,294	177	136	7,245
Glace Bay		Lib		Lib	5,547	80.36%	4,546	65.86%		NDP	56.01%	5,547	1,001	355	–	–	6,903
Guysborough–Eastern Shore–Tracadie		NDP		Lib	2,876	40.00%	509	7.08%		NDP	71.68%	2,876	2,367	1,947	–	–	7,190
Halifax Armdale		NDP		Lib	3,208	49.57%	1,005	15.53%		NDP	56.95%	3,208	2,203	1,061	–	–	6,472
Halifax Atlantic		NDP		Lib	3,244	42.46%	665	8.70%		NDP	54.79%	3,244	2,579	1,817	–	–	7,640
Halifax Chebucto		NDP		Lib	4,352	49.87%	976	11.18%		NDP	56.15%	4,352	3,376	874	–	125	8,727
Halifax Citadel-Sable Island		NDP		Lib	2,966	47.66%	1,032	16.58%		NDP	48.64%	2,966	1,934	1,094	198	31	6,223
Halifax Needham		NDP		NDP	3,392	43.99%	277	3.59%		Lib	51.47%	3,115	3,392	834	369	–	7,710
Hammonds Plains-Lucasville		NDP		Lib	3,402	52.23%	1,818	27.91%		NDP	57.86%	3,402	1,584	1,423	–	104	6,513
Hants East		NDP		Lib	4,512	47.39%	1,100	11.55%		NDP	53.61%	4,512	3,412	1,597	–	–	9,521
Hants West		PC		PC	4,468	50.75%	1,189	13.51%		Lib	60.12%	3,279	888	4,468	169	–	8,804
Inverness		Lib		PC	3,816	49.29%	568	7.34%		Lib	72.36%	3,248	678	3,816	–	–	7,742
Kings North		NDP		PC	2,903	32.49%	21	0.24%		NDP	59.32%	2,787	2,882	2,903	362	–	8,934
Kings South		NDP		Lib	3,878	39.16%	367	3.71%		NDP	59.18%	3,878	3,511	2,263	252	–	9,904
Kings West		Lib		Lib	5,885	74.31%	4,610	58.21%		PC	55.06%	5,885	603	1,275	157	–	7,920
Lunenburg		NDP		Lib	3,182	37.81%	414	4.92%		NDP	63.24%	3,182	2,768	2,465	–	–	8,415
Lunenburg West		NDP		Lib	3,931	43.11%	1,046	11.47%		NDP	58.79%	3,931	2,885	2,143	160	–	9,119
Northside-Westmount		PC		PC	4,179	44.03%	463	4.88%		Lib	58.47%	3,716	1,597	4,179	–	–	9,492
Pictou Centre		NDP		PC	4,147	52.26%	1,774	22.36%		NDP	62.03%	1,415	2,373	4,147	–	–	7,935
Pictou East		NDP		PC	3,714	48.05%	926	11.98%		NDP	67.26%	1,228	2,788	3,714	–	–	7,730
Pictou West		NDP		PC	3,026	40.10%	438	5.80%		NDP	70.77%	1,933	2,588	3,026	–	–	7,547
Preston-Dartmouth		Lib		Lib	3,326	58.39%	1,510	26.51%		NDP	54.10%	3,326	1,816	554	–	–	5,696
Queens-Shelburne		NDP		NDP	3,066	37.10%	381	4.61%		PC	60.78%	2,302	3,066	2,685	211	–	8,264
Sackville-Beaver Bank		NDP		Lib	2,570	40.21%	201	3.15%		NDP	51.83%	2,570	2,369	1,452	–	–	6,391
Sackville-Cobequid		NDP		NDP	2,983	38.45%	85	1.10%		Lib	53.06%	2,898	2,983	1,651	227	–	7,759
Sydney-Whitney Pier		NDP		NDP	5,084	49.37%	550	5.34%		Lib	58.46%	4,534	5,084	680	–	–	10,298
Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg		PC		PC	4,178	43.75%	380	3.98%		Lib	64.08%	3,798	1,573	4,178	–	–	9,549
Timberlea-Prospect		NDP		Lib	4,492	52.59%	2,324	27.21%		NDP	58.02%	4,492	2,168	1,588	293	–	8,541
Truro–Bible Hill–Millbrook–Salmon River		NDP		NDP	3,165	38.05%	483	5.81%		Lib	54.35%	2,682	3,165	2,470	–	–	8,317
Victoria-The Lakes		PC		Lib	3,150	39.00%	303	3.75%		PC	69.73%	3,150	1,907	2,847	–	172	8,076
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank		NDP		Lib	3,588	43.09%	948	11.39%		PC	60.15%	3,588	2,098	2,640	–	–	8,326
Yarmouth		Lib		Lib	7,130	82.30%	5,897	68.07%		PC	65.41%	7,130	217	1,233	83	–	8,663

1. including spoilt ballots
2. Effect of 2012 restribution on previous election results, per "Transposition of Votes from the 2009 Provincial General Election and Subsequent By-Elections to 2012 Electoral District Boundaries" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia . Retrieved July 15, 2024.
3. Larry Duchesne was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island and leader of the Prince Edward Island New Democratic Party.

  = Newly created districts

  = Open seat

  = Turnout is above provincial average

  = Winning candidate was in previous Legislature

  = Incumbent had switched allegiance

  = Previously incumbent in another riding

  = Not incumbent; was previously elected to the Legislature

  = Incumbency arose from byelection gain

  = Other incumbents renominated

  = Previously an MP in the House of Commons of Canada

  = Multiple candidates

Retiring incumbents

The following incumbent MLAs did not run for re-election:

Liberal

• Wayne Gaudet, Clare ^[14]
• Harold "Junior" Theriault, Digby-Annapolis ^[15]

New Democratic

• Vicki Conrad, Queens ^[16]
• Howard Epstein, Halifax Chebucto ^[17]
• Bill Estabrooks, Timberlea-Prospect ^[18]
• Marilyn More, Dartmouth South-Portland Valley ^[19]
• Michele Raymond, Halifax Atlantic ^[20]
• Graham Steele, Halifax Fairview ^[18]

Nominated candidates

Legend
bold denotes party leader
† denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election or was defeated in nomination contest

Annapolis Valley

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	NDP		Liberal		PC		Green		Independent
Annapolis		Henry Spurr 834 8.17%		Stephen McNeil 7,710 75.52%		Ginny Hurlock [21] 1,390 13.62%		Ron Neufeld 227 2.22%				Stephen McNeil
Clare-Digby		Dean Kenley 842 8.90%		Gordon Wilson 5,122 54.13%		Paul Emile LeBlanc [22] 2,911 30.77%				Ian Thurber 492 5.20%		Wayne Gaudet†
											merged district
												Harold Theriault†
Hants West		Brian Stephens 888 10.03%		Claude O'Hara 3,279 37.03%		Chuck Porter 4,468 50.46%		Torin Buzek 169 1.91%				Chuck Porter
Kings North		Jim Morton 2,882 32.09%		Stephen Pearl 2,787 31.03%		John Lohr [23] 2,903 32.32%		Mary Lou Harley 362 4.03%				Jim Morton
Kings South		Ramona Jennex 3,511 35.29%		Keith Irving 3,878 38.98%		Shane Buchan [22] 2,263 22.75%		Sheila Richardson 252 2.53%				Ramona Jennex
Kings West		Bob Landry 603 7.58%		Leo Glavine 5,885 74.01%		Jody Frowley 1,275 16.03%		Barbara Lake 157 1.97%				Leo Glavine

South Shore

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	NDP		Liberal		PC		Green		Independent
Argyle-Barrington		Kenn Baynton 355 4.89%		Kent Blades 2,905 40.05%		Chris d'Entremont 3,935 54.25%						Chris d'Entremont
Chester-St. Margaret's		Denise Peterson-Rafuse 3,341 35.01%		Tim Harris 2,943 30.84%		Janet Irwin [22] 3,193 33.46%						Denise Peterson-Rafuse
Lunenburg		Pam Birdsall 2,768 32.60%		Suzanne Lohnes-Croft 3,182 37.48%		Brian Pickings 2,465 29.03%						Pam Birdsall
Lunenburg West		Gary Ramey 2,885 31.48%		Mark Furey 3,931 42.89%		David Mitchell [22] 2,143 23.38%		Robert Pierce 160 1.75%				Gary Ramey
Queens-Shelburne		Sterling Belliveau 3,066 36.86%		Benson Frail 2,302 27.67%		Bruce Inglis [24] 2,685 32.28%		Madeline Taylor 211 2.54%				Sterling Belliveau
											merged district
												Vicki Conrad†
Yarmouth		Charles Webster 217 2.50%		Zach Churchill 7,130 82.03%		John Cunningham 1,233 14.19%		Vanessa Goodwin-Clairmont 83 0.95%				Zach Churchill

Fundy-Northeast

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	NDP		Liberal		PC		Green		Independent
Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley		Gary Burrill 2,293 29.13%		Tom Martin 2,220 28.20%		Larry Harrison [25] 3,304 41.97%						Gary Burrill
Colchester North		Jim Wyatt 1,037 12.57%		Karen Casey 5,003 60.65%		John MacDonald [22] 2,162 26.21%						Karen Casey
Cumberland North		Brian Skabar 1,974 26.44%		Terry Farrell 2,944 39.43%		Judith Giroux [22] 2,212 29.62%		Jason Blanch 279 3.74%				Brian Skabar
Cumberland South		Larry Duchesne 486 6.73%		Kenny Jackson 2,884 39.93%		Jamie Baillie [22] 3,655 50.61%		Bruce McCulloch 147 2.04%				Jamie Baillie
Hants East		John MacDonell 3,412 35.58%		Margaret Miller 4,512 47.05%		Kim Williams [26] 1,597 16.65%						John MacDonell
Truro–Bible Hill–Millbrook–Salmon River		Lenore Zann 3,165 37.75%		Barry Mellish 2,682 31.99%		Charles Cox [22] 2,470 29.46%						Lenore Zann

Central Halifax

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	NDP		Liberal		PC		Green		Independent
Clayton Park West		Blake Wright 1,515 17.22%		Diana Whalen 5,929 67.40%		Jaime D. Allen 1,299 14.77%						Diana Whalen
Fairview-Clayton Park		Abad Khan 2,274 31.19%		Patricia Arab 3,364 46.15%		Travis Price 1,294 17.75%		Raland Kinley 177 2.43%		Katie Campbell 136 1.87%		New Riding
Halifax Armdale		Drew Moore 2,203 33.67%		Lena Diab 3,208 49.04%		Irvine Carvery 1,061 16.22%						Graham Steele†
Halifax Chebucto		Gregor Ash 3,376 38.25%		Joachim Stroink [27] 4,352 49.30%		Christine Dewell [22] 874 9.90%				Michael Marshall 125 1.42%		Howard Epstein†
Halifax Citadel-Sable Island		Leonard Preyra 1,934 30.82%		Labi Kousoulis 2,966 47.27%		Andrew Black 1,094 17.43%		Brynn Horley 198 3.16%		Frederic Boileau-Cadieux 31 0.49%		Leonard Preyra
Halifax Needham		Maureen MacDonald 3,392 43.59%		Chris Poole 3,115 40.03%		Mary Hamblin [28] 834 10.72%		Kris MacLellan 369 4.74%				Maureen MacDonald

Suburban Halifax

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	NDP		Liberal		PC		Green		Independent
Bedford		Mike Poworoznyk 1,701 16.86%		Kelly Regan 6,081 60.29%		Joan Christie [29] 2,026 20.09%		Ian Charles 217 2.15%				Kelly Regan
Halifax Atlantic		Tanis Crosby 2,579 33.37%		Brendan Maguire 3,244 41.98%		Ryan Brennan 1,817 23.51%						Michèle Raymond†
Hammonds Plains-Lucasville		Peter Lund 1,584 24.23%		Ben Jessome 3,402 52.04%		Gina Byrne [30] 1,423 21.77%				Jonathan Dean 104 1.59%		New Riding
Sackville-Beaver Bank		Mat Whynott 2,369 36.75%		Stephen Gough 2,570 39.87%		Sarah Reeves [31] 1,452 22.53%						Mat Whynott
Sackville-Cobequid		Dave Wilson 2,983 38.16%		Graham Cameron 2,898 37.07%		Peter Mac Isaac [32] 1,651 21.12%		John Percy 227 2.90%				Dave Wilson
Timberlea-Prospect		Linda Moxsom-Skinner 2,168 25.23%		Iain Rankin 4,492 52.27%		Bruce Pretty 1,588 18.48%		Thomas Trappenberg 293 3.41%				Bill Estabrooks†
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank		Percy Paris 2,098 25.03%		Bill Horne [33] 3,588 42.81%		Brian Wong [34] 2,640 31.50%						Percy Paris

Dartmouth/Cole Harbour/Eastern Shore

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	NDP		Liberal		PC		Green		Independent
Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage		Becky Kent 2,914 38.41%		Joyce Treen [35] 3,057 40.30%		Lloyd Jackson 1,555 20.50%						Becky Kent
Cole Harbour-Portland Valley		Darrell Dexter 3,981 40.51%		Tony Ince 4,002 40.72%		Greg Frampton 1,769 18.00%						Darrell Dexter
Dartmouth East		Deborah Stover 1,929 22.33%		Andrew Younger 5,469 63.32%		Mike MacDonell 1,167 13.51%						Andrew Younger
Dartmouth North		Steve Estey 2,020 29.86%		Joanne Bernard 2,953 43.66%		Sean Brownlow 1,729 25.56%						Vacant
Dartmouth South		Mary Vingoe 2,918 32.99%		Allan Rowe 4,049 45.78%		Gord Gamble [36] 1,612 18.23%				Jim Murray 178 2.01%		Marilyn More†
Eastern Shore		Sid Prest 1,922 26.77%		Kevin Murphy [37] 3,770 52.50%		Stephen Brine 1,423 19.82%						Sid Prest
Preston-Dartmouth		Andre Cain 1,816 31.44%		Keith Colwell 3,326 57.58%		Andrew Mecke 554 9.59%						Keith Colwell

Central Nova

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	NDP		Liberal		PC		Green		Independent
Antigonish		Maurice Smith 2,324 25.39%		Randy Delorey [38] 3,882 42.40%		Darren Thompson 2,868 31.33%						Maurice Smith
Guysborough–Eastern Shore–Tracadie		Jim Boudreau 2,367 32.56%		Lloyd Hines [39] 2,876 39.56%		Neil DeCoff 1,947 26.78%						Jim Boudreau
Pictou Centre		Ross Landry 2,373 29.67%		Bill Muirhead 1,415 17.69%		Pat Dunn [40] 4,147 51.84%						Ross Landry
Pictou East		Clarrie MacKinnon 2,788 35.82%		Francois Rochon 1,228 15.78%		Tim Houston [41] 3,714 47.71%						Clarrie MacKinnon
Pictou West		Charlie Parker 2,588 34.01%		Glennie Langille 1,933 25.40%		Karla MacFarlane [42] 3,026 39.77%						Charlie Parker

Cape Breton

Electoral district	Candidates										Incumbent
	NDP		Liberal		PC		Green		Independent
Cape Breton Centre		Frank Corbett 3,440 45.03%		David Wilton [43] 3,282 42.96%		Edna Lee [44] 873 11.43%						Frank Corbett
Cape Breton-Richmond		Bert Lewis 1,667 21.39%		Michel Samson 4,369 56.06%		Joe Janega [45] 1,696 21.76%						Michel Samson
Glace Bay		Mary Beth MacDonald 1,001 14.37%		Geoff MacLellan 5,547 79.61%		Tom Bethell 355 5.09%						Geoff MacLellan
Inverness		Michelle Smith 678 8.68%		Jackie Rankin [46] 3,248 41.58%		Allan MacMaster 3,816 48.85%						Allan MacMaster
Northside-Westmount		Cecil Snow 1,597 16.69%		John Higgins [47] 3,716 38.83%		Eddie Orrell 4,179 43.67%						Eddie Orrell
Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg		Delton McDonald 1,573 16.35%		Josephine Kennedy [48] 3,798 39.47%		Alfie MacLeod 4,178 43.42%						Alfie MacLeod
Sydney-Whitney Pier		Gordie Gosse 5,084 49.07%		Derek Mombourquette [49] 4,534 43.76%		Leslie MacPhee 680 6.56%						Gordie Gosse
											merged district
												Vacant
Victoria-The Lakes		John Frank Toney 1,907 23.44%		Pam Eyking [50] 3,150 38.71%		Keith Bain 2,847 34.99%				Stemer MacLeod 172 2.11%		Keith Bain

Opinion polls

• 
  Voting intentions during the 2013 election campaign
• 
  Voting intentions since the 2009 election

Polling Firm	Last Day of Polling	Link	NDP	Liberal	PC	Green
Election 2013	October 8, 2013	HTML	26.84	45.71	26.31	0.85
Forum Research	October 7, 2013	PDF	26	48	23	3
Forum Research	October 6, 2013	PDF	28	47	23	2
Abacus Data	October 6, 2013	PDF	26	46	27	1
Forum Research	October 5, 2013	PDF	28	47	23	2
Abacus Data	October 5, 2013	PDF	27	48	24	1
Forum Research	October 4, 2013	PDF	28	46	24	2
Abacus Data	October 3, 2013	PDF	28	46	25	1
Corporate Research Associates	October 3, 2013	HTML	31	47	20	2
Corporate Research Associates	October 3, 2013	HTML	29	52	17	2
Abacus Data	October 2, 2013	PDF	28	50	22	1
Corporate Research Associates	October 2, 2013	HTML	27	54	17	2
Abacus Data	October 1, 2013	PDF	26	51	23	1
Corporate Research Associates	October 1, 2013	HTML	28	55	16	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 30, 2013	HTML	27	56	15	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 29, 2013	HTML	24	57	17	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 28, 2013	HTML	26	56	17	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 27, 2013	HTML	26	55	16	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 26, 2013	HTML	27	56	16	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 25, 2013	HTML	29	53	17	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 24, 2013	HTML	27	51	20	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 23, 2013	HTML	29	49	20	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 22, 2013	HTML	29	49	21	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 21, 2013	HTML	29	48	21	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 20, 2013	HTML	29	47	21	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 19, 2013	HTML	28	47	23	2
Corporate Research Associates	September 18, 2013	HTML	28	48	23	2
Corporate Research Associates	August 31, 2013	PDF	31	41	25	3
Corporate Research Associates	May 30, 2013	PDF	26	45	26	3
Corporate Research Associates	March 3, 2013	PDF	32	39	24	5
Corporate Research Associates	November 30, 2012	PDF	29	41	27	3
Corporate Research Associates	September 2, 2012	PDF	31	41	22	5
Corporate Research Associates	June 4, 2012	PDF	35	33	28	4
Corporate Research Associates	February 26, 2012	PDF	44	27	25	3
Corporate Research Associates	November 29, 2011	PDF	45	22	29	4
Corporate Research Associates	August 31, 2011	PDF	41	26	30	4
Corporate Research Associates	May 30, 2011	PDF	42	22	31	4
Corporate Research Associates	March 3, 2011	PDF	34	35	26	4
Corporate Research Associates	November 23, 2010	PDF	38	31	26	4
Corporate Research Associates	August 31, 2010	PDF	37	35	21	7
Corporate Research Associates	May 31, 2010	PDF	37	35	24	4
Corporate Research Associates	February 24, 2010	PDF Archived December 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine	46	26	22	5
Corporate Research Associates	December 1, 2009	HTML	53	22	21	4
Corporate Research Associates	August 29, 2009	PDF	60	18	16	6
Election 2009	June 9, 2009	PDF	45.24	27.20	24.54	2.34

Analysis

On election night, the Liberal Party formed a majority government by a comfortable margin. This was the first time the Liberals had formed government in Nova Scotia since 1999, and their first majority government victory since the 1993 election. From mid 2012, the Liberals had led every public poll and entered the campaign with a 20-point lead over the New Democratic Party (NDP).

While the Liberals had been relatively successful in the Annapolis Valley and on Cape Breton Island during the 2009 election, they were completely shut out of the South Shore, Fundy, and Central Nova Scotia. More importantly, the NDP had dominated the Halifax metropolitan area, winning 14 out of 20 seats. In 2009, the NDP had been able to count on a large number of ridings in and around Halifax, while achieving historic gains across the province, including in traditionally Progressive Conservative (PC) and Liberal areas of rural Nova Scotia. In 2009, the PCs fell from first place to third place in the Legislature, and were completely shut out of the Halifax metropolitan area.

In the 2013 election, NDP support collapsed across the province, as it lost all of its seats in Central Nova Scotia, three of its seats in Fundy, and three of its seats on the South Shore. However, the most important shift was in the Halifax metropolitan area, where NDP support dropped from 54.07% in 2009 to 31.29% in 2013. The party wound up losing 13 of its seats, as the Liberals won 18 of 20 seats in and around Halifax. Strong NDP areas in 2009, like Dartmouth, Central Halifax, and suburban areas north and east of the Harbour swung from the NDP to the Liberals. Among the casualties was Dexter, who lost his own seat to Liberal challenger Tony Ince by 21 votes. He was the first premier since Ernest Armstrong to be defeated in his own riding.

The NDP had very poor vote concentration in the 2013 election. In Halifax, where it won 31.29% of the vote, it won only two seats. While the party finished second in the popular vote ahead of the PCs, its support was spread out around the province and not concentrated in enough areas to translate into seats. Combined with its collapse in Halifax, this left the NDP with only seven seats to the Tories' 11.

References

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2. Hurlburt resigns amid spending flap, CBC News, February 9, 2010.
3. "Zinck admits to drinking, gambling problems". CBC News, March 25, 2010.
4. Jason, Malloy (August 16, 2009). "Bailiie to lead Progressive Conservative party". Truro Daily News. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2010.
5. "MLA spending probe in N.S. gets 4 charged". CBC News, February 14, 2011.
6. "Ex-MLA Wilson sentenced to nine months in jail". CBC News, April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
7. chief electoral officer Richard Temporale (June 5, 2012). "The Atlantica Party Association of Nova Scotia Deregistered" (PDF). Elections Nova Scotia. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
8. "Former N.S. cabinet minister gets house arrest". CBC News. July 27, 2012. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
9. "Vacationing Liberal MLA resigns seat". CBC News, May 29, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
10. "Embattled Independent MLA Trevor Zinck resigns". CBC News, June 19, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
11. Toward Fair and Effective Representation (PDF). Electoral Boundaries Commission. 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2013.
12. "Contentious electoral map becomes law in N.S." CBC News . December 6, 2012.
13. "October 8, 2013 Nova Scotia Provincial General Election". electionsns.ca. Elections Nova Scotia . Retrieved July 15, 2024.
14. "Liberal MLA Wayne Gaudet won't run in next election". CBC News, January 18, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
15. "Theriault Not Reoffering in Digby-Annapolis" Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . Nova Scotia Liberal Caucus Office, June 29, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
16. Queens MLA not reoffering in next election The Queens County Advance
17. "MLA Howard Epstein not reoffering in next election". CBC News, January 15, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
18. "MacDonald takes over as finance minister". The Chronicle Herald, May 30, 2012. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
19. NDP MLA Marilyn More won't reoffer CBC.ca
20. "MLA Michele Raymond not reoffering". CBC News, November 23, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2012.
21. "Hurlock gets PC nod". The Spectator, May 31, 2013.
22. PC Nova Scotia: Our Events. The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, July 8, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
23. Lohr wins PC nomination in Kings North. June 6, 2013.
24. "Bruce Inglis gets PC nomination". The Queens County Advance, June 4, 2013.
25. "Reverend acclaimed PC candidate in Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley". Truro Daily News, March 24, 2013. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
26. "Williams wins PC nomination in Hants East", July 30, 2013.
27. "Liberals Nominate Joachim Stroink for Halifax Chebucto". liberal.ns.ca. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
28. Hamblin secures PC nomination in Halifax Needham. May 29, 2013.
29. "Christie to run for Tories in Bedford". The Chronicle Herald, June 19, 2013.
30. "Byrne secures nomination for Baillie's PC team". July 2, 2013.
31. "PC Party of Nova Scotia".
32. Peter MacIsaac candidate bio Archived September 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved August 31, 2013.
33. Liberals nominate Bill Horne in Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank. April 26, 2013.
34. Brian Wong to run for Baillie’s Tories in Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank. November 1, 2012.
35. Joyce Treen to represent Liberals in Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage. June 20, 2013.
36. Gamble secures PC nomination in Dartmouth South. April 18, 2013.
37. Eastern Shore Liberals nominate Kevin Murphy Archived June 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . May 7, 2013.
38. Delorey nominated as Liberal candidate in Antigonish. The Casket , August 18, 2013.
39. Liberals nominate Lloyd Hines in East Nova. April 26, 2013.
40. Dunn secures Progressive Conservative nomination in Pictou Centre. January 29, 2013.
41. Tim Houston wins Progressive Conservative nomination in Pictou East. November 28, 2012.
42. Karla MacFarlane to run for Baillie’s Progressive Conservatives in Pictou West. July 5, 2012.
43. Wilton Gets Liberal Nod in Cape Breton Centre. September 30, 2012.
44. Lee, MacLeod secure Progressive Conservative nominations. January 26, 2013.
45. Joe Janega to represent Tories in Cape Breton-Richmond. 101.5 FM The Hawk , August 2, 2013.
46. Inverness Liberal-Jackie Rankin Archived October 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved April 30, 2013.
47. Liberals nominate John Higgins in Northside-Westmount. April 22, 2013.
48. Liberals nominate Josephine Kennedy in Sydney River-Mira-Louisbourg Archived June 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . April 28, 2013.
49. Sydney Liberal-Derek Mombourquette Archived October 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved April 30, 2013.
50. Liberals nominate Pam Eyking in Victoria-The Lakes. April 27, 2013.

External links

• Elections Nova Scotia
  • Elections Nova Scotia - October 8, 2013 Nova Scotia Provincial General Election
• Nova Scotia Votes 2013 (CBC News)
• 2013 NS Votes (The Chronicle Herald)
• 62nd Nova Scotia General Election (ThreeHundredEight.com)
• Nova Scotia Election 2013 (Election Almanac)