Nova Scotia general election, 2006

Nova Scotia general election, 2006

2003 ← members June 13, 2006 members → 2009 members

52 seats of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly 27 seats were needed for a majority   First party Second party Third party   Leader Rodney MacDonald Darrell Dexter Francis MacKenzie Party Progressive Conservative New Democrat Liberal Leader's seat Inverness Cole Harbour Bedford (Lost) Last election 25 15 12 Seats won 23 20 9 Seat change -2 +5 -3 Popular vote 160,119 140,128 94,872 Percentage 39.57% 34.63% 23.44% Swing +3.33% +3.52% -7.99%

Riding map of Nova Scotia showing winning parties.

Premier before election Rodney MacDonald Progressive Conservative Elected Premier Rodney MacDonald Progressive Conservative

The 37th Nova Scotia general election was held on June 13, 2006 to elect members of the 60th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada.

Premier Rodney MacDonald, who led a Progressive Conservative minority government in the legislature, called for the election on May 13, 2006, hoping for a majority government to better advance his agenda and a clear mandate for himself as he had not yet fought an election as leader.

Ultimately, MacDonald was returned to power leading another, slightly smaller, minority government against a strengthened New Democratic Party sitting as the Official Opposition and a weakened Liberal Party. Liberal leader Francis MacKenzie was defeated in his riding of Bedford.

Timeline

• September 29, 2005 - Premier John Hamm, leader of the Progressive Conservative minority government, announces his intent to resign as soon as the party chooses a new leader.
• February 11, 2006 - Rodney MacDonald is elected to replace Hamm as leader.
• February 24, 2006 - MacDonald becomes Premier and his cabinet is sworn in.
• May 9, 2006 - MacDonald's government introduces an "election-style" budget in the legislature.^[1]
• May 13, 2006 - MacDonald asks Lieutenant Governor Myra Freeman to call an election. Upon his advice, Freeman sets the date for June 13, 2006.
• June 13, 2006:

20:00 ADT - CBC projects a PC government

20:14 ADT - CBC projects a PC minority government

20:20 ADT - The riding of Bedford is called for the Tories, defeating Liberal leader Francis MacKenzie.

20:35 ADT - In delivering his concession speech, Francis MacKenzie announced that it was "the end of the road," and that he planned to meet with the Liberal President within a week.

21:33 ADT - CBC officially declares a PC minority government on their website^[2]

Results

The Progressive Conservatives gained several points in the popular vote, but made a net loss of two seats, with losses to the NDP partially countered by the PCs doubling their representation on MacDonald's native Cape Breton Island at the expense of the Liberals. The gap between the Liberals and NDP also significantly increased, in both the popular vote and seat count; while the Liberals and NDP had previously been nearly even, the NDP gained a significant advantage on the Liberals and moved into position as the primary opposition to the governing PCs.

Results by party

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				2003	Dissolution	Elected	% Change	#	%	Change
	Progressive Conservative	Rodney MacDonald	52	25	25	23	-8.0%	160,119	39.57%	+3.33%
	New Democratic	Darrell Dexter	52	15	15	20	+33.3%	140,128	34.63%	+3.52%
	Liberal	Francis MacKenzie	51	12	10	9	-10.0%	94,872	23.44%	-7.99%
	Green	Nick Wright	52	*	-	-	-	9,411	2.33%	*
	Independents		3	0	1	-	-100%	153	0.04%
	Vacant				1
Total			210	52	52	52		404,683

* The Greens did not contest the 2003 election.

Results by region

Party name			HRM	C.B.	Valley	S. Shore	Fundy	Central	Total
Parties winning seats in the legislature:
	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	3	4	3	5	5	3	23
		Popular vote:	31.22%	42.62%	36.14%	49.08%	54.06%	42.90%	39.59%
	New Democratic Party	Seats:	13	2	-	2	1	2	20
		Popular vote:	46.57%	25.58%	23.44%	32.29%	26.49%	34.44%	34.50%
	Liberal	Seats:	2	3	4	-	-	-	9
		Popular vote:	19.29%	29.80%	38.35%	16.46%	16.70%	21.03%	23.56%
Parties not winning seats in the legislature:
	Green	Popular vote:	2.92%	1.83%	2.07%	2.16%	2.72%	1.58%	2.31%
	Independents	Popular vote:	-	0.17%	-	-	0.03%	0.05%	0.04%
Total seats:			18	9	7	7	6	5	52

Opinion polls

Polling firm	Dates	Link	Prog. Cons.	New Democratic	Liberal
Corporate Research Associates	June 5, 2006	HTML	38%	36%	20%
Corporate Research Associates	May 23, 2006	HTML	34%	27%	30%
Corporate Research Associates	February 2006	HTML	36%	29%	27%
Corporate Research Associates	November 2005	HTML	35%	32%	28%
Corporate Research Associates	August 2005	HTML	31%	32%	26%
Corporate Research Associates	May 2005	HTML	36%	30%	27%
Corporate Research Associates	March 2005	HTML	38%	24%	30%
Corporate Research Associates	December 2004	HTML	35%	28%	30%
Corporate Research Associates	September 2004	HTML	29%	30%	31%
Corporate Research Associates	May 2004	HTML	28%	33%	30%
Corporate Research Associates	February 2004	HTML	31%	30%	28%
Corporate Research Associates	November 2003	HTML	28%	32%	29%
Election 2003	August 5, 2003	PDF	36.32%	31.00%	31.47%

Riding results

• bold denotes a cabinet minister or party leader
• † denotes an incumbent not seeking re-election

Valley

Electoral District	Candidates											Incumbent
		PC		NDP		Liberal		Green		Other
Annapolis		Blair Hannam 2041 - (24.57%)		Calum MacKenzie 1391 - (16.75%)		Stephen McNeil 4668 - (56.20%)		Ken McGowan 206 - (2.48%)				Stephen McNeil
Clare		Arnold LeBlanc 1622 - (28.08%)		Paul Comeau 1269 - (21.97%)		Wayne Gaudet 2803 - (48.53%)		Diane Doucet-Bean 82 - (1.42%)				Wayne Gaudet
Digby—Annapolis		Jimmy MacAlpine 2178 - (36.42%)		Andrew Oliver 663 - (11.13%)		Harold Theriault 3029 - (50.91%)		Namron Bean 92 - (1.54%)				Harold Theriault, Jr.
Hants West		Chuck Porter 2974 - (34.60%)		Sean Bennett 2486 - (28.97%)		Paula Lunn 2921 - (34.08%)		Sam Schurman 201 - (2.34%)				Ron Russell†
Kings North		Mark Parent 4138 - (50.07%)		Jim Morton 2171 - (26.40%)		Madonna Spinazola 1758 - (21.18%)		Christopher Alders 195 - (2.35%)				Mark Parent
Kings South		David Morse 3832 - (42.37%)		David Mangle 3130 - (35.01%)		Ray Savage 1753 - (20.10%)		Steven McGowan 226 - (2.53%)				David Morse
Kings West		John Prall 2801 - (33.18%)		Greg Hubbert 1590 - (18.83%)		Leo Glavine 3940 - (46.67%)		Nistal Prem de Boer 112 - (1.33%)				Leo Glavine

South Shore

Electoral District	Candidates											Incumbent
		PC		NDP		Liberal		Green		Other
Argyle		Chris d'Entremont 3158 - (67.65%)		Charles Muise 531 - (11.38%)		Christian Surette 913 - (19.56%)		Patricia Saunders 66 - (1.41%)				Chris d'Entremont
Chester-St. Margaret's		Judy Streatch 3950 - (42.67%)		Jane Matheson 2838 - (30.60%)		Rick Fraughton 2192 - (23.68%)		Joanne MacKinnon 282 - (3.05%)				Judy Streatch
Lunenburg		Michael Baker 3969 - (49.40%)		Chris Heide 2790 - (33.22%)		Rick Welsford 1200 - (14.94%)		Stuart Simpson 196 - (2.44%)				Michael Baker
Lunenburg West		Carolyn Bolivar-Getson 3637 - (43.21%)		Bill Smith 3299 - (39.19%)		Martin Bell 1324 - (15.73%)		Brendan MacNeill 157 - (1.87%)				Carolyn Bolivar-Getson
Queens		Kerry Morash 2998 - (48.59%)		Vicki Conrad 3054 - (49.48%)				Margaret Whitney 119 - (1.93%)				Kerry Morash
Shelburne		Eddie Nickerson 2373 - (35.00%)		Sterling Belliveau 2438 - (36.27%)		Kirk Cox 1790 - (26.63%)		Derek Jones 141 - (2.10%)				Cecil O'Donnell†
Yarmouth		Richard Hurlburt 5170 - (64.30%)		John Deveau 1667 - (20.73%)		Dolores Atwood 1051 - (13.07%)		Matt Granger 152 - (1.89%)				Richard Hurlburt

Fundy

Electoral District	Candidates											Incumbent
		PC		NDP		Liberal		Green		Other
Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley		Brooke Taylor 4790 - (63.85%)		Gary Burrill 1891 - (25.21%)		Carolyn Matthews 707 - (8.76%)		Leona MacLeod 164 - (2.19%)				Brooke Taylor
Colchester North		Karen Casey 3899 - (50.96%)		Rob Assels 1511 - (20.21%)		Bob Taylor 1979 - (26.47%)		Judy Davis 176 - (2.35%)				Bill Langille †
Cumberland North		Ernest Fage 4640 - (62.64%)		Kim Cail 1085 - (14.65%)		Bruce Alan Fage 1480 - (19.98%)		Darryl Whetter 202 - (2.73%)				Ernest Fage
Cumberland South		Murray Scott 5087 - (76.76%)		Andrew Kernohan 753 - (11.37%)		Mary Dee MacPherson 691 - (10.29%)		James Dessart 92 - (1.39%)		David Raymond Amos 13 - (0.2%)		Murray Scott
Hants East		Wayne Fiander 2715 - (30.62%)		John MacDonell 4712 - (53.13%)		Malcolm MacKay 1237 - (13.95%)		Michael Hartlan 204 - (2.30%)				John MacDonell
Truro-Bible Hill		Jamie Muir 3711 - (47.27%)		Jim Harpell 2220 - (28.64%)		Ron Chisholm 1679 - (21.32%)		Barton Cutten 217 - (2.76%)				Jamie Muir

Central Halifax

Electoral District	Candidates											Incumbent
		PC		NDP		Liberal		Green		Other
Halifax Chebucto		Sean Phillips 1720 - (22.09%)		Howard Epstein 4216 - (54.15%)		Peter Verner 1481 - (19.02%)		Christopher Harborne 369 - (4.74%)				Howard Epstein
Halifax Citadel		Bill Black 2721 - (37.49%)		Leonard Preyra 2932 - (42.03%)		Devin Maxwell 1182 - (16.25%)		Nick Wright 307 - (4.23%)				Vacant
Halifax Clayton Park		Mary Ann McGrath 2450 - (26.86%)		Linda Power 3060 - (33.33%)		Diana Whalen 3404 - (37.32%)		Sheila Richardson 228 - (2.50%)				Diana Whalen
Halifax Fairview		Bruce MacCharles 1653 - (23.13%)		Graham Steele 4162 - (58.51%)		Cecil MacDougall 1029 - (14.80%)		Kris MacLellan 254 - (3.56%)				Graham Steele
Halifax Needham		Andrew Black 1287 - (18.17%)		Maureen MacDonald 4431 - (60.62%)		Errol Gaum 1233 - (16.66%)		Amanda Myers 349 - (4.55%)				Maureen MacDonald

Suburban Halifax

Electoral District	Candidates											Incumbent
		PC		NDP		Liberal		Green		Other
Bedford		Len Goucher 4090 - (42.22%)		John Buckland 2019 - (20.84%)		Francis MacKenzie 3286 - (33.92%)		Mary McLaughlan 292 - (3.01%)				Peter G. Christie †
Halifax Atlantic		Bruce Cooke 2690 - (32.08%)		Michèle Raymond 4144 - (49.51%)		Jim Hoskins 1281 - (15.28%)		Rebecca Mosher 262 - (3.12%)				Michele Raymond
Hammonds Plains-Upper Sackville		Barry Barnet 3704 - (42.02%)		Mat Whynott 3188 - (36.05%)		Pam Streeter 1766 - (20.03%)		Scott Cleghorn 167 - (1.89%)				Barry Barnet
Sackville-Cobequid		Steve Craig 2499 - (30.42%)		Dave Wilson 4475 - (54.50%)		David Major 1055 - (12.80%)		Elizabeth Nicolson 187 - (2.28%)				Dave Wilson
Timberlea-Prospect		Jaunita Cirtwell 2034 - (24.16%)		Bill Estabrooks 5316 - (63.15%)		Lisa Mullin 851 - (10.11%)		Thomas Trappenberg 217 - (2.58%)				Bill Estabrooks
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank		Gary Hines 3275 - (40.17%)		Percy Paris 3782 - (46.39%)		Thomas Deal 909 - (11.15%)		William Lang 186 - (2.28%)				Gary Hines

Dartmouth/Cole Harbour/Eastern Shore

Electoral District	Candidates											Incumbent
		PC		NDP		Liberal		Green		Other
Cole Harbour		Sheila McKeand 1527 - (20.63%)		Darrell Dexter 5264 - (61.46%)		Stephen Beehan 1851 - (15.54%)		Michael McFadden 206 - (2.38%)				Darrell Dexter
Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage		Don McIver 1194 - (18.93%)		Kevin Deveaux 4086 - (64.40%)		Brian Churchill 903 - (14.23%)		Beverly Woodfield 155 -(2.44%)				Kevin Deveaux
Dartmouth East		Jim Cormier 2942 - (33.27%)		Joan Massey 3822 - (43.22%)		Tracey Devereaux 1842 - (20.83%)		Elizabeth Perry 238 - (2.69%)				Joan Massey
Dartmouth North		Troy Myers 1895 - (27.46%)		Trevor Zinck 3384 - (49.47%)		Ian Murray 1365 - (19.78%)		Alex Donaldson 227 - (3.29%)				Jerry Pye†
Dartmouth South-Portland Valley		Tim Olive 3043 - (32.52%)		Marilyn More 4493 - (48.05%)		Brian Hiltz 1509 - (16.14%)		Daniel Melvin 338 - (3.29%)				Marilyn More
Eastern Shore		Bill Dooks 3232 - (45.93%)		Sidney Prest 2871 - (40.80%)		Judith Cabrita 746 - (10.60%)		Elizabeth van Dreunen 188 - (2.67%)				Bill Dooks
Preston		Dwayne Provo 1610 - (36.83%)		Douglas Sparks 843 - (19.17% )		Keith Colwell 1853 - (42.13%)		David Farrell 82 - (1.86%)				Keith Colwell

Central Nova

Electoral District	Candidates											Incumbent
		PC		NDP		Liberal		Green		Other
Antigonish		Angus MacIsaac 4662 - (48.28%)		Andrew MacDonald 1480 - (19.06%)		Danny MacIsaac 2987 - (30.80%)		Judy Dowden 179 - (1.87%)				Angus MacIsaac
Guysborough-Sheet Harbour		Ron Chisholm 2765 - (40.83%)		Jim Boudreau 2540 - (37.51%)		David Horton 1378 - (20.36%)		Marike Finaly-de Monchy 88 - (1.30%)				Ronnie Chisholm
Pictou Centre		Pat Dunn 3901 - (52.54%)		Danny MacGillivray 2344 - (31.70%)		Troy MacCulloch 1057 - (14.24%)		Sir Reginalr Walter the 3rd 93 - (1.25%)		Dennis Tate 20 - (0.27%)		John Hamm†
Pictou East		Sue Uhren 2654 - (35.31%)		Clarrie MacKinnon 2761 - (36.73%)		Dan Walsh 2000 - (26.61%)		John A. Clark 102 - (1.36%)				Jim DeWolfe†
Pictou West		Ronald Baillie 2584 - (33.99%)		Charlie Parker 4173 - (54.89%)		Sandy MacKay 698 - (9.18%)		Douglas Corbett 147 - (1.93%)				Charlie Parker

Cape Breton

Electoral District	Candidates											Incumbent
		PC		NDP		Liberal		Green		Other
Cape Breton Centre		Darren Bruckschwaiger 2274 - (28.44%)		Frank Corbett 3482 - (43.65%)		Laura Lee MacDonald 2154 - (26.92%)		Frances Oomen 79 - (0.99%)				Frank Corbett
Cape Breton North		Cecil Clarke 4285 - (50.71%)		Russell MacDonald 2195 - (25.83%)		Fred Tilley 1868 - (21.99%)		Mark Doucet 125 - (1.47%)				Cecil Clarke
Cape Breton Nova		Todd Marsman 855 - (12.07%)		Gordie Gosse 4315 - (60.92%)		Mel Crowe 1794 - (25.33%)		Chris Milburn 119 - (1.68%)				Gordie Gosse
Cape Breton South		Scott Boyd 3260 - (32.36%)		Jamie Crane 2160 - (21.43%)		Manning MacDonald 4383 - (43.50%)		Stephen Doucet 273 - (2.71%)				Manning MacDonald
Cape Breton West		Alfie MacLeod 4738 - (53.76%)		Terry Crawley 1344 - (15.28%)		Dave LeBlanc 2479 - (28.28%)		Michael Milburn 236 - (2.68%)				Russell MacKinnon†
Glace Bay		Mark Bettens 2074 - (26.85%)		Myrtle Campbell 2234 - (28.93%)		David Wilson 3327 - (43.08%)		Todd Pettigrew 88 - (1.14%)				David Wilson
Inverness		Rodney MacDonald 7992 - (70.47%)		Tim Murphy 1438 - (12.77%)		Mary MacLennan 1748 - (15.49%)		John Gibson 146 - (1.27%)				Rodney MacDonald
Richmond		John Greene 2268 - (40.45%)		Mary Pat Cude 529 - (9.43%)		Michel Samson 2722 - (48.55%)		Noreen Hartlen 88 - (1.57%)				Michel Samson
Victoria-The Lakes		Keith Bain 3001 - (47.48%)		Joan O'Liari 755 - (11.94%)		Gerald Sampson 2272 - (35.94%)		Michelle Smith 173 - (2.74%)		Stemer MacLeod 120 - (1.90%)		Gerald Sampson

Shifts in control

Progressive Conservative to NDP

Electoral District	Candidates					Incumbent
		PC		NDP
Pictou East	2003	Jim DeWolfe	2006	Clarrie MacKinnon		Jim DeWolfe †
Queens	2003	Kerry Morash	2006	Vicki Conrad		Kerry Morash
Shelburne	2003	Cecil O'Donnell	2006	Sterling Belliveau		Cecil O'Donnell †
Waverley—Fall River—Beaver Bank	2003	Gary Hines	2006	Percy Paris		Gary Hines

Liberal to NDP

Electoral District	Candidates					Incumbent
		Liberal		NDP
Halifax Citadel	2003	Danny Graham	2006	Leonard Preyra		Vacant

Liberal to Progressive Conservative

Electoral District	Candidates					Incumbent
		Liberal		PC
Cape Breton West	2003	Russell MacKinnon	2006	Alfie MacLeod		Russell MacKinnon †
Victoria—The Lakes	2003	Gerald Sampson	2006	Keith Bain		Gerald Sampson

By-elections since the general election

Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage (Resignation of Kevin Deveaux), October 2, 2007:

By-election: Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	NDP	Becky Kent	2,459	44.39	-20.08
	PC	Mike Eddy	1,863	33.63	+14.79
	Liberal	Kelly Rambeau	958	17.30	+3.05
	Green	Beverley Skaalrud-Woodfield	259	4.68	+2.24
Total			5,539	100%

Notes

1. ^ "Nova Scotia vote called for June". CBC News. May 13, 2006. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/05/13/ns-elxn.html. 
2. ^ . http://www.cbc.ca/ns/story/nsv-elxn-night20060613.html. ^{[dead link]}

References

• Government of Nova Scotia. "Election Summary From 1867 - 2006" (PDF). Elections Statistics. Elections Nova Scotia. http://electionsnovascotia.ns.ca/results/ele_summary.pdf. Retrieved 2006-12-02. 

External links

• CBC: Nova Scotia Votes 2006