Nova Scotia Governance under Tim Houston’s Supermajority
By Lori Turnbull
March 10th
In a provincial election held on November 26th, 2024, the Progressive Conservatives elected members in 43 of the province’s 55 electoral districts. This “supermajority” of seats in the legislature gives Premier Tim Houston and his government the ability to make significant changes to how the province is governed without the support of any other political party. This is not merely about pursuing its policy agenda; the Houston government is attempting to change the rules of the game unilaterally. In the short period of time that has transpired since the election, Premier Houston has shown a willingness to use this power to undermine the legislative branch and its capacity to perform its key scrutiny and accountability functions. However, public pushback in response to the proposed measures has been strong enough that the Premier has reversed his plans – at least in some cases.
The Nova Scotia legislature opened for a new sitting in mid-February, just after Premier Houston returned from a trip to Washington with the other provincial premiers. Nova Scotians were caught off guard when the government announced its plans to repeal the fixed election date law, which had been the first piece of legislation passed by the Houston government when it first took office back in 2021. Even more controversial were the government’s plans for the Auditor General’s office. Specifically, the government wants the Auditor General to give reports to the government two weeks before their public release. Further, the government proposed that, with the support of two-thirds of MLA’s – a threshold that the government now meets on its own – the Auditor General could be fired without cause.
The public pushback on these measures was loud and immediate, including from the Auditor General herself. Kim Adair told reporters she could not do her job if the government held the power to dismiss her unilaterally. She was not consulted on the proposed changes before they were announced publicly but, after several days of media scrutiny, the Houston government reversed its position on the future of the Auditor General’s office. Premier Houston put out a statement on social media saying that he no longer supports the amendments and is asking the legislature to withdraw them. He explained that the proposed changes originated from efforts to “modernize” the office, after scanning other practices across the country, but that it was never his intent “to change the existing Auditor General.” So, it’s not clear what the Houston government might do once Adair’s term is complete but, for now, it appears that the office is safe from political interference.
At this point in history, given the ongoing musings of President Donald Trump about Canada becoming the 51st state, it is difficult not to worry about democratic backsliding. Even the concept of sovereignty, once sacrosanct, can no longer be taken for granted. The Houston example shows the power that the people have with respect to protecting their democratic institutions. We must all be vigilant and not assume that governments will do the right thing.