Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia

History

The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, registered under the Nova Scotia Elections Act as the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, originated from the Confederation Party of Charles Tupper. Tupper united members of the pre-Confederation Conservative Party (who were predominantly United Empire Loyalists and members of the business elite) and supporters of Sir John A. Macdonald's national Conservative coalition. The party supported Macdonald's protectionist National Policy, nation-building, and the unification of British North America.

Canadian Confederation was initially unpopular in Nova Scotia, and the party was out of government for most of the late 19th century. It formed government for only six years between 1867 and 1956. It bottomed out in 1945, when the party was shut out of the legislature altogether.

The modern party was built by Robert Stanfield after World War II. Stanfield, the scion of a wealthy textile family, had considered himself socialist in university; though he later moderated his views, he always remained a progressive. Under his leadership, what was by then the "Progressive Conservative Party" became a moderate Red Tory organization. He was able to get the party back into the House of Assembly soon after taking the leadership. By 1956, he had built it into an organization that was able to sweep to power, winning re-election four times.

As premier, he led reforms in human rights, education, municipal government and health care and also created Industrial Estates Limited, a crown corporation that successfully attracted investment from world companies such as Michelin Tire. He worked to modernized the road system, brought in the first form of Medicare, established the first economic development agency, invested heavily in education at all levels and established the predecessor to the Nova Scotia Community College.

After Stanfield left provincial politics to become leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party in 1967, G. I. Smith served as premier until 1970. After being elected party leader in 1971, John Buchanan was elected premier in 1978. He was re-elected in 1981, 1984 and 1988. In the 1984 election, voters served his largest majority, capturing 42 of the 52 seats in the legislature. Buchanan's government first succeeded in convincing federal government to give Nova Scotia control over offshore resources such as gas and oil, resulting in future revenue for the province through the Crown Share.

Roger Bacon became premier in 1990 after Buchanan was appointed to the Senate of Canada and until the party selected Donald W. Cameron as party leader and premier. During his term, Cameron reformed government finance practices, promoted anti-discrimination measures, introduced new government accountability measures and established the first non-partisan electoral boundaries revision commission in 1992.

Recent history

The 2006 election resulted in a reduced minority for MacDonald and the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to third-party status in the 2009 election. On June 24, 2009, MacDonald stepped down as leader and Karen Casey was named the interim leader.

Jamie Baillie became leader of the PC Party on October 30, 2010 after running unopposed. He led the party into the 2013 election, and won eleven seats allowing the PC party form the Official Opposition. In the 2017 election, the party retained official opposition status, and increased their seat count to 17.

On November 1, 2017, Baillie announced he was stepping down as leader. Baillie was to remain in the position until a new leader was chosen, however on January 24, 2018, he resigned after the party executive requested his immediate resignation due to "allegations of inappropriate behaviour". Following his resignation, Pictou West MLA Karla MacFarlane was named interim leader.

In 2018, Tim Houston was elected the leader of the PC party after getting a large plurality of the points in the first round.

In the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, Tim Houston fought the campaign on a pledge to spend more to fix healthcare. The Progressive Conservative party won a majority government for the first time since 1999 and formed government for the first time since 2006.

According to the PC Party website, their mission is "to form a fiscally responsible, socially progressive government that promotes individual achievement and personal responsibility, is accountable to its citizens, listens to its people, embraces innovation, preserves the best of our unique heritage and diverse cultures and learns from the past".

Current elected members

Party leaders

• James William Johnston (1843–1864)
• Charles Tupper (1864–1867)
• Hiram Blanchard (1867–1874)
• Simon Hugh Holmes (1874–1882)
• John Sparrow David Thompson (1882)
• Adam Carr Bell (1882–1887)
• William McKay (1887–1890)
• Charles Cahan (1890–1894)
• William McKay (1894–1897)
• John Fitzwilliam Stairs (1897–1904)
• Charles Wilcox (1898–1901) (house leader)
• Charles E. Tanner (1901–1908) (house leader)
• Charles Wilcox (1908–1909) (house leader)
• John M. Baillie (1909–1912) (house leader)
• Charles E. Tanner (1912–1922)
• W.L. Hall (1922–1925)
• Edgar Nelson Rhodes (1925–1930)
• Gordon Sidney Harrington (1930–1937)
• Percy C. Black (1937–1940)
• Leonard William Fraser (1940–1948)
• Fred M. Blois (1940–1945) (house leader)
• Robert Stanfield (1948–1967)
• G.I. Smith (1967–1971)
• John Buchanan (1971–1990)
• Roger Stuart Bacon (1990–1991) (interim)
• Donald W. Cameron (1991–1993)
• Terry Donahoe (1993–1995) (interim)
• John Hamm (1995–2006)
• Rodney MacDonald (2006–2009)
• Karen Casey (2009–2010) (interim)
• Jamie Baillie (2010–2018)
• Karla MacFarlane (2018) (interim)
• Tim Houston (2018–present) :Bold indicates Party leaders who served as Premier of the colony or province of Nova Scotia.

Electoral performance

References

References

1. (17 October 2022). "Why is Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston spending so much money?".
2. (17 October 2022). "Why is Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston spending so much money?".
3. (25 October 2018). "Parties want young voters for leadership, but general elections a different story".
4. (December 7, 2019). "CONSTITUTION OF THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA".
5. "Nova Scotia Tories launch election campaign with promise to heal wounds". CBC News.
6. (18 August 2021). "Liberal Leader Iain Rankin concedes election result".
7. (17 August 2021). "Progressive Conservatives surge to surprise majority win in Nova Scotia election". CBC News.
8. "Become a Member".
9. "Membership Portal".
10. Lewis, Robert. "Robert Stanfield (Obituary)".
11. "Industrial Estates Limited Act".
12. (November 4, 1967). "Premier named party leader by N.S. Tories". The Globe and Mail.
13. (March 8, 1971). "N.S. Tories swing to right with election of Buchanan as leader". The Globe and Mail.
14. (November 7, 1984). "Buchanan Tories crush opponents in N.S. election". The Globe and Mail.
15. (July 14, 2008). "Historic Crown share settlement a political victory".
16. "Just Boundaries: Recommendations for Effective Representation for the People of Nova Scotia".
17. "No more steel from Cape Breton as Sysco closes".
18. "Building a New Normal: Changing Social Norms Around Tobacco".
19. "Co-operation, More Money for Health Care, Balanced Budget".
20. (February 10, 2016). "Former premier Rodney MacDonald recalls the glory days". Cape Breton Post.
21. "June 9th, 2009 Nova Scotia Provincial General Election, Elections Nova Scotia".
22. [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/new-n-s-pc-leader-promises-fiscal-restraint-1.869565 "New N.S. PC leader promises fiscal restraint"]. CBC News, October 30, 2010.
23. (October 9, 2013). "Baillie leads PCs into 2nd". The Chronicle Herald.
24. (May 30, 2017). "Liberals score back-to-back majorities in Nova Scotia nail-biter". CBC News.
25. (November 1, 2017). "Jamie Baillie quitting role as leader of Progressive Conservatives". CBC News.
26. (November 1, 2017). "Jamie Baillie stepping down as Nova Scotia PC leader". The Chronicle Herald.
27. (January 24, 2018). "PC Leader Jamie Baillie forced out after allegations of 'inappropriate behaviour'". CBC News.
28. (January 24, 2018). "Nova Scotia PC leader Jamie Baillie resigns amid sexual harassment allegations". The Globe and Mail.
29. (October 27, 2018). "Houston surges to victory in PC leadership race". CBC News.
30. (13 August 2021). "N.S. Tory leader leans left with endorsement from former NDP cabinet minister".
31. (17 August 2021). "Tories surge to upset majority win in N.S. Election with a campaign focused on health".
32. "Our Mission".