'It's time for Nova Scotians to have their say': PC leader says province needs stronger mandate to negotiate with Ottawa

With Nova Scotia’s provincial election less than a week away, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston says it’s important the province has a strong mandate to negotiate with the federal government.

“I think it's time for Nova Scotians to have their say, certainly on a couple of policy things that we're doing around tax cuts, around huge infrastructure investments … But I think also the relationship with Ottawa is really important to this province and I don't think we've been getting a fair share,” said Houston, during an interview with CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis on Wednesday.

“So, I actually think that if we had a new refreshed mandate, I think that's what's critical, and strong of course is important too.”

Houston says one incident that sticks out is when Ottawa wanted to send 6,000 asylum-seekers to Nova Scotia, which he said ‘no’ to.

“The thing that was significant to me was that they said I was just saying it because I had an election and I thought to myself, ‘Actually, that election could be next summer.’ So, the light kind of went on for me that they won't take us seriously without a renewed fresh mandate,” Houston said.

“They need to know that when the premier speaks, he's speaking for the people of Nova Scotia, and that's what an election does.”

Affordability

One of Houston’s campaign promises is to cut the HST one percentage point, down from 15 to 14 per cent, if re-elected. He said the cut would benefit all Nova Scotians and save the average person $500 per year.

Another key priority is tax cuts. Houston promises to increase the basic personal amount from $8,744 up to $11,744 for all taxpayers to “keep more money in the pockets of Nova Scotians.”

When asked why these changes weren’t introduced in the last three-and-a-half years, Houston said during his campaign in 2021, his party made it very clear its focus was on health care.

“And I was also pretty clear that cutting taxes was not something on the table. We were focused on health care, we were focused on investments,” he said.

“So, now I believe that we're at a point where we can cut the HST, we can make changes to the basic personal exemption for personal income taxes … It's kind of a change in the deal in my mind, and I think Nova Scotians should have their say on that and I'm happy to give them their say.”

During Houston’s time as premier, Nova Scotia has become one of the most expensive provinces in Canada.

“Inflation, high interest rates, these were national things for sure. I do know that it's tough times. Those have had a toll on families, many families are falling behind,” said Houston.

Houston says the PC government has a number of targeted supports, including the new school lunch program, which launched last month.

“That's an incredible program, I'm very proud of that program. It's making a difference for families. It's still a targeted support,” he said.

“I hear from people all the time that say, ‘Well Tim, I make a little bit too much money. None of those things work for me and the targeted supports miss a lot of people.’ That's why it's time for broad supports; HST cuts, personal income tax.”

Housing crisis

As far as the housing crisis and skyrocketing rent costs, Houston says his plan to build more housing should help with that.

“So, we have a plan, we've been building more homes faster for sure because of some of the policies we put in place initially. In 2023, record housing starts since the 80s,” Houston said. “So, things are getting built, we're investing in public housing for the first time in 20 years, investing in affordable housing, investing in student residence at Nova Scotia Community Colleges, all these things are part of it. So, as we have more supply, then the rent situation and the homeownership opportunities should level off.”

Nova Scotia’s population has grown significantly in the last few years, which has caused issues when it comes to housing and crowded schools.

Houston says he understands residents are concerned, which is why his party changed the province’s immigration policy.

“So, we changed our immigration policy to be much more strategic, and we're very focused now. You basically can only be an immigrant to Nova Scotia now if you're working in health care and providing health care to Nova Scotians or working in the skilled trades and helping us build up Nova Scotia. So, we've already made those changes. We heard the concerns of Nova Scotians and we’ve dialed it back, that’s for sure,” Houston explained.

Some students moving to Nova Scotia for school have voiced their concerns that there may not be a place for them due to the province’s new immigration policy. Houston admits “it’s true.”

“There might not be and that's a difficult thing because the students I know, many of them come here and have a wonderful experience and they bring a lot to our communities and certainly the universities,” he said.

“But the reality for our province right now is there may not be a space for them because we are very focused on health care and skilled trades.”

Health care

Last month, Nova Scotia Health said the Need a Family Practice Registry stood at 145,114 as of Oct. 4; it previously stood at 164,489 on Sept. 1.

Houston says although his main focus has been health care, he understands people are still struggling to get basic health-care services.

“Those stories are hard to hear for sure. They all weigh on all of us, they weigh on me, but we've made incredible progress. Right now, today, compared to when I became premier, there's 304 more doctors, new additional doctors in this province,” he said.

“There's almost 2,000 nurses, additional nurses, in this province because of policies we put in place. But the answer to all of it is more health-care professionals, and certainly more doctors. So, that's why I'm excited about the medical campus at Cape Breton University, a new medical school in this province that will graduate doctors to stay in this province. I wish that happened five years ago, 10 years ago.”

Houston is also excited about the International Medical Graduate Assessment Clinic, which he says should help with the ongoing health-care crisis.

“This is a clinic for doctors who are trained in another country to get a path to licence here. It could take two years under the old way. Under this process, it's the first in North America. For 12 weeks, they would work in a clinic, doctoring and being assessed and at the end of 12 weeks, they could get their licence,” said Houston.

“This is a groundbreaking initiative; I'm really excited about this, and it will open the doors for more doctors to this province. So, I know there's more doctors on the way.”

Houston, along with NDP Leader Claudia Chender and Liberal Leader Zach Churchill, will all take part in CTV Atlantic’s roundtable discussion on Thursday, which can be watched on CTV and CTV2, or online at atlantic.ctvnews.ca from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

As part of this roundtable discussion, CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis will include questions provided by viewers. If you’d like your question to be considered, submit it here.

Nova Scotians head to the polls on Nov. 26.