Liberals promise to build 80K homes, NDP promises to lower small business tax

Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill makes an announcement about housing on Nov. 15, 2024. (CTV Atlantic/Carl Pomeroy)

As the Nova Scotia election campaign continues, the Liberals are promising to “deliver a better deal on housing.” The NDP will make an announcement about small businesses in Dartmouth, N.S., Friday, while Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston will be campaigning in Colchester and Pictou counties.

Liberals announce ‘better deal on housing’

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill is promising to build 80,000 homes by 2032 if he’s elected in the upcoming provincial election.

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“The PCs don't mention housing in their platform, and while I agree with many of the NDP policies, they just don't go far enough,” said Churchill. “Our plan will ensure more homes are built so Nova Scotians have a roof over their head that they can afford.”

The Liberals say they will implement the following initiatives to achieve this promise:

• The municipal funding formula will be reviewed to incentivize housing starts and red-tape reduction. A Liberal government will establish provincewide minimum zoning standards, eliminate restrictive covenants, and hasten development to build homes faster.
• Invest in new ways of building, like tilt-up construction, modular housing, mass timber, factory built housing, and other innovations that will enable the province to build more homes and reduce prices.
• Work with experts to launch a full review of the property tax system to lower property taxes, especially in highly-taxed areas like the CBRM; ensure the system incentivizes building by reducing or eliminating tax increases on properties that build more housing; remove unfair penalties from the system, like the increase in taxes Hammonds Plains residents experienced after the wildfires; increase taxes on large vacant lots in urban areas; and eliminating the deed transfer tax to help downsizing seniors and first-time homebuyers.

Zach Churchill, leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal party, makes an announcement about housing on Nov. 15, 2024. (CTV Atlantic/Carl Pomeroy)

NDP promises to lower small business tax, cancel Sobeys Scene point contract

NDP Leader Claudia Chender says she will cut the small business tax from 2.5 per cent to 1.5 per cent, if elected.

She says her party will work with local businesses to create an inclusive buy local program that will allow entrepreneurs “to thrive.”

“Small businesses are what drive Nova Scotia’s economy. They employ our friends and neighbours. They bring in tourists and locals alike. And the money spent at small businesses is circulated in our local economy, instead of being poured into the pockets of rich CEOs,” said Chender. “We need small businesses, but they’re being left behind. An NDP government will reverse that.”

Chender says Sobeys was awarded a $950,000 cheque as part of the PC government’s Nova Scotia Loyal program, a deal that sees Nova Scotians getting more Scene points on some purchases.

Chender says an NDP government will cancel the Scene point contract and work with local businesses to build a program that supports and incentivizes Nova Scotians to buy local.

“Instead of handing your tax dollars over to a massive corporation, New Democrats are committed to supporting and investing in our local economy, and the small businesses that define this province,” said Chender.

Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender makes an announcement about cutting the small business tax at Goodmore Kombucha, with owner Alexis Moore, in Dartmouth, N.S., on Nov. 15, 2024. (CTV Atlantic/Jesse Thomas)

PCs in Colchester and Pictou counties

Houston is campaigning in Colchester and Pictou counties on Friday.

A news release from his party says he also has an interview scheduled with Hope Centre in Pugwash, N.S.

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page.