Nova Scotia election: Liberals promise to improve cellphone services and highways
Nova Scotia's Liberal party is promising to improve cellphone coverage and invest in major highways if the party is elected to govern on Nov. 26.
Party leader Zach Churchill made the announcement Thursday during a news conference in Halifax, saying a Liberal government would spend $60 million over four years to build 87 new cellphone towers.
"Our cellphone coverage is in a really terrible state right now," he said.
Churchill said that money would be in addition to the $66 million the Progressive Conservative government committed to similar projects last year through the Crown corporation Build Nova Scotia.
"Cell service will be expanded to make sure that in every area where we can have cell coverage, where it makes sense, we will," he said. The priority will be along the province's major highways, where he said coverage gaps are a safety issue.
In July, Premier Tim Houston's Progressive Conservative government announced it would spend $18.6 million to add 27 new provincially owned telecommunication towers in areas that don't have cell service. Another four new towers were promised in October 2023 when the government announced it would spend $47.3 million to start its Cellular for Nova Scotia Program.
At the time, the government said there were about 20,000 civic addresses across the province without access to the cellular network and more than 1,000 kilometres of primary roads in cellphone dead zones.
Meanwhile, Churchill confirmed Thursday that the Liberals want to complete the province's 100-series controlled access highways by adding exits along Highway 104 across the top of the mainland, and building a bypass along Highway 101 near Digby.
"Our roads are in deplorable shape," Churchill said, citing Statistics Canada data indicating that Nova Scotia has the worst maintained provincial roads in the country. "Only 27 per cent of our roads are in good condition." Churchill said the Liberals would add $40 million to the province's $500 million capital budget for highways.
The leaders of the three main political parties were spending much of Thursday preparing for a televised debate, scheduled for broadcast at 6 p.m.
Churchill was scheduled to take on Houston -- who is seeking a second term in office -- and NDP Leader Claudia Chender during a 90-minute debate carried live on CBC TV and streamed online.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 14, 2024.
For more Nova Scotia election news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'She will not be missed': Trump on Freeland's departure from cabinet
As Canadians watched a day of considerable political turmoil for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government given the sudden departure of Chrystia Freeland on Monday, it appears that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump was also watching it unfold.
Canadian government to make border security announcement today: sources
The federal government will make an announcement on new border security measures after question today, CTV News has learned.
Two employees charged in death of assisted care resident who ended up locked outside building overnight
Two employees at an Oshawa assisted living facility are facing charges in connection with the death of a resident who wandered outside the building during the winter and ended up locked outside all night.
The Canada Post strike is over, but it will take time to get back to normal, says spokesperson
Canada Post workers are back on the job after a gruelling four-week strike that halted deliveries across the county, but it could take time before operations are back to normal.
Lion Electric to file for creditor protection
Lion Electric, a Quebec-based manufacturer of electric buses and trucks, says that it plans to file for creditor protection.
Canada's inflation rate down a tick to 1.9% in November
Inflation edged down slightly to 1.9 per cent in November as price growth continued to stabilize in Canada.
Transit riders work together to rescue scared cat from underneath TTC streetcar
A group of TTC riders banded together to rescue a woman's cat from underneath a streetcar in downtown Toronto, saving one of its nine lives.
Trudeau considering his options as leader after Freeland quits cabinet, sources say
Chrystia Freeland, Canada's finance minister, said in an explosive letter published Monday morning that she will quit cabinet. Here's what happened on Monday, Dec. 16.
Teacher and a teenage student killed in a shooting at a Christian school in Wisconsin
A 15-year-old student killed a teacher and another teenager with a handgun Monday at a Christian school in Wisconsin, terrifying classmates including a second grader who made the 911 call that sent dozens of police officers rushing to the small school just a week before its Christmas break.