Nova Scotians head to the polls to vote in snap election; results delayed by an hour

Nova Scotians are casting their votes Tuesday in a snap provincial election, but they won't learn the outcome until after 9 p.m. due to a delayed opening at a polling station.

CTV Atlantic will air special coverage of the provincial election beginning at 8 p.m. local time. It will also be livestreamed on atlantic.ctvnews.ca.

The election campaign wrapped up Monday after just over four weeks of campaigning.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston, who called the early election on Oct. 27, is seeking a second term as premier.

Election day takes place seven months before the fixed election date on July 15, 2025.

Houston said he called the early election because Nova Scotians deserve the chance to weigh in on the second phase of his party’s plan to turn the province into what he calls a “powerhouse.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill led his party through an election campaign for the first time. He says the Liberals have created a platform that can transform the lives of people in the province.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender also led her party through an election for the first time. She says an NDP government would improve the lives of all Nova Scotians by creating more affordable housing and improving access to health care.

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Houston is in his home riding of Pictou East Tuesday, where he voted at a local community centre.

Churchill and Chender voted in advance polls.

Chender is set to spend the day in Halifax, while Churchill will be in his Yarmouth riding. 

Nova Scotians can vote in-person from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at their assigned voting location or at the returning office in their electoral district.

Delayed opening leads to delayed results

However, Elections Nova Scotia says Electoral District 22 Eastern Shore in Mushaboom was not able to open for voting by 8 a.m. Tuesday.

It opened about an hour later, so voting at that location will be extended by one hour, until 9 p.m.

Elections Nova Scotia says it can’t report any election results while active voting is taking place, so it won’t release any results until the Mushaboom polling station closes at 9 p.m. -- an hour later than planned.

There were also issues with Elections Nova Scotia's public call centre and website Tuesday morning.

Spokesperson Naomi Shelton said Elections Nova Scotia experienced "high call volumes" through the call centre and online, which caused "service delays and connection issues."

The website and call centre are working again.

Who’s running in the ridings?

Here is a list of all 55 electoral districts and the candidates running in each one.

The Progressive Conservatives held 34 seats at dissolution, the Liberals held 14, while the NDP had six, and there was one Independent.

Elections Nova Scotia released figures Monday evening indicating that early voter turnout had fallen about nine per cent compared with the 2021 general election.

As of 8 p.m. Monday, a total of 160,698 early votes had been cast, down about 16,000 voters from the 176,793 who voted early in 2021.

There are about 787,000 registered voters in Nova Scotia.

With files from The Canadian Press

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