Zach Churchill announces leadership bid for Nova Scotia Liberal party

HALIFAX -

Former provincial cabinet minister Zach Churchill launched his bid for the leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberals Tuesday, urging the party to close ranks and refocus following its defeat in last summer's general election.

Churchill made the announcement before a small gathering of supporters in a Halifax church hall.

The 37-year-old father of two young daughters said he is running to bring his experience and the lessons he has learned in government to help rebuild the party.

Churchill also didn't gloss over the Aug. 17 election defeat that saw the rival Progressive Conservatives sweep to power and the Liberals reduced to 17 seats in the 55-seat legislature.

"Loss isn't easy and this election loss has affected us all," he told the crowd. "But how we respond to this loss is really important and it's going to define us as a party and determine how we move forward."

Churchill is the second candidate in the race, joining fellow caucus member Angela Simmonds, who also launched her leadership campaign this month.

First elected to the provincial legislature in a 2010 byelection, Churchill represents the riding of Yarmouth, and during the Liberals' time in power he held cabinet portfolios including health, education, natural resources and municipal affairs.

Considered a front-runner for the party's top job, he told reporters that he did partly feel that an opportunity was lost when he didn't jump into the leadership race to replace Stephen McNeil, who announced in August 2020 that he was stepping down as leader and premier.

That race was won by Iain Rankin, who announced in January that he would step down following the party's electoral defeat.

"I do a bit, but I'm not looking back, I'm looking forward," Churchill said. "I'm really excited about building this from the ground up."

He said the timing is right this time because the COVID-19 lockdown situation appears to be winding down and he's not as worried about being separated from his family for long periods of time because of the demands of the job.

Churchill added that he has benefited from serving for so long under McNeil.

"I certainly will always value my time in government, as tough as it was sometimes, and I will take what I've learned there and apply it," he said.

The Liberal party has set a March 21 deadline for candidates to enter the race, with a leadership convention scheduled for July 9.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2022.