1998 Nova Scotia general election

1998 Nova Scotia general election

March 24, 1998
52 seats of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly 27 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	69.47% 5.92pp
First party Second party Third party   Leader Russell MacLellan Robert Chisholm John Hamm Party Liberal New Democratic Progressive Conservative Leader since July 12, 1997 March 30, 1996 October 28, 1995 Leader's seat Cape Breton North Halifax Atlantic Pictou Centre Last election 40 3 9 Seats won 19 19 14 Seat change 21 16 5 Popular vote 158,380 155,361 133,540 Percentage 35.10% 34.43% 29.60% Swing 13.86pp 16.71pp 1.49pp
Riding map of Nova Scotia showing winning parties
Premier before election Russell MacLellan Liberal Premier after election Russell MacLellan Liberal

The 1998 Nova Scotia general election was held on March 24, 1998 to elect members of the 57th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Liberal party and the New Democratic Party tied in the seat count, with 19 each, while the Progressive Conservatives won 14 seats. The Liberals went on to form a minority government with the support of the Progressive Conservatives.

Background

Liberal Premier John Savage was elected in a landslide in 1993. The Liberals inherited a $471-million deficit, and launched an austerity program which cut the province's health and education systems. On April 1, 1997, the provincial government imposed a 15% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) which merged the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) and the Goods and Services Tax (GST). This shift angered some Nova Scotians who now had to pay taxes on things that had previously been exempted, such as home heating fuel. Savage also implemented an unpopular highway toll. Liberal party infighting eventually resulted in Savage's resignation in July 1997. Russell MacLellan became Premier of Nova Scotia on July 18, 1997.

Campaign

The governing Liberals were desperate to distance themselves from the Savage government which was viewed as deeply unpopular. New leader, Russell MacLellan, was made the focus of the campaign with all Liberal candidates signs displaying the phrase, "the MacLellan Liberals."

During a televised debate on March 5, 1998, MacLellan stumbled badly when Progressive Conservative Leader John Hamm asked if he would resign if he failed to bring in a balanced budget. Instead of responding, MacLellan stared straight ahead and did not speak for seven seconds. MacLellan blamed the pause on rigid debate rules. This moment marked a turning point in a race that saw the Liberals barely retain power.

Opinion polls

Evolution of voting intentions at provincial level

Polling firm	Last day of survey	Source	LANS	NSNDP	PCNS	Other	ME	Sample
Election 1998	March 24, 1998		35.10	34.43	29.60	0.29
Omnifacts	January 1994		60	24	16	—	—	—
Election 1993	May 25, 1993		48.96	17.72	31.09	1.53

Results

Results by party

↓

19	19	14
Liberal	New Democratic	Progressive Conservative

Official results

Party		Party leader	# of candidates	Seats				Popular vote
				1993	Dissolution	Elected	Change	#	%	Change (pp)
	Liberal	Russell MacLellan	52	40	35	19	-21	158,380	35.10%	-13.86%
	New Democratic	Robert Chisholm	52	3	4	19	+16	155,361	34.43%	+16.71%
	Progressive Conservative	John Hamm	52	9	9	14	+5	133,540	29.60%	-1.49%
	Independent		7	0	0	0	0	1,325	0.29%	-0.90%
	Vacant				2
Total valid votes								448,606	99.43%	+0.13%
Blank and invalid ballots								2,578	0.57%	-0.13%
Total			163	52	52	52	–	451,184	100.00%	–
Registered voters / turnout								649,536	69.47%	-5.92%

Popular vote Liberal   35.10% New Democratic   34.43% PC   29.60% Independent   0.29%

Seats summary Liberal   36.54% New Democratic   36.54% PC   26.92%

Results by region

Party name			HRM	C.B.	Valley	S. Shore	Fundy	Central	Total
Parties winning seats in the legislature:
	Liberal	Seats:	4	7	3	2	1	2	19
		Popular vote:	34.46%	44.91%	32.54%	35.30%	29.31%	31.42%	35.34%
	New Democratic Party	Seats:	13	3	-	1	1	1	19
		Popular vote:	43.94%	38.02%	25.44%	28.09%	25.57%	27.41%	34.61%
	Progressive Conservative	Seats:	-	-	4	4	4	2	14
		Popular vote:	21.47%	16.16%	41.66%	36.46%	44.98%	41.17%	29.75%
Parties not winning seats in the legislature:
	Independents	Popular vote:	0.13%	0.91%	0.36%	0.15%	0.14%	-	0.30%
Total seats:			17	10	7	7	6	5	52

Retiring incumbents

Liberal

• Jay Abbass, Halifax Chebucto
• Guy Brown, Cumberland South
• Bob Carruthers, Hants East
• Bill Gillis, Antigonish
• Charles MacArthur, Inverness
• John MacEachern, Cape Breton East
• Russell MacNeil, Cape Breton Centre
• Earle Rafuse, Annapolis
• Dennis Richards, Cole Harbour-Eastern Passage
• John Savage, Dartmouth South

Progressive Conservative

• Donald P. McInnes, Pictou West

Nominated candidates

Legend
bold denotes party leader
† denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election or was defeated in nomination contest

Valley

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent
Annapolis		Laurie Montgomery 3,448 36.96%		Basil Stewart 3,198 34.28%		John Kinsella 2,468 26.46%		Bob Mann 215 2.30%		Earle Rafuse †
Clare		Wayne Gaudet 2,950 47.28%		Guy LeBlanc 2,578 41.32%		Vanessa Paddock 711 11.40%				Wayne Gaudet
Digby—Annapolis		John Drish 2,232 33.71%		Gordon Balser 2,465 37.22%		Steve Downes 1,925 29.07%				Joseph H. Casey†
Hants West		Debbi Bowes 2,596 27.35%		Ron Russell 4,507 47.48%		Dana Harvey 2,390 25.18%				Ron Russell
Kings North		Jennifer Foster 2,457 27.09%		George Archibald 3,760 41.45%		Neil H. McNeil 2,854 31.46%				George Archibald
Kings South		Robbie Harrison 3,650 36.46%		David Morse 3,069 30.65%		Mary DeWolfe 3,293 32.89%				Robbie Harrison
Kings West		Baden Thurber 1,684 20.60%		George Moody 5,075 62.09%		Jacquie DeMestral 1,414 17.30%				George Moody

South Shore

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent
Argyle		Allister Surette 1,891 33.47%		Neil LeBlanc 3,028 53.59%		Diane E. Cromwell 651 11.52%		Oscar Harris 80 1.42%		Allister Surette
Chester—St. Margaret's		Jim Barkhouse 3,153 34.10%		Hinrich Bitter-Suermann 3,256 35.22%		Doris Maley 2,837 30.68%				Jim Barkhouse
Lunenburg		Lila O'Connor 3,099 34.62%		Michael Baker 3,231 36.10%		Marilyn B. Crook 2,621 29.28%				Lila O'Connor
Lunenburg West		Don Downe 4,364 47.95%		Lou Centa 2,027 22.27%		Eric Hustvedt 2,711 29.78%				Don Downe
Queens		Tery Doucette 2,072 31.42%		John Leefe 3,582 54.32%		Basil L. Giffin 940 14.26%				John Leefe
Shelburne		Clifford Huskilson 3,144 38.57%		Cecil O'Donnell 2,835 34.78%		Derek Jones 2,173 26.66%				Clifford Huskilson
Yarmouth		Richie Hubbard 2,212 25.22%		Alex McIntosh 2,629 29.97%		John Deveau 3,931 44.81%				Richie Hubbard

Fundy-Northeast

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent
Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley		Dick Steeves 1,587 18.31%		Brooke Taylor 5,122 59.08%		Jim Harpell 1,960 22.61%				Brooke Taylor
Colchester North		Ed Lorraine 3,301 39.13%		Andy Williamson 2,511 29.77%		Janet Maybee 2,623 31.10%				Ed Lorraine
Cumberland North		Russell Scott 2,438 27.89%		Ernie Fage 5,451 62.35%		Peter Stewart 854 9.77%				Ernie Fage
Cumberland South		Mike Uberoi 2,153 26.81%		Murray Scott 4,714 58.69%		Sandy Graham 1,089 13.56%		James MacLeod 76 0.95%		Guy Brown †
Hants East		Jim W. Smith 3,377 35.32%		Lawrin Armstrong 2,010 21.02%		John MacDonell 4,175 43.66%				Bob Carruthers †
Truro—Bible Hill		Eleanor Norrie 2,560 27.94%		Jamie Muir 3,852 42.03%		Ibel Scammell 2,752 30.03%				Eleanor Norrie

Central Halifax

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent
Halifax Bedford Basin		Gerry Fogarty 4,246 40.10%		Michael Maddalena 2,530 23.89%		Errol Gaum 3,813 36.01%				Gerry Fogarty
Halifax Chebucto		Kenzie MacKinnon 3,165 35.51%		Sean Phillips 1,590 17.84%		Howard Epstein 4,158 46.65%				Jay Abbass †
Halifax Citadel		Ed Kinley 4,377 39.53%		Tara Erskine 2,175 19.64%		Peter Delefes 4,414 39.87%		Art Canning 106 0.96%		Ed Kinley
Halifax Fairview		Bob Britton 2,597 30.03%		Brian Nash 1,402 16.21%		Eileen O'Connell 4,649 53.76%				Eileen O'Connell
Halifax Needham		Gerry O'Malley 2,506 30.31%		Artho Kartsaklis 924 11.18%		Maureen MacDonald 4,837 58.51%				Gerry O'Malley

Suburban Halifax

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent
Bedford—Fall River		Francene Cosman 4,205 37.58%		Peter Christie 3,892 34.79%		Marvin Silver 3,091 27.63%				Francene Cosman
Halifax Atlantic		Darren Watts 2,818 29.31%		Jeff Campbell 1,340 13.94%		Robert Chisholm 5,364 55.79%		Golda M. Redden 93 0.97%		Robert Chisholm
Sackville—Beaver Bank		Bill MacDonald 3,128 33.16%		Stephen Taylor 2,485 26.34%		Rosemary Godin 3,821 40.50%				Bill MacDonald
Sackville—Cobequid		Jack Brill 2,131 22.61%		Rob Batherson 1,383 14.68%		John Holm 5,909 62.71%				John Holm
Timberlea—Prospect		Bruce Holland 3,308 33.34%		Tom Robertson 1,852 18.67%		Bill Estabrooks 4,762 47.99%				Bruce Holland

Dartmouth/Cole Harbour/Eastern Shore

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent
Cole Harbour—Eastern Passage		Randy Anstey 3,303 34.25%		Linda DeGrace 1,931 20.02%		Kevin Deveaux 4,411 45.73%				Dennis Richards †
Dartmouth—Cole Harbour		Alan Mitchell 2,986 33.98%		Michael L. MacDonald 2,084 23.72%		Darrell Dexter 3,717 42.30%				Alan Mitchell
Dartmouth East		Jim Smith 3,326 40.92%		Ralph Hawley 1,849 22.75%		Viola Huntington 2,954 36.34%				Jim Smith
Dartmouth North		Gloria McClusky 2,575 33.87%		Mike Brownlow 2,003 26.35%		Jerry Pye 3,024 39.78%				Vacant
Dartmouth South		Bruce Hetherington 3,164 35.40%		Allan Billard 2,099 23.48%		Don Chard 3,676 41.12%				John Savage †
Eastern Shore		Keith Colwell 3,299 38.49%		Greg Brown 2,472 28.84%		Darren Richard 2,801 32.68%				Keith Colwell
Preston		Wayne Adams 1,548 37.45%		Ross D. Isenor 809 19.57%		Yvonne Atwell 1,777 42.99%				Wayne Adams

Central Nova

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent
Antigonish		Hyland Fraser 4,649 41.55%		Andrew MacNeil 3,554 31.76%		Maurice Smith 2,986 26.69%				Bill Gillis †
Guysborough—Port Hawkesbury		Ray White 3,438 42.81%		Ron Chisholm 2,717 33.83%		Wendy Panagopoulos 1,876 23.36%				Ray White
Pictou Centre		Roseanne Skoke 2,114 23.68%		John Hamm 5,037 56.42%		Judy Hughes 1,776 19.89%				John Hamm
Pictou East		Wayne Fraser 2,208 26.52%		James DeWolfe 3,816 45.83%		David MacKenzie 2,302 27.65%				Wayne Fraser
Pictou West		Rob McDowell 1,633 19.89%		Luke Young 3,273 39.86%		Charlie Parker 3,306 40.26%				Donald P. McInnes†

Cape Breton

Electoral district	Candidates								Incumbent
	Liberal		PC		NDP		Independent
Cape Breton Centre		Steve Drake 2,435 28.61%		Julien Frison 576 6.77%		Frank Corbett 5,499 64.62%				Russell MacNeil †
Cape Breton East		Clarence Routledge 2,859 30.06%		Henry Boutillier 1,651 17.36%		Reeves Matheson 5,002 52.59%				John MacEachern †
Cape Breton North		Russell MacLellan 4,666 50.13%		Murray Johnston 1,853 19.91%		Archie MacKinnon 2,789 29.96%				Russell MacLellan
Cape Breton Nova		Paul MacEwan 3,944 53.98%		Walter Hagen 312 4.27%		Lou Surette 3,050 41.75%				Paul MacEwan
Cape Breton South		Manning MacDonald 5,118 60.30%		Anna Steele 861 10.14%		Ed Murphy 2,508 29.55%				Manning MacDonald
Cape Breton—The Lakes		Allan Henderson 3,707 42.29%		Rollie Clarke 485 5.53%		Helen MacDonald 4,573 52.17%				Helen MacDonald
Cape Breton West		Russell MacKinnon 4,528 44.05%		Alfie MacLeod 2,818 27.42%		Brian Slaney 2,933 28.53%				Alfie MacLeod
Inverness		Charlie MacDonald 4,396 47.83%		Randy MacDonald 1,951 21.23%		Maria Coady 2,274 24.74%		Ed MacDonald 569 6.19%		Charles MacArthur †
Richmond		Michel Samson 3,230 48.40%		Frank Sutherland 1,392 20.86%		Wilma Conrod 2,051 30.74%				Vacant
Victoria		Kennie MacAskill 2,405 48.08%		Dan Chiasson 1,524 30.47%		Ruth Schneider 887 17.73%		Stemer MacLeod 186 3.72%		Kennie MacAskill

External links

• 1998 Campaign News Archived from Halifax Chronicle Herald