Nova Scotia’s new Liberal leader Zach Churchill says the Progressive Conservatives sold the public ‘a bogus bill’ when they promised in the last provincial election to fix health care – and he’s ready to hold them accountable.
‘Things have obviously gotten worse whichever way you look at it,’ the MP for Yarmouth told reporters following a leadership convention at the Halifax Convention Center on Saturday evening.
“[Premier] Tim Houston used to say there was a crisis when we had 60,000 people without a family doctor — that number, since he took over, has gone to 90,000. We want to know when the change will happen. I haven’t seen him yet.”
First elected in a by-election in 2010, Churchill replaced Iain Rankin as party leader. Rankin announced his intention in January to step down Next the party’s electoral defeat last summer. The member for Timberlea Prospect said he will continue to represent his district in the Legislative Assembly.
Churchill won 65% of the leadership vote, beating Preston MP Angela Simmonds, the other contender in the race. After the result was announced in front of a crowd of around 400, Churchill paid tribute to Simmonds and the campaign she and her team spearheaded.
“Just think of the courage of this person: to get elected in the last election, to jump on both feet in the deep end and run for the head of the party and thus demonstrate their authentic identity, represent their principles and values and carry out a sacred country .”
Churchill later told reporters that Simmonds would play “an essential role” in the caucus. He said he would spend the next few days determining the roles that party MPs would fill.
Throughout the leadership race, Churchill has presented himself as the experienced candidate ready to jump in and give the party the best chance of returning to power when voters head to the polls in July 2025. Simmonds, who has was first elected last summer, replied that it was time for the party to take a new direction, and that his life and work experience would help attract new people to the party.
Simmonds, who was the first person of color to run for leadership and just the second woman to run for the Liberal leadership, said she was proud of the work she and her team did throughout the campaign. .
“If my grandson thinks he can come up with his name, then I’ve done my job,” she told reporters after the result.
Build the base
About 3,400 people registered as delegates and were able to vote online or by phone, 96% of whom voted. That’s less than half of the 8,100 delegates who registered for last year’s convention that Rankin won. This race had three candidates, with the winner becoming Prime Minister – something that would naturally spark interest.
Still, Churchill conceded on Saturday that the party he now leads has work to do if it is to win back voter support ahead of the next provincial election. This work includes finding ways to appeal to the general electorate, as well as party members and volunteers.
A report the party set up following last summer’s elections calls for an overhaul of the organization.
“We’re going to have to build grassroots organizations in every riding in the province and recruit really capable, strong candidates in every riding and create a platform to solve the big issues of our time and sell them to Nova Scotians,” said Churchill. .
Simmonds said she was committed to the caucus and worked to unite members and volunteers who worked for both campaigns.
“I was a fierce competitor, as Zach has mentioned to a lot of people, but I think what he’ll find is that I’m an even better colleague and friend,” she said. .
Churchill said he was ready to lobby the government on a variety of issues, including affordability and the housing crisis, but he said health care would be the focus. Following an announcement earlier this week that the province is scrapping nearly all remaining COVID-19 protocols, Churchill criticized the Conservatives for adopting a monthly update on epidemiological information.
“The public needs information. I think they need that information on a daily basis, especially if we’re in the middle of another wave,” he said.
With Saturday’s result, the two opposition parties in Nova Scotia will head into the fall session at Province House with new leaders in place. Claudia Chender, NDP MP was affirmed as her party’s new leader at an event last month.
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