2021 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election explained

Election Name:	2021 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election
Country:	Nova Scotia
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2007 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election
Previous Year:	2007
Next Election:	2022 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election
Next Year:	2022
Votes For Election:	5,500
Needed Votes:	2,751-->
Turnout:	8,132 Delegates
Election Date:	February 6, 2021
1Blank:	Riding
2Blank:	First ballot
3Blank:	Second ballot
Leader
Before Election:	Stephen McNeil
After Election:	Iain Rankin
Colour3:	009385
Candidate3:	Randy Delorey
1Data3:	Antigonish
2Data3:	1,270.31 23.10%
3Data3:	Eliminated
Colour2:	FFDB00
Candidate2:	Labi Kousoulis
1Data2:	Halifax Citadel-Sable Island
2Data2:	2,023.69 36.79%
3Data2:	2,617.69 47.59%
Colour1:	D71920
Candidate1:	Iain Rankin
1Data1:	Timberlea-Prospect
2Data1:	2,206.00 40.11%
3Data1:	2,882.31 52.41%

Party:	Nova Scotia Liberal Party
Year:	2021
Date:	February 6, 2021
Location:	Virtual
Replaces:	Stephen McNeil
Winner:	Iain Rankin
Ballots:	2
Numcands:	3
Entryfee:	$60,000
Spendcap:	$350,000

The 2021 Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election took place on February 6^{[1] [2]} to elect a leader to replace Premier Stephen McNeil, who on August 6, 2020, announced his pending resignation^[3] after leading the party since 2007 and returning the party to government in 2013 after being out of power for fourteen years.

Background

Stephen McNeil announced on August 6, 2020, pending resignation as party leader and premier, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia. McNeil remained as Premier and leader until the new leader was chosen.

Timeline

2020

• August 6 – Stephen McNeil announces his pending resignation as Premier of Nova Scotia and leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party.
• August 22 – The party unveils the base set of rules for the election.
• September 14 – The official rules for the leadership election will be released.
• September 30 – Labi Kousoulis declares his candidacy.^[4]
• October 5 – Iain Rankin declares his candidacy.^[5]
• October 8 – Randy Delorey declares his candidacy.^[6]
• October 9 – Last day to register as a candidate.

2021

• January 7 – Last day to become an eligible party member.

Candidates

Declared

Randy Delorey

Randy Delorey was the MLA for Antigonish, having served since 2013. Prior to announcing his candidacy, Delorey had been serving as Minister of Gaelic Affairs since 2013 and the Minister of Health and Wellness since 2017. Previously, he has served as the Minister of the Environment (2013–2015; 2015–2016) and as Minister of Finance and Treasury Board (2015–2017).

Candidacy announced: October 9, 2020

Date registered with Elections Nova Scotia:

Campaign website:

Policies

Labi Kousoulis

Labi Kousoulis was the MLA for Halifax Citadel-Sable Island, having served since 2013. Additionally, he was the Minister of Labour and Advanced Education since 2017, having resigned to run in the leadership race.^[7] He previously served as the Minister of the Public Service Commission (2013–2017) and Minister of Internal Services (2014–2017).^{[8] [9]}

Candidacy announced: September 30, 2020

Date registered with Elections Nova Scotia:

Campaign website:

Policies

Iain Rankin

Iain Rankin was the MLA for Timberlea-Prospect, having served since 2013. Rankin served in cabinet as the Minister of Lands and Forestry since 2018, having resigned prior to announcing his candidacy. In addition, he previously served as Minister of Environment from 2017 to 2018 and was head of the Nova Scotia francophone parliamentarian association from 2014 to 2017.

Candidacy announced: October 5, 2020^[10]

Date registered with Elections Nova Scotia:

Campaign website:

Policies

Declined

• Joanne Bernard, former Minister of Community Services; former MLA for Dartmouth North^[11]
• Scott Brison, former MP for Kings—Hants; former federal Minister of Public Works and Government Services; former federal President of the Treasury Board^[12]
• Bill Casey, former MP for Cumberland-Colchester (1988–1993, 1997–2009, 2015–2019), former Chair of the House of Commons Health Committee^[13]
• Zach Churchill, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development; MLA for Yarmouth^[14]
• Sean Fraser, MP for Central Nova^[15]
• Andy Fillmore, MP for Halifax^[16]
• Laurie Graham, chief of staff to Stephen McNeil^[17]
• Bernadette Jordan, federal Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard; former federal Minister of Rural Economic Development; MP for South Shore—St. Margarets^[18]
• Geoff MacLellan, Minister of Business, Trade, and Service; MLA for Glace Bay^[19]
• Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration; MLA for Halifax Armdale^{[18] [20]}
• Kelly Regan, Minister of Community Services; MLA for Bedford; wife of former Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada Geoff Regan^[21]
• Darrell Samson, federal Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs; MP for Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook^[22]
• Mike Savage, Mayor of Halifax; former MP for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour

Debates

Debates among candidates for the 2021 Liberal Party of Nova Scotia leadership election

No.	Date	Time	Place	Participants
Participant Non-invitee Absent invitee Out of race (exploring or withdrawn)				Iain Rankin	Labi Kousoulis	Randy Delorey
Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership election debates
1	December 7, 2020	7 p.m. AST	Virtual
2	December 17, 2020	7 p.m. AST	Virtual
3	January 6, 2021	7 p.m. AST	Virtual

Results

= Eliminated from next round

= Winner

Candidate	Ballot 1		Ballot 2
Name	Votes	Points	Votes	Points
Iain Rankin	3,075 39.02%	2,206.00 40.11%	3,988 52.31%	2,882.31 52.41%
Labi Kousoulis	2,904 35.71%	2,023.69 36.79%	3,636 47.69%	2,617.69 47.59%
Randy Delorey	1,895 24.05%	1,270.31 23.10%	Eliminated
TOTAL	7,881	5,500	7,624	5,500

	Ballot 1								Ballot 2
Riding	Iain Rankin		Labi Kousoulis		Randy Delorey		Total		Iain Rankin		Labi Kousoulis		Total
	Votes	Points	Votes	Points	Votes	Points	Votes		Votes	Points	Votes	Points	Votes
	52	44.44	34	29.06	31	26.50	117		63	54.31	53	45.69	116
	121	36.45	35	10.54	176	53.01	332		214	70.86	88	29.14	302
	29	32.22	24	26.67	37	41.11	90		40	47.06	45	52.94	85
Bedford Basin	73	27.55	100	37.74	92	34.72	265		129	50.99	124	49.01	253
Bedford South	69	23.55	108	36.86	116	39.59	293		115	44.92	141	55.08	256
Cape Breton Centre-Whitney Pier	48	53.93	30	33.71	11	12.36	89		55	62.50	33	37.50	88
Cape Breton East	59	52.21	32	28.32	22	19.47	113		74	66.07	38	33.93	112
Chester-St. Margaret's	77	45.56	54	31.95	38	22.49	169		97	57.40	72	42.60	169
Clare	29	45.31	26	40.63	9	14.06	64		34	54.84	28	45.16	62
Clayton Park West	97	24.74	157	40.05	138	35.20	392		166	43.68	214	56.32	380
Colchester-Musquodoboit Valley	33	39.29	39	46.43	12	14.29	84		35	42.17	48	57.83	83
Colchester North	40	40.82	30	30.61	28	28.57	98		54	56.84	41	43.16	95
Cole Harbour	16	27.59	25	43.10	17	29.31	58		23	41.82	32	58.18	55
Cole Harbour-Dartmouth	42	23.33	85	47.22	53	29.44	180		73	41.95	101	58.05	174
Cumberland North	36	51.43	22	31.43	12	17.14	70		43	61.43	27	38.57	70
Cumberland South	20	30.77	40	61.54	5	7.69	65		24	36.92	41	63.08	65
Dartmouth East	44	27.16	67	41.36	51	31.48	162		70	44.59	87	55.41	157
Dartmouth North	34	29.31	61	52.59	21	18.10	116		43	38.05	70	61.95	113
Dartmouth South	74	47.74	55	35.48	26	16.77	155		86	55.84	68	44.16	154
Digby-Annapolis	13	18.31	31	43.66	27	38.03	71		34	51.52	32	48.48	66
Eastern Passage	16	16.49	27	27.84	54	55.67	97		32	34.04	62	65.96	94
Eastern Shore	53	55.21	28	29.17	15	15.63	96		58	61.05	37	38.95	95
Fairview-Clayton Park	47	18.50	158	62.20	49	19.29	254		70	28.23	178	71.77	248
Glace Bay-Dominion	27	27.27	31	31.31	41	41.41	99		42	47.73	46	52.27	88
Guysborough-Tracadie	24	38.10	26	41.27	13	20.63	63		29	47.54	32	52.46	61
Halifax Armdale	74	27.92	136	51.32	55	20.75	265		93	36.47	162	63.53	255
Halifax Atlantic	74	48.05	55	35.71	25	16.23	154		86	56.95	65	43.05	151
Halifax Chebucto	75	30.12	134	53.82	40	16.06	249		96	39.51	147	60.49	243
Halifax Citadel-Sable Island	102	27.57	193	52.16	75	20.27	370		137	38.27	221	61.73	358
Halifax Needham	101	41.22	112	45.71	32	13.06	245		119	48.97	124	51.03	243
Hammonds Plains-Lucasville	77	48.73	34	21.52	47	29.75	158		106	68.83	48	31.17	154
Hants East	102	56.35	24	13.26	55	30.39	181		125	71.43	50	28.57	175
Hants West	59	58.42	23	22.77	19	18.81	101		68	68.69	31	31.31	99
Inverness	95	62.50	19	12.50	38	25.00	152		121	81.21	28	18.79	149
Kings North	72	61.02	35	29.66	11	9.32	118		80	68.38	37	31.62	117
Kings South	104	76.47	19	13.97	13	9.56	136		110	82.71	23	17.29	133
Kings West	39	42.86	28	30.77	24	26.37	91		48	55.17	39	44.83	87
Lunenburg	31	29.81	24	23.08	49	47.12	104		51	52.58	46	47.42	97
Lunenburg West	44	51.16	29	33.72	13	15.12	86		47	54.65	39	43.35	86
Northside-Westmount	45	49.45	38	41.76	8	8.79	91		49	54.44	41	45.56	90
Pictou Centre	28	20.44	83	60.58	26	18.98	137		45	33.58	89	66.42	134
Pictou East	28	31.11	48	53.33	14	15.56	90		34	38.64	54	61.36	88
Pictou West	38	43.18	31	35.23	19	21.59	88		46	53.49	40	46.51	86
Preston	25	31.25	43	53.75	12	15.00	80		28	36.36	49	63.64	77
Queens	22	45.83	17	35.42	9	18.75	48		26	54.17	22	45.83	48
Richmond	35	30.70	47	41.23	32	28.07	114		49	43.36	64	56.64	113
Sackville-Cobequid	30	31.58	47	49.47	18	18.95	95		40	43.01	53	56.99	93
Sackville-Uniacke	15	20.55	43	58.90	15	20.55	73		21	30.88	47	69.12	68
Shelburne	28	58.33	9	18.75	11	22.92	48		32	66.67	16	33.33	48
Sydney-Membertou	91	41.94	112	51.61	14	6.45	217		97	45.33	117	54.67	214
Timberlea-Prospect	239	76.60	50	16.03	23	7.37	312		249	81.11	58	18.89	307
Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River	46	34.07	62	45.93	27	20.00	135		57	43.51	74	56.49	131
Victoria-The Lakes	39	47.56	27	32.93	16	19.5	82		49	61.25	31	38.75	80
Waverley-Fall River-Beaver Bank	38	35.51	39	36.45	30	28.04	107		53	50.48	52	49.52	105
Yarmouth	106	68.39	18	11.61	31	20.00	155		123	79.87	31	20.13	154

Notes and References

1. Web site: Nova Scotia Liberal Party unveils plan for upcoming leadership race. August 22, 2020. August 28, 2020.
2. Web site: Nova Scotia Liberals to usher in new premier in February. August 22, 2020. August 28, 2020.
3. News: Jerrett . Andrea . Pace . Natasha . Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil to step down, leave public office . 6 August 2020 . CTV News Atlantic . 6 August 2020 . en.
4. Web site: Halifax MLA Labi Kousoulis 1st to join the race to replace Stephen McNeil as premier. September 30, 2020. September 30, 2020.
5. Web site: Iain Rankin enters Liberal leadership race. October 5, 2020. October 9, 2020.
6. Web site: October 8, 2020. Randy Delorey enters N.S. Liberal leadership race. October 9, 2020.
7. Web site: Labi Kousoulis steps down as minister, announces candidacy for premier’s spot. September 30, 2020. September 30, 2020.
8. Web site: Premier's chief of staff considering leadership run: sources. September 13, 2020. September 14, 2020. CBC News.
9. Web site: Liberal leadership race taking shape. Jim. Vibert. September 12, 2020. September 15, 2020.
10. Web site: 2nd Liberal to enter N.S. leadership race wants more action on climate change. October 5, 2020. October 9, 2020.
11. Web site: Poll pegs Scott Brison as favourite in N.S. Liberal leadership race, but he’s not interested. September 4, 2020. September 11, 2020.
12. Web site: Scott Brison opts out of running for Nova Scotia Liberal leader . September 4, 2020. September 30, 2020. Global News.
13. Maher . Stephen . stphnmaher . 1296108811154010112 . August 19, 2020 . I am told @billcaseyns is considering running for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Nova Scotia. . en . February 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200819154048/https://twitter.com/stphnmaher/status/1296108811154010112 . August 19, 2020 . live.
14. Murphy . Steve . CTVAnchor . 1306313174640136194 . September 16, 2020 . BREAKING. In an interview just recorded for tonight's broadcast, NS Education Minister Zach Churchill tells @CTVAtlantic he will not be a candidate to succeed Premier @StephenMcNeil as leader of the NS Liberal Party. . en . February 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200916192537/https://twitter.com/CTVAnchor/status/1306313174640136194 . September 16, 2020 . live.
15. Web site: An update on my decision regarding the Nova Scotia Liberal Leadership. Sean. Fraser. September 16, 2020. September 30, 2020.
16. News: Nova Scotia politicians begin kicking the tires on Liberal leadership. CBC News. August 7, 2020. August 8, 2020. en.
17. Graham . Laurie . lauriegrahamNS . 1307374301528682498 . September 19, 2020 . Thank you to those who have reached out to me in the past week. Here is my statement on the Nova Scotia Liberal Party leadership race. https://t.co/I6Kle9VkiK . en . February 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200919174325/https://twitter.com/lauriegrahamNS/status/1307374301528682498 . September 19, 2020 . live.
18. Web site: Hurdles unique to women likely await prospective N.S. Liberal leadership candidates. August 12, 2020. August 13, 2020.
19. Pace . Natasha . NatashaPace . 1296479865621946368 . August 20, 2020 . NS Business Minister Geoff MacLellan says while he’d love to be the first Premier from Galce Bay, he isn’t interested in taking over for Premier Stephen McNeil. “I’m out.” . en . February 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200820161405/https://twitter.com/NatashaPace/status/1296479865621946368 . August 20, 2020 . live.
20. Web site: A Message to All Nova Scotians. October 5, 2020. October 9, 2020.
21. Web site: Community Services Minister Kelly Regan won't run for Liberal leadership. September 22, 2020. September 26, 2020.
22. Laroche . Jean . larochecbc . 1310640400592404483 . September 28, 2020 . Liberal MP Darrell Samson is the latest person to take a pass on becoming @NSLiberal leader. "After thorough deliberation with my family over the past weeks, I have decided that I will not be seeking the nomination for leadership of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party." #nspoli . en . February 1, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200928180039/https://twitter.com/larochecbc/status/1310640400592404483 . September 28, 2020 . live.