Nova Scotia election: Liberals promise to set up a rent bank for struggling renters

As Nova Scotia’s election campaign approaches the midway point, the Liberals are rolling out details of their plan to support renters.

Party leader Zach Churchill held a news conference Wednesday in Halifax, where he promised to improve rent controls and close loopholes in the province’s regulations for fixed-term leases. The Liberal plan also calls for establishing a provincial rent bank that would provide zero-interest loans to renters who can’t pay their bills.

Churchill said the bank would be modelled after British Columbia’s rent bank, which started as a pilot project in 2019.

As well, Churchill said if the Liberals are elected to govern on Nov. 26, they would establish a residential tenancies enforcement unit and reverse the Tory government’s cuts to the rental supplement for those who pay more than 40 per cent of their pre-tax income on rent.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, NDP Leader Claudia Chender announced that, if elected, a New Democratic government would open 15 doctor clinics across the province during its first year in office at a cost of $60 million.

She said the clinics would be collaborative practices staffed by doctors, nurses and other health-care providers, with the aim of clearing the backlog of people looking for a primary care provider, which has doubled over the past three years to include about 145,000 people.

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“The Nova Scotians I talk with tell me they’ve had enough of the patchwork health-care system,” Chender said. “We will make sure that Nova Scotians can get the health care they need, when they need it.”

Chender made the announcement outside the North End Community Health Centre in Halifax.

“I think the vision is well expressed in the building behind me,” she said. “It is a clinic that is connected to the community, that has a diverse number of services and health-care professionals that can meet the needs of the community.”

After establishing the initial 15 clinics, the NDP’s long-term plan is to open 15 doctor clinics in the second year of its plan and another 15 in the third year.

“This is a priority of an NDP government, so absolutely we will get them set up quickly,” Chender said.

Tim Houston, leader of the incumbent Progressive Conservatives, was campaigning in the suburbs of Halifax and had no plans to make any formal announcements on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Wednesday marked the final day for candidate nominations. The three main parties contesting the election have already confirmed they will each have a full slate of 55 candidates.

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

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.