Even though the Liberals have remained the governing party in Nova Scotia, winning a slim majority on election night, it’s the Progressive Conservatives who will benefit the most when it comes to their pocket books.
On Tuesday night, the PCs saw their number of votes jump by 31 per cent, while the Liberals saw a decline of 17 per cent compared to the 2013 election. The NDP lost 23 per cent of their votes and the Green Party received a 215 per cent boost.
These gains and losses will have an impact when it comes to each party’s per vote subsidy — the amount they get each year from Elections Canada based on the votes they got from the past election.
This means the governing Liberals will receive roughly $265,000 compared to the $314,000 they received after the 2013 election. The PCs see their number increase, receiving approximately $240,000 compared to the $180,000 they received after 2013.
The NDP will get a drop in money with about $144,000 instead of $184,000 and the Greens will get $18,600 each year, a boost from the $5,800 they saw after the previous election.
The number goes up each year based on inflation.
Big bucks for PC caucus
The PCs will see the biggest rewards from the caucus budget. Each party gets a base amount, but there’s extra added per MLA in the party.
Despite the majority win, the Liberals still have a net loss of seven MLAs and they cannot count their cabinet or the Speaker for the caucus budget.
As a result of election night results, the PCs and Liberals’ budgets would flip, with the Tories getting more than $1.1-million. If the Liberals hold their number of cabinet ministers steady and the speaker is also a Liberal MLA then the Liberals would get approximately $831,000. The NDP will receive about $701,000.
Transition pay
Lastly, there’s also how much each MLA who lost their seat — nine total — in the election. Each person gets a transition allowance if they’re not yet eligible for a pension and it’s based on how many years they served in the legislature.
For example, outgoing cabinet minister Michel Samson, who has been in the legislature since 1998, will get more than $89,000 in transition pay.
And one-term MLA Joachim Stroink, on the other hand, will get approximately $26,000 for losing his seat, according to the Canadian Taypayers Federation.
The numbers could change if there are any recounts. So far only the NDP have confirmed they will ask for a recount in Chester-St. Margaret’s where Denise Peterson-Rafuse lost by 90 votes. The Liberals and Tories say they haven’t yet decided if they will ask for recounts.
The deadline to ask for a recount is Monday.