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HALIFAX – Most polls have closed in Nova Scotia following a provincial election that will decide whether the first NDP government in Atlantic Canada hangs on to power.
The voting times were extended at three polling stations in two ridings as a result of a car accident and fire alarm.
Premier Darrell Dexter asked voters to give his party an opportunity to continue his government’s work, citing an anticipated boom in jobs from the federal navy shipbuilding project, a balanced budget and fewer emergency room closures as evidence of its accomplishments.
Dexter warned that such progress could be jeopardized under a Liberal government led by Stephen McNeil, a message he continued to deliver as the election came to a close.
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McNeil campaigned on promises of less government spending, greater competition in the energy sector and smaller class sizes.
Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie made tax cuts and frozen power rates the central commitments of his campaign.
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When the election was called Sept. 7, the NDP had a healthy majority government with 31 seats in the legislature, while the Liberals had 12 and the Tories seven.
McNeil, 48, ran a classic front-runner’s campaign. Aside from cutting health administration and allowing private renewable energy firms to sell electricity directly to customers, he resisted the urge to make big promises, refusing to commit to a reduction in the harmonized sales tax unless the province can generate surpluses that would offset the subsequent decline in revenue.
Throughout the 31-day campaign, McNeil tried to frame the question facing voters as one of trust but he faced a barrage of attacks from Dexter and Baillie who tried to put a dent into what polls suggested was a strong lead heading into Tuesday’s vote.
In the final days of the campaign, Dexter said health emerged as the foremost issue on the minds of voters. He said McNeil’s proposal to chop the number of health boards from 10 to two would create a “super bureaucracy” that be chaotic for the province’s health care system.
The 56-year-old Dexter also took issue with McNeil’s assertions that the NDP fell into a habit of doling out public money with little benefit, particularly a $260 million forgivable loan to the Irving Shipyard in Halifax for the shipbuilding project. The Liberal leader promised to do away with such financial assistance, saying the province should be the lender of last resort.
Dexter said such loans are necessary in an environment where Nova Scotia is competing with other jurisdictions for job growth.
As for the Tories, Baillie’s campaign consistently repeated the same key promises since the beginning of the race: a five-year freeze on electricity rates, $200 million worth of tax cuts and getting rid of a pension plan for members of the legislature that he said is unfair to taxpayers.
Baillie, 47, said the election boiled down to a choice between his party and the Liberals, all but ignoring the NDP in his last days on the hustings.
All three leaders spent some time on the final full day of campaigning Monday in Halifax, where the NDP has built a base of support in recent years but is coping with the loss of several high-profile incumbents after they decided not to run again.
The election was fought on a redrawn map that trimmed the number of seats in the legislature from 52 to 51.
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