Singh and May are welcome in N.S. campaign, but Trudeau and Poilievre not so much

Voters hoping to meet the leader of a national political party during the Nova Scotia election are going to be disappointed, unless they support the NDP or the Greens.

The Liberals have no interest in campaigning alongside Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, nor the PCs with the leader of the Official Opposition, Conservative Pierre Poilievre.

Nova Scotia PC Leader Tim Houston and Liberal Leader Zach Churchill were categorical when asked Monday if they planned to summon help from Ottawa to join them on the hustings.

"I have no intention of inviting the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada to campaign with me," said Houston.

"No, we don't plan on doing that," said Churchill.

The PC leader used questions by reporters to once again draw a distinction between federal Conservatives and the provincial party.

"There is no federal equivalent to the Nova Scotia PC Party," said Houston. "I'm the leader of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservatives. There is a Conservative Party of Canada. It's a completely different party with its own leader."

Churchill took a similar tack in describing the Nova Scotia Liberal Party's efforts.

"We're running our own campaign," he said at the launch of his party's election platform. "We want to make it very clear we're standing on our plan, on our commitments, on this contract that we have with Nova Scotians." 

Nova Scotians with a strong party affiliation generally don't draw a distinction between the provincial and federal counterparts of the party they support, and tend to volunteer for both during election campaigns. It's also common for political staffers to work during federal and provincial elections, and to travel to other provinces to lend a hand when there are elections there.

So far, Jagmeet Singh, the leader of Canada's New Democratic Party, is the only national leader to visit the province during this election.

He campaigned this weekend alongside Nova Scotia NDP Leader Claudia Chender, who described Singh as "our federal leader and a friend."

She suggested Singh's political battles in Ottawa resonated with Nova Scotia voters, making him a valuable party salesman.

"We hear on the doorsteps about how happy people are about things like the dental care program," said Chender. "We hear how eager people are for Nova Scotia to sign on to the pharmacare program and ensure that all women in this province have free birth control.

"Those are the things that he's talking about when he comes to Nova Scotia and they are things that Nova Scotians really care about."

The Green Party of Nova Scotia also saw national leader Elizabeth May, who grew up in Nova Scotia, as someone who could help draw attention to a party that has garnered only single-digit support during past Nova Scotia general elections.

According to Nova Scotia Green Party Leader Anthony Edmonds, plans are in the works for a visit closer to election day.

In an email, he wrote that while the provincial and federal Green parties are independent of each other and have unique identities and policies, they share common values that stem from things like sustainability, social justice and respect for diversity.

"The Green movement is values-based, so we will always welcome voices who share our values, especially those with deep roots in Nova Scotia like Elizabeth May," Edmonds wrote.

During this campaign and in the weeks before the official start of the snap election, Nova Scotia Conservatives have repeatedly accused Churchill of being more loyal to federal Liberals than to Nova Scotians.

On Monday, Houston levelled that criticism at both of his main political rivals.

"It would be a welcome sight if either Mr. Churchill or Miss Chender would put Nova Scotians before their party politics," said Houston, who said he called the election eight months early in order to strengthen the province's hand in negotiations with Ottawa.

Churchill called it an attempt by the PC leader "to trick and fool people that this provincial election has something to do with who's governing Ottawa or the country."

"It doesn't," Churchill said.

Federal party leaders have been part of Nova Scotia campaigns in the past. Popular former NDP leader Jack Layton campaigned with Darrell Dexter in the 2009 provincial election.

Justin Trudeau appeared alongside former Liberal leader Stephen McNeil during the 2013 provincial election, not long after he won the job of leading the federal party.