PC platform takes aim at power rates, expands health services, cuts taxes

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston says his party's election platform is "a continuation of a plan that is already working," while also vowing to cap the amount power rates can increase in Nova Scotia and providing no new money for housing.

"When we took office, Nova Scotia's economy was falling behind the rest of the country and our health-care system was just breaking at the seams," he told reporters during a news conference on Friday.

"We've come a long way since 2021. Our economy is growing and there's a strong foundation to build on."

In the last 12 months, the province has outperformed the country as a whole in employment growth, exports and retail growth, said Houston.

Many of the initiatives in the PC platform were announced either before Houston called the early election last month or in recent days of the campaign.

The PCs have said they'll lower the HST by one percentage point and increase the basic personal amount. There is also a promise to increase the minimum wage to $16.50 next year.

Plan for capping power rate increases

The platform promises to lower the small business tax to 1.5 per cent from 2.5 per cent, and increase the small business threshold to $700,000 from $500,000 as a way to help small businesses shoulder the minimum wage increase.

Houston said the cap on power rate increases would amount to new criteria for the utility and review board to consider when Nova Scotia Power makes an application for a rate increase. This new provision would create a "guardrail" to prevent any increases from stretching beyond the average of increases across the country, he said.

The Tory leader said there are "a lot of smart people at Nova Scotia Power and [parent company] Emera" and it would be up to them to manage their business and any potential market fallout of the policy. When the Tories previously made legislative changes to power regulation it had an effect on NSP's credit rating.

Health-care promises

On health care, Houston said his government would continue with its efforts to attract and retain more workers through expanded scope of practice, more training capacity, and streamlining credentialing.

While his government made progress on its commitment in 2021 to "fix health care," Houston said on Friday that there remains work to do. He said much of the heavy lifting has been done to stabilize the system, setting the stage for further improvements.

The Tory platform includes money to cover the cost of the shingles vaccine for seniors, make parking free at health-care sites, create a provincial travel nurse program that the party says would alleviate the need to use more costly private agencies within four years, and establish a menopause centre of excellence to enhance health care for women.

When Houston called the election, he cited one of the reasons as needing to address the affordability crisis.

And while the Tory platform points to initiatives from its first mandate, such as a universal school lunch program and indexing income assistance rates and tax brackets to the rate of inflation, there is no new money for housing.

New housing initiatives

Houston said the efforts of his government resulted in housing starts increasing year over year from 2023 to 2024 at the highest rate since 1986, and services have been increased for those struggling to maintain a place to live or who are homeless.

"What we've been doing to this point is extensive," said Houston.

He said he wished previous governments led a charge to build more housing, but the work his government started three years ago would continue if the PCs are re-elected.

The two initiatives in the PC platform related to housing are a program for first-time home buyers that requires a lower down payment on homes less than $500,000, and a pledge to make more vacant land parcels available to communities for $1 on the condition they be used for affordable housing developments.

The PCs say affordable rents must be at or below 80 per cent of average market rent.

Houston reiterated a promise to remove the tolls from the Halifax harbour bridges and he said his party would also help address traffic in Halifax Regional Municipality by expanding and upgrading Highway 102, building a connector from Hammonds Plains Road to Exit 2 on Highway 101, and adding at least three new interchanges.

The party said the 10-year plan would cost $810 million, and it's hoping the federal government would cover 40 per cent of the cost. The PCs would also order a feasibility study on light rail.

Cost breakdowns

The platform promises would cost about $142 million in the first year and exceed $200 million in each of the subsequent three years. The PCs said they'd run deficits for the first three years of a new mandate and post a surplus in Year 4.

The document the party provided reporters on Friday includes more detail than what it posted online. The online version for the public does not include costing information, for example.

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill said the PC platform is "thin on vision" at a time when the province has become one of the most expensive places to live in Canada.

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the Tory platform ignores the most pressing issues facing the public, including the need to get more family doctors, increase housing availability, and lower the cost of living.

The Liberals released their platform earlier this week. The NDP has yet to release its platform.

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