Nova Scotia Liberals highlight housing plan, NDP talks support for small business

Nova Scotia’s Liberal and NDP leaders made headlines on Friday with their platform pledges related to housing and support for small businesses. Meanwhile, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston was busy campaigning outside of Halifax.

At an announcement at party headquarters in Halifax, Zach Churchill confirmed that the Liberals’ ambitious plan to build 80,000 homes by 2032 in order to address the provincial housing shortage would not include the construction of more public housing. Churchill explained that while he isn’t against public housing philosophically, he believes it is more costly and time-consuming to build.

“We need to expedite the construction process,” Churchill emphasized. “We need to empower the private sector to develop market housing and leverage successful models in our province, such as the not-for-profit and co-op options.”

As of May this year, the Progressive Conservative government had committed to building 273 new public housing units, the first to be constructed since 1993, with the goal of housing 700 individuals.

The Liberal plan, previously outlined in the party’s platform, aims to accelerate the construction of homes and make them more affordable. Churchill highlighted that a Liberal government would implement provincewide municipal zoning standards and encourage housing innovation through modular and factory-built housing. Additionally, the plan includes allocating $37.5 million annually for non-profit housing construction and $20 million over four years to support co-operative housing initiatives. A review to potentially lower property taxes to spur more housing development is also on the agenda.

On the other hand, the Tory platform lacks substantial measures to address the housing crisis, with a focus on making vacant land accessible to communities and reducing the minimum down payment for homes to two percent.

The NDP, on the other hand, has pledged to construct 30,000 new affordable rental homes as part of a comprehensive plan that prioritizes the use of prefabricated housing to expand the public housing inventory.

In the Halifax area, NDP Leader Claudia Chender discussed her party’s commitment to reducing the small business tax rate from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent. Chender emphasized the significance of supporting small businesses as they play a vital role in driving Nova Scotia’s economy. She also outlined plans to collaborate with local businesses to establish a program that promotes buying local products.

Meanwhile, Tim Houston, the Progressive Conservative Leader, focused on campaigning in Colchester and Pictou counties without any scheduled announcements on Friday.

Overall, the platform pledges of the Liberal and NDP leaders in Nova Scotia aim to address housing challenges and support small businesses, highlighting different approaches to stimulate economic growth and improve living conditions in the province.