BALLOT BOX

• Nova Scotia voting day is always Tuesday; campaign no fewer than 30 days and no more than 46 days from when the writ is dropped

• House standings as of Friday: 51 total seats; Liberals 24, PC 17, NDP 5, Independent 3, vacant 2

• New electoral boundaries: In 2019, House legislated 55 electoral districts that will come into effect in the upcoming election

• Voting eligibility: Canadian citizens 18 years of age or older and have lived in Nova Scotia for the six months before the day the election is called

• Voting options: in person or by write-in ballot but not by internet. Voters can vote anywhere in the province during early voting or at their assigned voting location or the district returning office on election day

• Candidate nominations close 20 days before the election

• Election day: polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; COVID protocols for cleaning, disinfecting, distancing, tabletop shields and masks in place

Quotes:

“The election is about the economy, economic recovery, and growth. We are off to a great start. According to Statistics Canada our unemployment rate dropped nearly one per cent, from 9.8 per cent to nine per cent last month. We just signed a $645 million childcare agreement with the federal government, making life more affordable for women and working families, and ultimately impacting generations of Nova Scotians. Training and education are a big part of the economic equation, too, and we need to prepare Nova Scotians for what is becoming a very dynamic work environment with new technologies and digitization. Of course, we are going for a cleaner and greener Nova Scotia, that has us phasing-out of coal for energy use by 2030.” -

Iain Rankin, Liberal party leader

“This election is about people. It's about people whose rent will jump dramatically when rent controls are removed by the Liberals, but who will see their rent capped permanently if the NDP is elected. It's about the person living with a load of anxiety and depression, who is going to have free access to same-day/next-day mental health services if the NDP is elected. It's about young people whose futures are threatened by climate change, who will live in a province that does its part to stop global warming, if the NDP is elected.

Iain Rankin has made it very clear that what will happen next, if he is elected, is that there will be over $200 million next year in cutbacks. But, if the NDP is elected, what will happen next is that real people's real lives will be really front and centre, in the next four years in Nova Scotia.” — Gary Burrill, New Democratic Party leader “This election will be about health care.” — Tim Houston, Progressive Conservative leader