N.S. Liberals to select new leader in November 2026

Members of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party will choose their next leader on what will be close to the two-year anniversary of a historically bad result in the provincial election.

The party's board selected Nov. 21, 2026, as the date during a meeting on Tuesday. The rules for the leadership race will be determined during a future board meeting.

In an interview, party president Margaret Miller said the board and party members they've talked with wanted time to take stock of things before getting into a leadership race.

"They want to be out in the province rebuilding the party, strengthening the [electoral district associations] and making sure that we have something for a new leader coming forward."

Miller said the timing was inspired by the approach New Brunswick Liberals used during their most recent leadership race, which was won by Susan Holt. Holt and her team went on to win a majority government in October's provincial election.

"That's where we want to be," said Miller.

Record election loss

The Nova Scotia election on Nov. 26, 2024, was nothing short of a disaster for the Liberals.

The party dropped from Official Opposition status to third place, retaining only two of the 17 seats it won in the 2021 election. It's the fewest seats the Liberals have ever held in the legislature. Premier Tim Houston's Progressive Conservatives won a second consecutive majority with a record-setting 43 MLAs elected.

The Liberal Party's leader, Zach Churchill, resigned last month after a judicial recount confirmed he lost his seat in Yarmouth. Sydney-Membertou MLA Derek Mombourquette is serving as the party's interim leader.

Mombourquette and Timberlea-Prospect MLA Iain Rankin will spend the coming months travelling the province to meet with party members, gather feedback and work to strengthen Liberal electoral district associations across Nova Scotia.

Creating distance

The choice of a date toward the end of next year also ensures the provincial party has distance between its leadership race and the result of a federal election, which is expected sometime this year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who announced this week he will not lead his party in that election and will resign once a successor is selected, has been a drag on the Liberal Party brand across the country. The Liberals have been polling well behind the Conservative Party of Canada for months.

Houston and his caucus repeatedly linked Churchill to Trudeau and unpopular federal policies, such as the carbon tax, during the Tories' first mandate and in November's election. Houston used conflicts with Ottawa as justification for breaking his fixed election date legislation and calling the snap vote.

Miller said focusing on a party rebuild before a leadership race will help attract the best possible candidates while turning the page on attempts by the Tories to link the provincial party with their federal cousins.

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