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Nova Scotia Liberals got their first sustained look at the two people vying to lead their party during a debate Thursday night in Halifax.
Over the course of an hour at a hotel ballroom in front of about 200 people, Becky Druhan and Amanda Mombourquette broadly agreed on many topics while also making efforts to point out differences.
Druhan, the MLA for Lunenburg West, repeatedly raised the fact that she has a seat in the legislature and experience as a former cabinet minister.
“I know who and what we face and I have shown that I can challenge this premier directly,” she said.
About 200 people attended the debate at a Halifax hotel ballroom. (Michael Gorman/CBC)
Mombourquette played up her experience as a municipal politician and community leader, and the fact she is a “lifelong Liberal,” a reference to the fact Druhan was a member of Premier Tim Houston’s PC government before eventually joining the Liberals.
“I’m not going to be burdened by past political decisions and I think that’s a big bonus as we talk about trying to unite our base and bring new members into the party,” she said.
The debate focused on three broad topics: a healthier Nova Scotia, building stronger communities and the two candidates’ values as leaders.
Both candidates talked about the need for the government to be smarter about the way it spends money on health care in order to get more bang for its buck, and each committed to listening more to health-care professionals about how to improve the system.
There was also broad agreement about the need to listen to and work with communities to improve roads and public transit.
Different takes on rent cap
One difference that emerged during the debate came with a question about what should happen when the province’s cap on rent increases expires at the end of 2027.
Mombourquette, who said she owns a small rental property, said the cap is a measure that cannot be removed while affordability remains a pressing issue.
She said she regularly hears from residents concerned about “whether or not they pay their heat bill, their light bill, or buy groceries or pay rent.”
“And those calls are not just coming anymore from folks who have been traditionally low income. They’re now coming from people in the middle class.”
Druhan said the rent cap as it exists is “the absolute worst of all worlds.”
“The current rent cap actually drives the loss of affordable housing,” she said.
People are afraid to leave their current housing situation, even if it no longer suits their needs, because of what it could mean for the rent they pay at their next home, she said.
The situation prevents housing stock from becoming available for people looking for it while also creating challenges for property owners who need to make improvements to their properties and shoulder increasing costs, said Druhan.
“What happens is they sell those properties and the rents go up.”
Readying for an election call
On the issue of leadership, both candidates talked about the need for party renewal, and Druhan said that effort must happen at the same time as preparing in the event Houston calls an early election.
“We’re probably facing an election within months, not years,” she said.
Druhan positioned herself as best suited for that potential because she already has a seat and, as she tours the province, she’s met with people who want to be candidates.
Mombourquette countered by saying that she, too, has met with people who want to run for the party. And while she might not have a seat at Province House, she said her becoming the leader would grow the party’s team from three MLAs to four people, something that would help expand their reach.
Both committed to next election
She said leaders without seats have successfully led their parties to form government in the past.
Mombourquette later told reporters there are examples across the country of where that’s been the case. She reached for a historical reference in Nova Scotia, citing Angus L. Macdonald, the Liberal premier from 1933-40 who was without a seat in the legislature when he first became party leader.
Both women said they’re committed to running in the next provincial election, regardless of the outcome of the leadership race.
The next debate is scheduled for Oct. 15 in Yarmouth.
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