The Nova Scotia Elections! Why did the NDP Win?
June 20, 2009
Canadians for Peace and Socialism

The Nova Scotia Provincial election of June 9th 2009 resulted in the New Democratic Party led by Darrell Dexter gaining an absolute majority. The NDP took 31 seats to 11 for the Liberals and 10 for the Progressive Conservatives. Many long time Conservative strongholds, some in rural areas, fell to the NDP. Nine Conservative cabinet ministers went down to defeat. The NDP can now look forward to four years of power.
The NDP has come to power when working people in rural and urban Nova Scotia confront hard times. The fishery is languishing. Unemployment is rising. Expectations are high among working people that something can now be done to move the province in a more progressive direction. What is problematic is the NDP came to power without enunciating a clear economic program based on the vital interests of the working majority and the unemployed.
The capitalist press is touting the NDP win as the result of a �shift to the centre�. That superficial analysis accords with the interests of wealth and privilege that seeks to transform social democracy into a harmless clone of the two major capitalist parties of the profit system.
The appeal of corporate power to the Dexter Government will be to congregate together in the new legislature with the Liberals and the Conservatives on a centre right consensus and compete in sham political fights in the interests of investor schemes that will be touted as an answer to depression.
The election of the NDP confronts the organized labour movement and the left in the years ahead with the need to define its own program and to step up independent political action to keep the NDP Government committed to a genuine reform program in the interests of the working people. That challenge will become the content of left politics going forward.
Did the NDP win because it pandered to the fears of the strata of wealth and privilege (which Dexter certainly did, promising to be not much different in fiscal and budgetary policy than his Conservative predecessor); or was the NDP elected in spite of its declared willingness to be a non-threatening replacement of the Tories?
What were the real underlying causes of the election of the NDP and what should be done to ensure that the victory results in real gains for the working people of urban and rural Nova Scotia that brought the party to power?
Below is the assessment of a Nova Scotia voter sent to Focus On Socialism that comes at the significance of the NDP win from a consistent working class point of view. CPS endorses its standpoint. More needs to be said and will be said as the NDP Government settles in and the struggle moves forward.
The Way I See It!
A Worker�s View of the Nova Scotia Election!
By I. Shel-Bouy

Dear Editor
Here are a couple of papers. The issue of the June 2nd 2009 issue of Coastguard www.NovaNewsNow.com was prior to the election reporting that lobster fishers confronted the lowest prices for their catch in 20 years. The season closed at $4 per pound. Usually the season closes with shore prices in the $6 to $7 a pound that can peak at $12 to $14 a pound in mid-winter. Also a copy of a May 15th 2009 Toronto Star report on the profit income of Clearwater fisheries. www.thestar.com. Clearwater is the biggest fisheries company here and their reputation as a real exploiter of the fishers is well known. The company reported a $17.9 million profit as sales moved up to $71 million from $57 million. Their ships are apparently not well maintained and generally the working conditions of the fishers are harsh to say the least. I know this from a friend who is a cook on one of their large scallop draggers. As you can see by the report their profits are high considering we are in the midst of a recession. Clearwater should in my opinion be told by this NDP Government that either they improve the working conditions of their employees or have their assets seized and be taken over and run by the government.
The other paper is the Halifax Chronicle the issue the day after the election: www.TheChronicleHerald.ca reporting the details of the vote on a constituency by constituency basis.
Generally the way I see it at this point is this election was a reflection of the current and underlying mistrust of the old line parties. It is not a swing toward a new system of governing but more a notice to all political parties that people are tired of the empty promises and the talk, of especially the Tories, but any party that comes to power.
If the NDP does not make any real change in the conditions of the people here and they drop the ball, they can forget the opportunity for another chance.
I think we both know that the NDP is really just another big ruling party and really not up to the task of changing the system. We should remember that Dexter is a lawyer and not of the working class and I would bet that if he was asked if he would like to see socialism put in place here in Canada he would say maybe but not right now. We have to balance the budget first.
As I said before, he is a �sheep in wolf�s clothing�. I think he is a right wing NDP�er. He has taken the middle road position and this has been even noted by those in the media.
I don�t think the NDP platform or agenda will change much once they are in the driver�s seat. But the shame of it all is that if one examines the spread between the winners and the next candidate in this election the vote was a strong one in favour of the NDP.
People made a very conscious decision to vote the way they did. You have to ask yourself what is it then that the people want so badly to make such a deliberate decision to vote in for the first time in Atlantic Canada�s history an NDP majority government? This was not accident! It definitely was not because of any new or creative policies that were put forward by the NDP. It was not the result of anything specific about real job creation. The NDP was only promising to fill potholes in the roads.
And if it wasn�t an accident then what is the next important thing that this new government should do? I think it is time for them (unfortunately I don�t see this happening) to confront the system and bring in some real reforms that challenge capitalism. Such as nationalization of vital components like the media, energy and the fisheries. Make all health care free including dental and eye care. And above all give notice to big business that fair wages and the best working conditions that can be designed are not negotiable, they are automatic.
These things are fundamental to our way of thinking and when they are presented to the working people of any area in a logical and rational way they are not only accepted but understood to be right.
What was it that has kept the NDP in power for so long on the prairies and for such a brief time in Ontario and BC? On the prairies real reforms and changes that affected the people in their everyday lives were made. In Ontario with the liberal opportunistic Bob Rae leadership nothing concrete was ever done. The then weak leadership of the trade unions led to no results that the working people could see or benefit from. Working people need to see forward movement in the fundamentals of life and above all they need to be assured of security of employment. And as we know this can only take place when there is a change in the ownership and control of resources from private owners to the public.
The follow up to this election is of course the federal scene. The NDP has been given a real opportunity with this success in Nova Scotia. If there is to be a federal election this summer, and if the NDP are interested in not just being the official opposition, but actually forming a government, it�s time for them to put some really serious items in their platform, such as changing a dying system.
I will be writing again soon.

Left Turn Canada!