Photo credit to Sam Foran of Foran Photography
This weekend, history was made in Nova Scotia.
Tim Houston, MLA for Pictou East, accountant and entrepreneur by trade, husband of the amazing Carol Houston and father of the down to earth Paget and Zachary, became the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia this weekend on the first ballot, something everyone thought was impossible.
Now many Nova Scotians are asking “Who is Tim Houston?” and “What does this win mean for Nova Scotia?” And I’m here to answer these questions for you as someone who’s involved with the PC Party.
Who is Tim Houston?
Tim Houston is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met. He’s relentless in a good way. He stands up for what’s right and works for the people in his constituency unlike any politician I’ve ever seen. He’s a businessman, a family-oriented person, he’s forward thinking, and he’s a true Nova Scotian. He listens to people, he listens to their ideas, and he works to form those ideas in a way that will benefit our province. He’s a true born leader and he’s approachable. If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him yet, I would strongly suggest you try to.
What does this win mean for Nova Scotia?
Tim Houston becoming the leader of the PC Party means one thing- in just two and a half years he’ll be the Premier of our beautiful province. People are noticing that the Nova Scotia Liberal Party is a sinking ship. They’ve made broken promise after broken promise, and just barely held on to their majority last election. Only time will tell just how much support they’ll lose in the next election, but one thing is for certain, they won’t be forming government next time.
Tim put forward ideas during this leadership race that he has full intent of implementing once Premier, ideas that will attract voters on all sides of the political spectrum and that will ultimately win the election. Some of these ideas include:
- No provincial taxes for ages 25 and under.
- Establishing a new chronic illness treatment prevention program: Once Premier he’ll focus $100 million on an in-home treatment model for patients with chronic illnesses.
- Spending smarter on healthcare: Tim focused on chronic conditions because five percent of Nova Scotians consume 70% of our health care dollars due to chronic conditions.
- Creating a new Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions.
- Designing a brand-new Economic Development Strategy.
- Bringing back the film tax credit in Nova Scotia.
- Fighting against the federal Liberal imposed carbon tax.
- Investing in infrastructure by making smart decisions as opposed to political decisions.
- Allow alcohol made in Atlantic Canada to cross borders freely.
These are just a few of his many great ideas, if you’d like to learn more about Tim’s ideas, visit https://www.timhouston.ca/ideas
What Tim’s win means for us is that in two years we’ll have a Premier that listens, who has forward thinking ideas, and who fights for what’s best for the people he represents. There’s often this invisible barrier between politicians and the general population, but with Tim that barrier doesn’t exist. He’s not just a politician. He’s a regular guy who ran for office and worked hard.
My experience with the PC leadership race
It’s no secret that I supported Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin for leadership. Her ideas, her energy, and her leadership experience attracted me to her highly qualified team, but me supporting her as my #1 choice not once changed my friendship with and support for Tim. Tim and I have been friends for quite some time now; he’s been a mentor, a role model, and has been supportive of me for years. I’m so proud of his hard work and dedication and I’ve always been proud to know him. Whenever he was in town, I was always there supporting him no matter what side I was on. After the first ballot results were announced, I knew what everyone else knew. Tim was about to become the leader of the PC Party. I respect the democratic process of this leadership race and believe fully in order to be successful we need to be a unified party. I support Tim 100%.
I want to take a moment to recognize Tim’s team and family. They all worked so hard and this wouldn’t have been possible without them.
This is an exciting time for the PC Party of Nova Scotia. If you’d like to get involved or learn more you can contact me or get involved with your local PC Association- you won’t regret joining our tory family.
Hannah Dawson-Murphy is a fourth year Politics student and is now a Candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in West Nova.
