Support for PC government wanes in Halifax favouring NDP

CITYnews halifax / By Rachel Morgan

Premier Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservative government remains popular across Nova Scotia but it is losing its stronghold in Halifax, a new poll shows.

Liaison Strategies surveyed a random sample of 800 Nova Scotians between Jan. 4 and 6.

If a provincial election were held today, 65 per cent of respondents across the province, excluding Halifax, say they would vote PC. That number is just 31 per cent for those living in Halifax.

“Provincewide, the PCs are still very much in front. But the story underneath the topline is that Halifax is moving in a different direction,” David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies, said in a press release. “If you are the governing party, leading 65% outside Halifax is an asset but trailing in Halifax is a warning sign.”

Those living in Halifax are now trending towards support for the NDP opposition led by Claudia Chender. Forty per cent of those in Halifax say they would vote NDP if an election were held today.

The PCs retain their reputation on the healthcare file with 50 percent of those in Halifax and 52 per cent of those outside the major city saying they trust the current government the most to handle the healthcare system. Those numbers are 30 per cent and 29 per cent respectively for the NDP.

Since re-election in 2024, the PCs have launched no cost shingles vaccines for those over 65 and is currently working to establish amenopause centre of excellence and a travel nurse team.

The province is also making progress on the backlog of patients awaiting a family doctor. As of Nov. 1, 2025, there were 69,420 Nova Scotians in need of a family doctor. That number steadily decreased the entire year, from 110,456 in January 2025.

Where the PCs have lost traction is on the housing file.

Forty-one per cent of Haligonian voters say they trust the NDP the most to handle housing, compared to 26 per cent who trust the PCs.

While the PC still lead outside Halifax at 40 per cent, 29 per cent trust the NDP more.

In November 2025, NDP leader Chender took on the position of housing critic to draw greater attention to the province’s housing crisis.

Housing rentals across the province remain high, with the average rent increasing by more than $4,300 on an annual basis between October 2021 and October 2024.

Despite a rising vacancy rate, a report from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation found rent increased 6.7 per cent in Halifax for a two-bedroom apartment across 2025, compared to the national average of 5.1 per cent.

“We are seeing a very pronounced divide as the government is not evenly popular,” Valentin said. “Outside Halifax, voters are giving the PCs the benefit of the doubt. In Halifax, there is a much tougher read of where things are going.”

Overall, the Liaison survey shows a sharp regional divide in how Nova Scotians feel about the premier’s performance overall.

In Halifax, 57 per cent say the province is heading in the wrong direction, compared to 62 per cent of those outside the major city that say the province is heading in the right direction.