Nova Scotia Liberal leadership candidates face off in first debate

The two candidates running to lead Nova Scotia’s Liberal Party met for the first debate of the race on Oct. 1, discussing their values as leaders, housing and healthcare ahead of a Nov. 21 leadership election.

Amanda Mombourquette, Richmond County Council deputy warden, and Becky Druhan, Lunenburg West MLA, spent most of the hour-long debate in broad agreement on a variety of issues. Their key disagreements were over their approach to leadership and the rent cap.

Speaking to around 200 people in the ballroom of the Halifax Tower Hotel and Conference Centre, the candidates briefly interrupted and criticized each other, focusing on Druhan’s past as a Progressive Conservative minister and Mombourquette’s lack of experience in the provincial legislature.

The candidates faced off again in Yarmouth, N.S., on Oct. 15 and will debate again in Membertou on Oct. 28. The new leader will be elected at a Nov. 21 leadership convention.

The deadline to register as a voting delegate — which costs $25 — is Nov. 2.

During the first debate, the candidates shared perspectives on housing, specifically disagreeing about Nova Scotia’s five per cent cap on rent increases, which is set to expire in 2027.

Druhan described the province’s rent cap structure as “the absolute worst of all the worlds,” saying restricting rent increases means small landlords are priced out of the market. She also advocated for increased investment in public housing.

Mombourquette acknowledged the argument that the cap could reduce housing stock options, but said that “We cannot be removing an affordability option at this stage of the game.”

Mombourquette has never been an MLA, but was previously the warden for Richmond County Council, the head of the rural municipality.

Druhan has been the MLA for Lunenburg West since 2021, elected twice as a Progressive Conservative before leaving the party in October of 2025 to sit as an Independent. She joined the Liberals in May when she immediately announced her intention to run for party leader.

She previously served as minister of education and early childhood development, minister responsible for the office of equity and anti-racism, and provincial attorney general under Premier Tim Houston. She is currently the Liberal caucus chair in the legislature.

“I know how government works from the inside, and my experience has shaped how I lead,” Druhan said.

Druhan criticized the Houston government’s approach to healthcare and said the province isn’t spending competitively. Mombourquette echoed this criticism and said, if elected, she plans to start a six-month-long public works inquiry into the healthcare system.

“We’re spending over a third of our budget on health, and we are not seeing direct benefits to Nova Scotians at the scale that we should,” said Mombourquette.

The candidates each outlined their vision for rebuilding after the party only won two seats in the 2024 election, its worst-ever performance. The Liberals have lost seats in every election since 2013, and have not been in government since Houston’s Progressive Conservatives took power in 2021.

Mombourquette promised to implement the recommendations of a 2021 internal report which called for a complete overhaul within the party.

“We can talk about leadership all day long, but right now, we don’t have much of a party to lead,” Mombourquette said.

Druhan disagreed with Mombourquette’s assessment and said she’s seen unity from Liberals she’d spoken to. She argued the priority should be to listen to members and take decisive action on their concerns.

Jo Stone, an attendee who supports Mombourquette, says, “The answers need to come from outside the three people that are sitting in the legislature today.”

Stone, a healthcare worker, says Mombourquette’s understanding of the community would help her improve Nova Scotia’s mental health services.

Kirk O’Connell, who attended the debate, says he prefers Druhan because she is a sitting MLA, and was drawn to her when she left the PC caucus to sit as an Independent. He says the move “just shows an amount of integrity that I’d like to see [more of] in politics today.”