Provincial election speculation ramps up as Houston, Churchill accuse each other of lying

With speculation of an early provincial election call mounting, Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and Premier Tim Houston both suggested on Thursday that the other was a liar looking to mislead the public in pursuit of votes.

The source of the dispute is the latest fundraising flyer from the Progressive Conservative Party, a "Tim or Trudeau" carbon tax survey.

The letter includes a picture of a smiling Houston juxtaposed with sullen black-and-white photos of Churchill and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. It asks people if they side with Trudeau and Churchill, who support the carbon tax, or Houston, who opposes it.

Churchill has stated publicly multiple times that he does not support the federal carbon tax.

"[Houston] is more focused on attacking his political opponents and lying to get votes than he is about being there to help people who need him right now, whom he was elected to serve," Churchill told reporters in Halifax on Thursday.

Churchill said Houston has record revenues coming into provincial coffers, but hasn't done enough to improve people's lives and help them deal with challenges like the high cost of living and housing.

He said the fact that Nova Scotia has the federal carbon tax is a direct result of Houston's refusal to present a credible alternative. Ottawa had said that if provinces failed to come up with their own plan, the federal tax would be imposed.

Ottawa rejected Houston's proposal to put no consumer price on carbon and rely instead on policy measures intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Churchill's party has proposed replacing the federal carbon tax with a cap-and-trade system that, in theory, could include the other Atlantic provinces.

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting in Halifax on Thursday, the premier referred to the cap-and-trade proposal as "a sneaky price on carbon."

"He supports the price on carbon," said Houston. "He supports the carbon tax."

Houston said he does not think the letter is misleading and called Churchill a "Trudeau Liberal" who would be the federal party's preferred choice to be premier.

"I welcome the day that he stands up to the prime minister and stands with Nova Scotians," Houston said.

Houston said Churchill has supported an offer from the federal government to cover half the cost of upgrading the Chignecto Isthmus, with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick covering the other half — Houston has argued the feds should pay the full shot.

He also criticized Churchill for supporting a federal government proposal to send asylum seekers to Nova Scotia. Churchill has said it is hypocritical of Houston to support doubling the province's population while not being open to helping asylum seekers.

The Tory fundraising letter comes amid a new round of candidate appointments for the party and several government announcements targeting opposition districts, including a one-year extension of the ferry service between Yarmouth and Maine, and support work for the Chignecto Isthmus near Amherst.

Multiple sources tell CBC that Houston could call a provincial election as soon as next weekend.

The first piece of legislation the premier introduced and passed after forming government in 2021 was to establish a fixed election date. That schedule would have voters heading to the polls July 15, 2025.

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