The call to public office in Nova Scotia — ‘If not...

A lawyer, a nurse, and a farmer walk into Province House. Some people might think that what happens inside the Nova Scotia legislature is a...

Picking a political banner often depends on prevailing winds

By MARK COFFIN “I was inspired by (Pierre) Trudeau. He captured the youth of my generation,” recalls Alexa McDonough. “But then I was really appalled by...

And the nomination goes… according to political script, usually

By MARK COFFIN There is a provincial election just around the corner. In Nova Scotia, there are no fixed election dates, so the premier and the rare...

Tug of party leash is strong for MLAs learning the ropes

By MARK COFFIN Most people know what it feels like to start a job when you’re not quite ready. To make it, you need a...

First MLAs are marginalized, then they get marching orders

By MARK COFFIN and LOUISE COCKRAM As we pointed out in our introduction to this series, exit interviews with former MLAs are a valuable tool. After they...

Mining the exit interview for political gold

It's not often citizens get a candid look at the political process. In fact, modern politics is so tightly scripted that we rarely ever...

Why we need an Open House in Nova Scotia Politics

There are plenty of ways to find out what is happening in the Government of Nova Scotia, but the most interesting findings rely on...

Think hybrid: can we have our ranked ballots and proportional representation...

Written by Ian Sherman Living as I do in rural Cape Breton, my very strong feeling is that we’ll never see our largely rural...

The opposite of representation is exclusion

Guest Blog by Antony Hodgson Anyone who watched last year’s film ‘Selma’ about the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 will not...

Solving for first past the post: what’s wrong with that?

Guest Blog by Katelynn Northam I remember distinctly the moment when I realized how broken our voting system is. It was the night of the...