Expert on timing of N.S. fixed election dates: ‘I can’t imagine who would advise that’

'Having them fixed in the summer is not usually positive for voter turnout,' said Lori Turnbull of Dalhousie University.

Nova Scotia has been the only jurisdiction in Canada without fixed election dates, and sometimes premiers get the timing of an election wrong, according to the director of the School of Public Administration at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Lori Turnbull said being able to call an election without having fixed dates is a tool for the premier “with no democratic legitimacy to it” at all.

This is why she was pleased when the Progressive Conservatives introduced legislation last week that will establish fixed dates for general elections in Nova Scotia.

“I think it’s good for the voters to kind of know when things are coming.” Turnbull said.

However, the fact that amendments to Nova Scotia’s Elections Act will set July 15, 2025, as the date of the next general election is not a positive one, she added.

This means that future elections will take place on the third Tuesday of July every four years.

“Having them fixed in the summer is not usually positive for voter turnout. … No other province or territory have fixed summer elections. It’s asking people to lean into this in July. I can’t imagine who would advise that from a political science perspective,” Turnbull said.

Seven provinces and territories have fixed election dates in October.