The 2020 Halifax municipal election was held on October 17, 2020 to elect councillors and a mayor to a four-year term on the Halifax Regional Council, the governing body of the Halifax Regional Municipality. Members of the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial were also elected. The election was held in conjunction with municipal elections across the province.
Of the 16 incumbent councillors, 11 ran for re-election. Of those, nine retained their seats. Mike Savage sought another term as mayor, competing for the position against incumbent councillor Matt Whitman and social media personality and copywriter Max Taylor. Savage was handily re-elected, capturing over 80 per cent of votes cast for the position.
A record number of women were elected, achieving gender parity on Halifax council for the first time.
Electoral system Councillors (elected by residents of each of the 16 electoral districts) and the mayor (elected at-large by all voters) are chosen using the first-past-the-post voting system. Each district elects one councillor; the candidate with the most votes wins. There are no political parties at the municipal level in Nova Scotia.
The boundaries of the 16 districts, updated in 2015, were the same as those used in the 2016 election.
Synopsis
In the run-up to the election, four incumbent councillors declared their intentions to retire from municipal politics. In October 2019, longtime Spryfield councillor Steve Adams (District 11) announced that he would not re-offer in the following year's election. Adams was first elected in 1991. Veteran Dartmouth councillor Bill Karsten (District 3) announced in May 2020 that he would not run again. Lorelei Nicoll (District 4) and Russell Walker (District 10) followed suit in July 2020.
The first confirmed mayoral candidate was Matt Whitman, the incumbent councillor in District 13. Whitman announced his campaign at the Grand Parade in October 2019. Incumbent mayor Mike Savage announced his candidacy for re-election in March 2020. A third candidate, Max Taylor, joined the race in September 2020. Taylor's platform centred on encouraging Halifax residents to "get out and vote".
Local market research firm Narrative Research (formerly Corporate Research Associates) polled the public in August 2020 to gauge support for Savage and Whitman (Taylor had not yet nominated). Of the decided voters polled, 89 per cent stated that they would vote for Savage for mayor.
District 12 candidate Eric Jury attracted controversy after publishing a video in which he promised, if elected, to "bring any motion you want forward" on behalf of anyone who donated over $100 to his campaign. Jury's entry on the municipality's online list of candidates included a link to the video. Richard Zurawski, the incumbent councillor for District 12, stated that he was "absolutely floored" by the video, and expressed concern that municipal staff had apparently not vetted material posted to the elections website. The legality of Jury's proclamation was questioned. A city spokesperson responded, "the returning officer for the election has reached out to this candidate, and the video has been removed. No further action will be taken at this time." Jury received only two per cent of votes cast in the district, and was not elected.
Advance telephone and Internet polls ran from October 6 to 14. Advance in-person polls ran from October 10 to 13. The election was held on October 17.
Mike Savage was re-elected as mayor by a large margin, earning a greater share of votes (80 per cent) than in 2016 (68 per cent). A record number of women (eight) were elected, achieving gender parity on council for the first time in history. In contrast, only two women were elected in the 2016 election. Of the 11 incumbent councillors that ran for re-election, nine retained their seats while two (Steve Streatch and Richard Zurawski) did not.
The results for most districts were known by the end of election day, as the unofficial results provided a clear indication of the winning candidates. However, the race in District 11 was too close to call, as Patty Cuttell led Bruce Holland by a small margin and results from two polls had not been published. The results were issued the following afternoon, with Cuttell winning the race by 28 votes. The municipal returning officer attributed the delay to confusion surrounding the tallying of two advance polls, as well as a large number of new, inexperienced election staff. Holland requested an official recount, commenting that the number of spoiled and rejected ballots was greater than the 28 votes that won the race. On 28 October 2020, the judicial recount was officially ordered. The recount confirmed Cuttell's win.
Voter turnout increased over the previous election. In 2016, only 33.62 per cent of eligible residents voted. In 2020, approximately 39.65 per cent voted. A professor of political science at Cape Breton University commented that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have prompted a stronger interest in community affairs. The pandemic may also have encouraged the use of e-voting.
The new council was sworn in on October 29, 2020 at the Halifax Convention Centre with the exception of Patty Cuttell, who had to await the results of the District 11 recount. Cuttell was sworn in on 10 November.
Candidates and results
Note: The figures below do not take into account spoiled or rejected ballots.
Mayor Mike Savage was re-elected as mayor.
CandidateVotes%Mike Savage (incumbent) 102,735 80.16Matt Whitman 13,497 10.53Max Taylor 11,928 9.31Total 128,160 100Registered voters/turnout 322,232 39.77Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 1: Waverley - Fall River - Musquodoboit Valley Cathy Deagle Gammon was elected, unseating incumbent Steve Streatch.
CandidateVotes%Cathy Deagle Gammon 3,062 42.38 Steve Streatch (incumbent) 2,953 40.87Stephen Kamperman 1,005 13.91Arthur Wamback 205 2.84Total 7,225 100Registered voters/turnout 16,686 43.30Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 2: Preston - Chezzetcook - Eastern Shore Incumbent David Hendsbee was re-elected.
CandidateVotes%David Hendsbee (incumbent) 4,379 50.90Nicoll Johnson 2,436 28.32Tim Milligan 1,538 17.88David Boyd 250 2.91Total 8,603 100Registered voters/turnout 20,609 41.74 Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 3: Dartmouth South - Eastern Passage Incumbent Bill Karsten did not re-offer. Becky Kent, who served as regional councillor for the former Woodside-Eastern Passage district from 2004 to 2007, was elected.
CandidateVotes%Becky Kent 4,309 43.44Vishal Bhardwaj 1,818 18.33Lloyd Jackson 1,575 15.88Clinton Desveaux 1,283 12.93George Mbamalu 934 9.42Total 9,919 100Registered voters/turnout 22,851 43.41Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 4: Cole Harbour - Westphal Incumbent Lorelei Nicoll did not re-offer. Trish Purdy was elected.
CandidateVotes%Trish Purdy 1,634 19.70Darryl Johnson 1,294 15.60Jessica Quillan 1,111 13.40Chris Mont 1,039 12.53Kevin Foran 858 10.35Tania Meloni 758 9.14John Stewart 597 7.20Jamie MacNeil 451 5.44Jerome Lagmay 169 2.04Ryan Burris 144 1.74Caroline Williston 125 1.51Marisa DeMarco 113 1.36Total 8,293 100Registered voters/turnout 19,709 42.08Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 5: Dartmouth Centre Incumbent Sam Austin was re-elected.
CandidateVotes%Sam Austin (incumbent) 7,769 82.07 Mitch McIntyre 1,697 17.93Total 9,466 100Registered voters/turnout 22,292 42.46Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 6: Harbourview - Burnside - Dartmouth East Incumbent Tony Mancini was re-elected.
CandidateVotes%Tony Mancini (incumbent) 5,637 79.72Ibrahim Manna 960 13.58Douglas Day 474 6.70Total 7,071 100Registered voters/turnout 20,142 35.11Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 7: Halifax South Downtown Incumbent Waye Mason was re-elected.
CandidateVotes%Waye Mason (incumbent) 3,728 62.11Jen Powley 1,882 31.36Craig Roy 287 4.78Richard Arundel-Evans 105 1.75Total 6,002 100Registered voters/turnout 18,512 32.42Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 8: Halifax Peninsula North Incumbent Lindell Smith was re-elected.
CandidateVotes%Lindell Smith (incumbent) 5,779 67.88Virginia Hinch 2,261 26.56 Dylan Kennedy 473 5.56Total 8,513 100Registered voters/turnout 21,100 40.35Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 9: Halifax West Armdale Incumbent Shawn Cleary was re-elected.
CandidateVotes%Shawn Cleary (incumbent) 3,880 41.72Stephen Foster 2,913 31.32Bill Carr 1,846 19.85 Shaun Clark 375 4.03Gerry Lonergan 286 3.08Total 9,300 100Registered voters/turnout 21,511 43.23Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 10: Halifax - Bedford Basin West Incumbent Russell Walker did not re-offer. Kathryn Morse was elected.
CandidateVotes%Kathryn Morse 1,924 27.48Debbie MacKinnon 1,286 18.37Renee Field 1,190 17.00Andrew Curran 1,100 15.71Mohammad Ehsan 850 12.14Sherry Hassanali 372 5.31Kyle Morton 165 2.36Christopher Hurry 115 1.64Total 7,002 100Registered voters/turnout 19,154 36.56 Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 11: Spryfield - Sambro Loop - Prospect Road Incumbent Steve Adams did not re-offer. Patty Cuttell was elected.
CandidateVotes%Patty Cuttell 1,662 19.58Bruce Holland 1,635 19.25Matthew Conrad 1,482 17.46Pete Rose 972 11.45Bruce Cooke 781 9.20Hannah Munday 465 5.48Jim Hoskins 441 5.19Ambroise Matwawana 309 3.65Stephen Chafe 274 3.23Lisa Mullin 252 2.97Kristen Hollery 151 1.77Dawn Edith Penney 66 0.78 Total 8,490 100Registered voters/turnout 20,844 40.73Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 12: Timberlea - Beechville - Clayton Park - Wedgewood Iona Stoddard was elected, unseating incumbent Richard Zurawski.
CandidateVotes%Iona Stoddard 3,074 37.65Richard Zurawski (incumbent) 2,675 32.76John Bignell 2,243 27.47Eric Jury 173 2.12Total 8,165 100Registered voters/turnout 20,968 38.94Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 13: Hammonds Plains - St. Margarets Incumbent councillor Matt Whitman did not re-offer as he ran for mayor. Candidates are not allowed to run for mayor and councillor at the same time. Pam Lovelace was elected.
CandidateVotes%Pam Lovelace 3,444 36.26Nick Horne 2,164 22.78Darrell Jessome 1,808 19.03Tim Elms 1,053 11.09Harry Ward 323 3.40Tom Arnold 307 3.23Robert Holden 178 1.87Iain Taylor 144 1.52Derek Bellemore 78 0.82Total 9,499 100Registered voters/turnout 19,845 47.87Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 14: Middle/Upper Sackville - Beaver Bank - Lucasville Incumbent Lisa Blackburn was re-elected.
CandidateVotes%Lisa Blackburn (incumbent) 4,898 85.11 Greg Frampton 857 14.89Total 5,755 100Registered voters/turnout 18,012 31.95 Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 15: Lower Sackville Incumbent Paul Russell was re-elected.
CandidateVotes%Paul Russell (incumbent) 2,901 51.56Jay Aaron Roy 916 16.46David Schofield 648 11.68Mary Lou LeRoy 644 11.60Anthony Mrkonjic 480 8.71Total 5,589 100Registered voters/turnout 16,747 33.37Source: Halifax Regional Municipality
District 16: Bedford - Wentworth Incumbent Tim Outhit was re-elected by acclamation.
Conseil scolaire acadien provincial Three candidates for the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial were elected by acclamation, namely: Jeff Arsenault, Katherine Howlett, and Marc Pinet.
References
External links Municipal elections – Halifax government website