“I’m saddened there still won’t be a voice where decisions and policies that will impact our people will be made. We’ll be voiceless [in the Nova Scotia legislature] once again” — Nadine Bernard, one of only two Indigenous candidates in the 2021 Nova Scotia provincial election, to the Canadian Press after she failed to win a seat in the riding of Victoria-The Lakes
While the representation of Indigenous people in Canada’s legislatures has been meagre, it has been non-existent in Nova Scotia. If represented in line with their population share of 5.7%, Indigenous people would win about 3 out of the 55 Legislative Assembly seats in elections. But no self-identified Indigenous person has ever been elected to the provincial parliament.
How is that possible?
When writing this blog post, I found little to no research about (the lack of) Indigenous candidates in Nova Scotia provincial elections (even though it was already discussed in the provincial chamber at least 30 years ago). This blog post cannot fill the research gap, but I hope it sparks interest to dig deeper.
What are the potential causes for the lack of representation?
Nova Scotia’s single-member plurality (SMP) electoral system divides the province into 55 ridings. The candidate with the most votes in each riding wins a seat in the provincial parliament.
Four so-called ‘protected ridings’ exist in Nova Scotia, one for the Black community in the Preston area and three with large Acadian populations. In 1991, the boundaries of these districts were drawn in a way that Black and Acadian candidates, both historically underrepresented, have better chances of winning. However, no protected ridings exist for the Indigenous communities.
Furthermore, Indigenous communities often mistrust the political process of the settler state after decades of “cultural genocide” against them. The irony of Indigenous participation – as candidates or even voters – in the institutions that enable(d) this oppressive system is apparent. Moreover, the lack of funding and resources, which Indigenous communities face disproportionately, is generally a barrier for voters to become candidates. Besides, local party candidate nominations favour White males, resembling the party membership which selects the candidates. The fact that the winning Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia (PC) did not nominate a single Indigenous person in 2021 indicates that the current ways of nominating may pose a barrier to Indigenous candidates. Those Indigenous candidates nominated in 2021, one by the NDP and one by the Liberal Party, had no chance of winning in other parties’ strongholds, something the literature typically refers to (in the context of women nominations) as “sacrificial lambs.”
What can be done?
A variety of solutions, in close coordination with the Indigenous people, are possible. Due to space limitations, let me focus on one forceful example: electoral systems can address the underrepresentation of equity-seeking groups. Using the SMP electoral system, Kenya increased its share of women in parliament by creating designated constituencies for females. These constituencies are more significant than the standard constituencies and exist parallel to the traditional system. In Croatia and New Zealand, similar designs are in place for ethnolinguistic (Croatia) or Indigenous (New Zealand) minorities, in which equity-seeking voters can either choose to vote in the designated or the standard constituencies.
Kenya, New Zealand and Croatia could inspire a solution.
I do not say that the representation of Indigenous people in our Legislative Assembly makes up for a meaningful nation-to-nation relationship. However, inviting the Indigenous communities to be represented in Nova Scotia’s legislature and ensuring systems exist to enable this could be a small step in showing respect and willingness for reconciliation.
