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Today is the final day for candidate nominations in Nova Scotia’s provincial election campaign. Under the province’s Elections Act, nominations must close 20 days before election day on Nov. 26. The Progressive Conservatives confirmed in a news release last week that they will have a full slate of 55 candidates. The NDP and Liberals confirmed Tuesday that they will have a full slate of candidates, though there was no immediate word from the Green Party. At dissolution, the Progressive Conservatives held 34 seats in the 55-seat legislature, the Liberals held 14 seats, the NDP had six and there was one Independent.
Here’s what else we’re watching…
Nunavut premier to face confidence vote Wednesday
Nunavut Premier P.J. Akeeagok is expected to face a confidence vote today in the territorial legislature. In a surprise move on Monday, Aivilik MLA Solomon Malliki gave notice that he’d present a motion calling for Akeeagok to be stripped of his premiership and removed from cabinet. In Nunavut’s consensus style of government — in which there are no political parties — the MLAs elect a premier from amongst themselves. If the motion passes, Akeeagok would be the second premier in Nunavut’s history to be ousted by the Legislative Assembly.
Greater Toronto home sales surge in October: board
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates. The board says 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis. Board president Jennifer Pearce says that while it is still early in the Bank of Canada’s key interest rate cutting cycle, homebuyers appear motivated by lower borrowing costs which contributed to a “positive affordability picture” last month alongside relatively flat home prices.
Work of Canadian war artist on display in Calgary
More than two dozen paintings from respected Canadian war artist Bill MacDonnell are on display at the Military Museums in Calgary. MacDonnell spent three decades recording conflicts in Europe, Bosnia and Afghanistan but also looked back at atrocities from the past. Two of his paintings depict mass graves from the Second World War in Kyiv and Russia. Curator Dick Averns says MacDonnell considered himself to be a silent witness to some of the atrocities of war and usually involved destroyed buildings and the aftermath of war. The exhibit at the Military Museums in Calgary is the first for the artist since 2006.
Paula Hawkins talks isolation and new thriller
In Paula Hawkins’ latest thriller, people are emerging from pandemic isolation, engaging with culture once again, when a gallerygoer notices something a bit off about a sculpture displayed at the Tate Modern: it contains a deer bone that looks like it might actually be human. Set in the U.K. art scene, the end of COVID-19 lockdowns is a catalyst for the plot in the was-there-a-murder mystery. The thriller, centred on a mysterious museum collection hiding deadly secrets, is told from three perspectives: that of an artist who died shortly before the onset of the pandemic, her friend-turned-caretaker-turned-executor, and the museum curator tasked with retrieving the remaining artworks left to his employer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press