Houston asks for help, Rankin touts housing project and Burrill revisits rent control

It's Day 27of Nova Scotia's 31-day provincial election campaign.

Liberals pledge help for affordable housing project

It was a quiet day on the campaign trail Thursday for Liberal Leader Iain Rankin, who didn't hold any public events. But that doesn't mean the Liberals were announcement-free.

Rankin, along with his Hammonds Plains-Lucasville candidate Ben Jessome, promised $300,000 in seed funding to go towardaffordable housing initiatives by the Upper Hammonds Plains Strategic Initiatives Committee.

The committee is working to establish a community land trust in the historic African Nova Scotian community. It wouldcreate affordable rental, multi-unit, and single detached homes, while also protecting the community's cultural heritage.

"This project recognizes African Nova Scotian leadership and innovation," Rankin said in a news release.

"It presents an opportunity for us to continue building trust."

The funding would come from a previous commitment Rankin made ahead of the election to implement recommendations from the province's affordable housing commission, which released its report in May.

Houston asks to borrow votes

You know you're in the home stretch of an election campaign when opposition leaders start appealing to voters who have traditionally not voted for them.

That's what happened on Thursday during PC Leader Tim Houston's regularly scheduled media availability.

After his usual attack on the Liberal record "Had enough of these Liberals yet?" Houston made adirect appeal to Nova Scotiavoters.

"Regardless of who you have voted for in the past, regardless of whether you consider yourself a supporter of the PC Party or another party, if you believe that we must fix health care, if you believe that the health-care system should be there when you need it, then I'm asking you to lend me your vote."

This is not the first time a politician has asked to borrow the vote of someone who traditionally backs another party.

In the 2004 federal election, Paul Martin made a last-ditch appeal to NDP supporters to vote Liberal to stop Stephen Harper from becoming prime minister. Martin lost his majority but was able to form a minority government.

In the following election, Jack Layton, the leader of the NDP at the time, returned the favour by calling on Liberals to lend him their vote. It may have worked. The NDP increased their seat count by 10 in that federal vote.

Burrill bangs familiar drum

In case the NDP position on rent control wasn't already abundantly clear, Gary Burrill held a campaign event Thursday morning to drive it home.

In a park in Lower Sackville, Burrill met with Darlene Lewis, a Halifax woman who was given notice of a $100 rent increase last year.

Lewis said her landlord walked back the increase when the province introduced a temporary two per cent cap on rent hikes, but she's worried about the possibility of thecap being lifted. At the time it was put in place last year, the governing Liberals said it would stay as long as the state of emergency is in place.

"I fear what would actually happen because I'd probably be looking at a tent to live in by myself," said Lewis.

Sound Off: Election Edition - The final days of the campaign

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More than a 100,000 Nova Scotians have already voted in some form. How tight will the race be between the Nova Scotia Liberals, PC Party and NDP?

Burrill said an NDP government would make rent control permanent within a month of taking office, a move neither the Liberals or Tories support.

"A vote for the NDP is a vote for permanent rent control, and a vote for permanent rent control is a vote for the NDP," said Burrill.

The New Democrats feelso strongly about the issue and the potential electoral gains it could create, thatparty workers are spending the final days of the campaignattaching small "rent control" tagsto NDPcampaign signs around the metro Halifax area.

Tories show their work

The Progressive Conservatives appeared to respond Thursday to criticism from the Liberals earlier this week.

Liberal candidate Labi Kousoulis bemoaned the fact that neither the PCs nor the NDPhadposted fully costed versions of their platforms online(the NDP has for the first year of itsplatform). The Liberal platform can be found on their website.

In the case of the Tories, Kousoulis drew attention to the fact that although the party gave reporters copies of the complete 130-page costed platform, online all the public could see was a 12-page summary.

That's since changed, and the complete document is on the party's website.

The move seemed to catch Houston off guard when asked by CBC Newsabout why the party was withholding that information. After defending what was on the websiteas adequate, Tim Houston had this to say in response to a followup question:

"I'm just getting a message that it is online now. We have a vision for this province that we're proud of. We have no reason to hold back. But what we want Nova Scotia to focus on is where we're taking this province. And I guess that's up there now."

How to vote

Check whether you are registered to vote with Elections Nova Scotia.

Once registered, you can vote in advance of election day by requesting a mail-in ballot or by visiting a returning office or advance polling station.

On election day, polling stations will be open from 8a.m. to 8 p.m.

More information on voting is available from electionsnovascotia.ca.

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