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‘Lame duck leader’: Scotland’s Humza Yousaf quits. What’s next?

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Glasgow, Scotland – Humza Yousaf has stepped down as Scottish first minister after the collapse of his power-sharing government last week prompted opposition parties in the devolved Scottish Parliament to table two confidence votes – one in him and another in his administration.

Yousaf resigned on Monday after becoming the first Muslim head of government of any Western democracy when he assumed the posts of first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in March 2023. He secured Scotland’s top job after the shock resignation of his predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon.

Sturgeon turned the SNP into an election-winning machine at both a Scottish Parliament and London Westminster level during her eight years and four months as party leader and first minister.

But after the British government repeatedly refused to facilitate her calls for a second referendum on Scottish independence and after long being buffeted by a series of personal and political setbacks, Sturgeon eventually fell on her sword after claiming that her years as Scotland’s most powerful politician had taken its toll.

Yousaf, a Sturgeon loyalist who won Scotland’s top office after defeating two party colleagues in an SNP leadership race, entered office as the head of a power-sharing government after Sturgeon’s deal with the Scottish Green Party in August 2021 resulted in an SNP-Green parliamentary majority.

But Yousaf’s decision to end the alliance on Thursday – which came after the Green Party called an emergency vote on whether to continue with the pact after it was angered by the SNP’s decision to abandon Scotland’s “world-leading” carbon emissions target – capped a tumultuous premiership.

Analysts said it was in jeopardy from the very start.

“He’s had a lot of bad luck,” Scottish political commentator Simon Pia said, referring to the current police investigation into allegations of financial misconduct by the SNP during Sturgeon’s premiership, which led to Peter Murrell, Sturgeon’s husband and the party’s former chief executive, being charged with embezzlement this month.

Pia, a former Scottish Labour press adviser at the Scottish Parliament, said Yousaf at 39 just “didn’t have the political savvy” to handle the rough and tumble of high office.

Indeed, during his resignation speech at Bute House, the official residence of Scotland’s first minister in Edinburgh, Yousaf conceded that he had “clearly underestimated the level of hurt and upset I caused Green colleagues” who, after his decision to axe the emissions arrangement, signalled their intention to vote against him in a confidence motion.

‘Lame duck leader’

Political analyst Gerry Hassan, author of Scotland Rising: The Case for Independence, said Yousaf’s resignation was a reflection of the SNP’s current downward trajectory as a political force after its first victory in Scottish Parliament elections in 2007 and its role in putting Scottish independence into the political mainstream (despite losing a vote on Scottish statehood in a referendum by 55-45 percent in 2014).

“The basic reality is that leaders come and go, and political fortunes go up and down,” Hassan told Al Jazeera of the SNP’s political track record, which has seen the party win four Scottish Parliament elections in a row and three consecutive Scotland-wide Westminster elections.

“Yousaf was a lame duck leader from the moment he was elected, and there is wear and tear from [the SNP’s] 17 years in office [at the Scottish Parliament]. The SNP have defied political gravity for so long, but they were never going to defy it forever.”

While support for Scottish independence remains high at about the 50 percent mark, Sturgeon’s connections to the SNP’s financial woes and her bitter feud with Alex Salmond, her predecessor as SNP first minister, have combined with the party’s problems on the domestic front to create a perfect storm of political upheaval.

One of Yousaf’s many political challenges came in the form of Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act, which became law on April 1.

The law was established to provide greater protection for victims, but the first minister came under fierce attack from some who contended that those who were critical of the trans-rights movement would be sanctioned for expressing their opinions.

A candidate touted as likely to replace Yousaf is 34-year-old Kate Forbes, the socially conservative former SNP finance secretary who came second to the outgoing SNP leader in last year’s contest.

John Swinney, who served as SNP deputy foreign minister but stepped down in 2023 when Sturgeon quit, told Sky News on Monday that he is considering running.

But with polls suggesting that the SNP is losing ground at both a Scottish Parliament and Westminster level, the “next SNP leader will inherit an extremely difficult set of problems”, said James Mitchell, professor at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science.

“The party has been on a gradual but accelerating decline through failure to move on from the independence referendum,” Mitchell told Al Jazeera.

“It has not managed to resurrect a reputation for governing competence.  It is clear that another independence referendum is off the agenda and momentum is now with Scottish Labour. Unless the new leader can achieve much more than Yousaf or Sturgeon, then the immediate future looks bleak.”

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‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

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REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

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HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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