User:Mimi kolo/sandbox

Overview
Nova Scotia is a parliamentary democracy. Its legislature consists of the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia and fifty-one members representing their electoral districts in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. As Canada's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of Nova Scotia's chief executive government. Her duties in Nova Scotia are carried out by the Lieutenant-Governor, Arthur LeBlanc. The current Premier, Stephen McNeil, took office October 22, 2013. The House of Assembly has met in Halifax at Province House since 1819.

History
The first general assembly in Nova Scotia sat in May, 1758, making it the oldest in Canada.

Voter Turnout
Of the registered voters in 2017, 53.4% voted. Voter turnout has decreased from 82% turnout in 1960.

In 2006/07, the Province passed a budget of $6.9 billion, with a projected $72 million surplus. Federal equalization payments account for $1.385 billion, or 20.07% of the provincial revenue. While Nova Scotians have enjoyed balanced budgets for several years, the accumulated debt exceeds $12 billion (including forecasts of future liability, such as pensions and environmental cleanups), resulting in slightly over $897 million in debt servicing payments, or 12.67% of expenses. In 2010, MLAs were criticized by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation for their pension plan, which costs taxpayers $11 million annually. The ratio of funding for the pension, according to the report, is $22 taxpayer dollars per $1 contributed by public officials.

Current Politics
The Liberal party won both the October 8th, 2013 and most recent provincial election on May 30th, 2017, each with a majority government. Prior to that, the election on June 9, 2009 was won by the NDP party for the first time ever. They captured a majority with 31 seats to 11 for the Liberals and 10 for the PC Party. The election on June 13, 2006 elected 23 Progressive Conservatives, 20 New Democrats and 9 Liberals, leaving Nova Scotia with a Progressive Conservative minority government.

The province's revenue comes mainly from the taxation of personal and corporate income, although taxes on tobacco and alcohol, its stake in the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, and oil and gas royalties are also significant. In the 2018/19 budget, results were $10.78 billion in expenses, $10.81 billion in revenue, and a projected surplus of $29.4 million. The surplus is largely related to expected tax income from the future sale of cannabis within the province. The province participates in the HST, a blended sales tax collected by the federal government using the GST tax system.