This composite image of three photographs shows, from left to right, Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Iain Rankin, taken in Halifax on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021; Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston taken in Halifax on Saturday, October 27, 2018; and Nova Scotia New Democrative Party Leader Gary Burrill taken in Halifax on Thursday, May 25, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan, Ted Pritchard
HALIFAX — Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Iain Rankin defended his party's record on health care and gender issues Wednesday during the first leaders debate of a provincial election campaign that has yet to reach the halfway mark.
Early in the 90-minute contest, Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Houston and NDP Leader Gary Burrill criticized the premier for failing to deal with a chronic physician shortage that has left almost 70,000 Nova Scotians without a family doctor. The opposition leaders also said the province's nurses were burning out and quitting, a persistent problem they said had been aggravated by the pandemic.