The 1956 Nova Scotia general election was held on 30 October 1956 to elect members of the 46th House of Assembly of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservatives led by Robert Stanfield.
This was the first election the Liberals had fought after the death of their longtime charismatic leader, Angus L. Macdonald. Public Health Minister Harold Connolly became interim leader and premier following Macdonald's death in 1954, but was defeated at a leadership convention by Education Minister Henry Hicks. The convention exposed a sharp religious divide in the Liberal Party; Hicks was a Protestant and Connolly was a Catholic. Hicks was unable to heal the breach, and the Liberals were narrowly defeated, ending 23 years of Liberal rule.
Liberal
Legend<br /> bold denotes party leader<br /> â denotes an incumbent who is not running for re-election or was defeated in nomination contest
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Annapolis East || |Henry Hicks<br />2,830<br />54.68% | |Harry L. Ritcey<br />2,277<br />43.99% | |Murray Alton Bent<br />69<br />1.33% | | || |Henry Hicks<br /><span style="font-size: 75%;">Annapolis</span> |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Annapolis West || |Peter M. Nicholson<br />2,523<br />53.84% | |Leigh Minard Marshall<br />2,163<br />46.16% | | | | || |New riding |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Clare || |Pierre E. Belliveau<br />2,046<br />52.60% | |J. Fred Gaudet<br />1,844<br />47.40% | | | | || |Pierre E. Belliveau |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Digby | |Victor Cardoza<br />2,559<br />48.65% || |Malcolm Stewart Leonard<br />2,701<br />51.35% | | | | || |Victor Cardoza |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Hants West | |Gerald Regan<br />3,300<br />47.69% || |George Henry Wilson<br />3,405<br />49.21% | |Ralph Loomer<br />214<br />3.09% | | || |George Henry Wilson |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kings North || |Eric Balcom<br />3,054<br />50.37% | |George Arthur Boggs<br />3,009<br />49.63% | | | | || |George Arthur Boggs<br /><span style="font-size: 75%;">Kings</span> |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kings South | |MacIntosh MacLeod<br />1,594<br />40.23% || |Edward Haliburton<br />2,368<br />59.77% | | | | || |Edward Haliburton<br /><span style="font-size: 75%;">Kings</span> |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Kings West | |C.D. McLean<br />2,985<br />49.97% || |Hiram Thomas<br />2,988<br />50.03% | | | | || |New riding
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Lunenburg Centre | |Harold Uhlman<br />3,843<br />49.03% || |George O. Lohnes<br />3,995<br />50.97% | | | | || |New riding |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Lunenburg East | |Kirk S. Hennigar<br />1,579<br />45.56% || |R. Clifford Levy<br />1,887<br />54.44% | | | | || |R. Clifford Levy<br /><span style="font-size: 75%;">Lunenburg</span> |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Lunenburg West | |Frederick E.L. Fowke<br />2,500<br />49.34% || |Harley J. Spence<br />2,567<br />50.66% | | | | || |Harley J. Spence<br /><span style="font-size: 75%;">Lunenburg</span> |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Queens | |Merrill D. Rawding<br />2,974<br />49.23% || |W. S. Kennedy Jones<br />3,067<br />50.77% | | | | || |W. S. Kennedy Jones |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Shelburne | |Wilfred Dauphinee<br />3,086<br />48.05% || |James McKay Harding<br />3,337<br />51.95% | | | | || |Wilfred Dauphinee |- |rowspan=2 bgcolor=whitesmoke|Yarmouth || |Eric Spinney<br />4,876<br />26.68% | |William Heartz Brown<br />4,007<br />21.93% | | | | || |William Heartz Brown |- || |Willard O'Brien<br />5,438<br />29.76% | |Raymond Z. Bourque<br />3,953<br />21.63% | | | | || |Raymond Z. Bourque
|- |rowspan=2 bgcolor=whitesmoke|Colchester | |Hector Hill<br />6,733<br />22.13% || |Robert Stanfield<br />8,476<br />27.86% | |Arnold Lynds<br />251<br />0.83% | | || |Robert Stanfield |- | |Margaret Norrie<br />6,664<br />21.91% || |George Isaac Smith<br />8,057<br />26.48% | |William Wright<br />240<br />0.79% | | || |George Isaac Smith |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cumberland Centre | |Ralph F. Gilroy<br />1,803<br />39.70% || |Stephen T. Pyke<br />2,738<br />60.30% | | | | || |Stephen T. Pyke |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cumberland East | |Walter Tremaine Purdy<br />4,303<br />49.41% || |James A. Langille<br />4,406<br />50.59% | | | | || |James A. Langille |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cumberland West || |Allison T. Smith<br />2,618<br />54.82% | |William Harmon Wasson<br />2,158<br />45.18% | | | | || |Allison T. Smith |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Hants East | |Arthur W. MacKenzie<br />2,342<br />48.91% || |Ernest M. Ettinger<br />2,392<br />49.96% | |Malcolm F. Wheadon<br />130<br />1.13% | | || |Vacant
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Halifax Centre || |Gordon S. Cowan<br />5,642<br />52.91% | |David Milsom<br />5,022<br />47.09% | | | | || |James Edward Rutledgeâ |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Halifax County-Dartmouth || |Geoffrey W. Stevens<br />7,276<br />49.69% | |C.J. Creighton<br />6,811<br />46.51% | |Gerald Yetman<br />557<br />3.80% | | || |New riding |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Halifax East || |Duncan MacMillan<br />3,015<br />57.84% | |Reid Denton Sangster<br />2,198<br />42.16% | | | | || |Geoffrey W. Stevens |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Halifax North || |John E. Ahern<br />8,773<br />53.10% | |John A. O'Malley<br />7,748<br />46.90% | | | | || |Vacant |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Halifax Northwest || |Ronald Manning Fielding<br />3,763<br />50.40% | |S.E. Haverstock<br />3,573<br />47.86% | |L.C. Wilson<br />130<br />1.74% | | || |New riding |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Halifax South | |Edward F. Cragg<br />5,171<br />46.08% || |Richard Donahoe<br />6,051<br />53.92% | | | | || |Richard Donahoe |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Halifax West || |Charles H. Reardon<br />6,119<br />51.02% | |William J. Dalton<br />5,875<br />48.98% | | | | || |Ronald Manning Fielding
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Antigonish | |Colin H. Chisholm<br />2,669<br />48.06% || |William F. MacKinnon<br />2,884<br />51.94% | | | | || |Colin H. Chisholm |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Guysborough || |Alexander W. Cameron<br />3,177<br />51.34% | |R.S. Kaiser<br />3,011<br />48.66% | | | | || |Arthur W. MacKenzieâ |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Pictou Centre | |A.T. Logan<br />5,303<br />48.46% || |Donald R. MacLeod<br />5,639<br />51.54% | | | | || |Vacant |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Pictou East | |John W. MacDonald<br />2,749<br />49.95% || |William A. MacLeod<br />2,754<br />50.05% | | | | || |John W. MacDonald |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Pictou West | |Stewart W. Proudfoot<br />2,556<br />49.15% || |Harvey Veniot<br />2,644<br />50.85% | | | | || |Stewart W. Proudfoot
|- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton Centre | |James P. McNeil<br />2,569<br />37.75% | |Charles P. Miller<br />1,289<br />18.94% || |Michael James MacDonald<br />2,948<br />43.31% | | || |Michael James MacDonald |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton East | |C. Roy MacDonald<br />3,058<br />29.85% || |Layton Fergusson<br />4,324<br />42.20% | |Russell Cunningham<br />2,864<br />27.95% | | || |Russell Cunningham |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton North | |Alexander O'Handley<br />4,465<br />42.31% || |John Michael Macdonald<br />6,088<br />57.69% | | | | || |Alexander O'Handley |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton Nova | |Gus Brown<br />1,682<br />25.68% || |Percy Gaum<br />2,582<br />39.41% | |John A. Chisholm<br />1,475<br />22.52% | |Charles O'Connell<br />812<br />12.40% || |New riding |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton South | |John Smith MacIvor<br />4,450<br />41.66% || |Donald C. MacNeil<br />5,101<br />47.76% | |Albert Martin<br />1,130<br />10.58% | | || |John Smith MacIvor |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Cape Breton West | |Malcolm A. Patterson<br />4,104<br />48.03% || |Edward Manson<br />4,440<br />51.97% | | | | || |Malcolm A. Patterson |- |rowspan=2 bgcolor=whitesmoke|Inverness || |Joseph Clyde Nunn<br />4,415<br />27.80% | |Archie Neil Chisholm<br />3,673<br />23.13% | | | | || |Joseph Clyde Nunn |- || |Roderick MacLean<br />4,252<br />26.78% | |A.L. Davis<br />3,539<br />22.29% | | | | || |Roderick MacLean |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Richmond || |Earl Wallace Urquhart<br />2,636<br />53.82% | |William C. Boudreau<br />2,262<br />46.18% | | | | || |Earl Wallace Urquhart |- |bgcolor=whitesmoke|Victoria || |Carleton L. MacMillan<br />2,162<br />56.08% | |Leonard Walter Jones<br />1,693<br />43.92% | | | | || |Carleton L. MacMillan