A Maritime Women’s Basketball League player tasted victory this week.
And not on the basketball court.
Leah Martin of the MWBA’s Lake City 56ers was elected in Nova Scotia’s Cole Harbour riding.
Running as a member of Premier Tim Houston’s government, Martin earned 1,933 votes in her riding. She defeated NDP candidate Alec Stratford (1,753), Liberal hopeful Tania Meloni (866) and Green candidate John McStay (71).
Martin, who also played in the MWBA with the Halifax Hornets, was an advisor to Houston’s government prior to earning her riding’s candidacy last August.
“Seeing Premier Tim Houston’s leadership from the inside inspired me to offer for elected office,” said Martin. “As a Mom of two boys who has called Cole Harbour home for the last decade, I believe the people of Cole Harbour deserve a new, strong voice at the decision-making table that’s building up Nova Scotia.”
Born in Halifax, Martin grew up in Cole Harbour in her early years before her family relocated to Ontario. She returned home to Nova Scotia in 2005 to study at Dalhousie University, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and was a member of the Dalhousie Tigers basketball team.
She continued to give back to Dalhousie’s basketball program for 10 years after university as both an assistant coach and conditioning coach. Martin also coached and advised a number of local basketball programs, including at Auburn High and Cole Harbour Basketball. She was a key member of the 56ers last season, helping the team earn a berth in the Pro*Line Stadium Series Legacy Cup.
Beyond athletics, Martin worked as a project coordinator in housing and homelessness for United Way. In 2023, she joined the Premier’s Office as Executive Assistant and earlier this year, joined Environment and Climate Change Minister Tim Halman as Special Advisor.
An Indigenous Nova Scotian who is a proud member of Millbrook First Nation, Martin is the first Indigenous MLA elected in Nova Scotia history.
“Leah Martin is part of a new generation of Nova Scotians who are stepping up to serve because they believe in building the kind of province we can all be proud of,” said Houston in a release. “Leah’s energy and drive are precisely what Cole Harbour needs in government. I know that with Leah as part of my team of MLAs, Cole Harbour will have a fighter for their priorities.”
Martin, who played professionally in Slovakia, has played in 23 MWBA games with Lake City and Hornets, amassing 99 points in her career.
