HALIFAX—Enthusiastic supporters packed a community college campus in Halifax on Monday afternoon for a town hall focused on health care with federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh.

Singh made his way to the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) campus in Halifax’s north end after walking through the city’s historic Hydrostone neighbourhood with Councillor Lindell Smith.

“A little unexpected excitement like this keeps life interesting,” quipped a woman reading a book in what had been a quiet coffee shop before Singh’s entrance.

He was greeted warmly by business owners and passersby, with several asking for selfies. In front of one office, Singh chuckled and posed for photos after being shown a note scribbled in pink marker on loose-leaf. It read: “Let us Singh your praises.”

He got a similar reception when he walked into the NSCC campus building. Supporters chanted his name and gave him a standing ovation as he made his way through the doors.

The crowd of about 200 people asked questions ranging from improving abortion access and mental-health services to Singh’s plans for a national pharmacare program and the universal dental-care plan he unveiled last week.

The first question came from an abortion care provider and advocate concerned about the lack of providers in Nova Scotia. She asked Singh about his plans to ensure “true universal access” to abortion.

Singh described the situation in Nova Scotia as “abysmal” and “horribly flawed,” stating that if elected his government would enforce the Canada Health Act.

“The Canada Health Act is actually being violated here in Nova Scotia because of the lack of service that’s being provided,” he told the crowd. “I would say very clearly that a New Democratic government … wouldn’t just talk about the right to choose but we would back that right up by making sure everyone has access to services where they live.”

A hospital worker in acute care on the province’s south shore told Singh that over the years she’d witnessed chronic underfunding and the “decimation” of the province’s health-care system. She wanted to know what the NDP leader planned to do to ensure fair funding and to stop hallway medicine and overcrowding.

Singh said what used to be a 50-50 cost-share formula between the federal government and the provinces is now a 25-75 split, with provinces making do on half the funding they used to receive. He said he’d restore funding.

He told another audience member who asked about mental-health funding and long wait times that the NDP wants “head-to-toe” coverage ranging from medication to dental and mental-health care all rolled into one.

Not all questions were about health care. When asked for his approach if a province wanted a pipeline, his reply was succinct.

“We would not impose pipelines. That’s my approach,” he said.

Singh was even more succinct when asked if he thought People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier should have been invited to the two official leaders’ debates on Oct. 7 and Oct. 10.

“No,” he said, to applause and whoops of support from the crowd.

Singh said he’d sent a letter to the Leaders’ Debates Commission, headed by former governor general David Johnston, because he disagrees with the decision to invite.

“If you look at the people that are being attracted to the party, if you look at the values that they’re espousing — I agree with a fair exchange of ideas. I agree that we should have different opinions,” Singh said.

“But at some point the debate goes beyond an exchange of ideas to ideas that are hateful, that are going to spread division.”

Singh was also asked to differentiate his party’s pharmacare plan from that of the Liberals. He said an NDP government would “actually get the plan done.” When pushed about the difference between his pharmacare plan and the Green Party’s plan, he said the Green Party is telling people to wait but the NDP plan would be implemented in 2020.

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The Liberal Party took all of Atlantic Canada in a red wave during the 2015 federal election. Singh was asked how he planned to woo voters back to his party.

“We ask people in Nova Scotia, Halifax, Newfoundland and Labrador, across Atlantic Canada: Has your life improved under Mr. Trudeau, and have the major concerns in health care and housing, have you seen real action to improve your life?” he asked.

He said he was “pretty confident” most Atlantic Canadians would say no.

Yvette d’Entremont is a Halifax-based reporter focusing on health. Follow her on Twitter: @ydentremont

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