Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is hard not to admire. He\u2019s not your typical status-quo accountant or cautious politician.<\/p>\n
Houston has no interest in managing Nova Scotia\u2019s decline. He wants to reverse course and spark a genuine cultural shift \u2014 \u201cback to a sense that we can build things, we can do things. We just have to have the courage and confidence to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, he took on the energy minister portfolio himself. This week, he appointed Stephen MacDonald, former CEO of EfficiencyOne, as deputy minister of energy. Together, they will aggressively pitch Nova Scotia as a practical antidote to global energy insecurity \u2014 rolling out the welcome mat to investors who can unlock the province\u2019s substantial untapped potential in offshore oil, onshore and offshore natural gas, offshore wind, and geothermal.<\/p>\n
His timing is excellent. Nova Scotia sits on one of the largest undeveloped hydrocarbon basins in the North Atlantic, while the world scrambles for reliable, affordable energy.<\/p>\n
Yet Houston is smart enough to know that hungry investors alone won\u2019t transform the province. His deeper challenge is rebuilding a culture of confidence and can-do spirit among Nova Scotia\u2019s 1.09 million residents. The boldness of his vision is designed to inspire exactly that.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tall order. On a per-capita basis, Nova Scotia ranks 59th out of 60 North American jurisdictions (U.S. states and Canadian provinces) according to the latest comparable GDP data from 2024 \u2014 one of the weakest performers on the continent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t that long ago that every single community in our province was thriving, whether it was fishing and shipbuilding, farming or mining,\u201d Houston told me in a recent interview. But over time, he says, \u201cwe kind of got away from that, and we started to say \u2018no.\u2019 We banned sectors and put moratoriums on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The province is now running billion-dollar deficits for the second year in a row. \u201cPeople want more and more from governments at a time when we\u2019re still spending way more than we\u2019re taking in,\u201d he laments. As a chartered accountant turned premier, Houston knows tough choices are unavoidable. Just this week, neighbouring Prince Edward Island tabled its 2026-27 budget, projecting the largest deficit in its history.<\/p>\n
When I asked about this year\u2019s Nova Scotia budget \u2014 which included some deep cuts that were partially reversed after public backlash \u2014 he was refreshingly candid. \u201cI think we got maybe a little bit too clinical and a little less human in some of the situations.\u201d In an era of political spin, his willingness to admit the government got it wrong and apologize publicly is noteworthy.<\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s determination to revive the province\u2019s economy echoes what former Newfoundland and Labrador premier Andrew Furey once said about how offshore oil helped shift the psyche of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians \u2014 moving them away from feelings of vulnerability and \u201chave-not\u201d status toward hope, pride and self-reliance.<\/p>\n
At 56, Houston speaks with the energy of a younger man and zero cynicism. His vision occasionally sounds like it could come from Prime Minister Mark Carney\u2019s nation-building playbook, but it doesn\u2019t feel scripted. There is real conviction, not desperation, in his drive to put Nova Scotia back on the North American energy map.<\/p>\n
In 2025, his Progressive Conservative government lifted both the onshore fracking moratorium and the decades-old ban on uranium exploration and mining. Offshore gas production, idle for seven years, is getting a second life. Last summer, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator opened new exploration licence rounds, with bids due this month.<\/p>\n
Early this year, the province opened a data room full of seismic and technical data to help companies evaluate onshore natural gas opportunities. To sweeten the pot and de-risk investment, the government committed $30 million \u2014 a big number for Nova Scotia \u2014 to a research and development program run by Dalhousie University that will kick-start exploratory drilling this summer.<\/p>\n
In March, Houston and Carney jointly spotlighted the ambitious Wind West offshore wind project as a \u201cnation-building\u201d initiative. With potential for more than 40 gigawatts ultimately, and an initial 5 GW phase targeted for around 2033, it could be one of Canada\u2019s largest clean energy developments.<\/p>\n
Houston admits challenges remain, especially the $15-billion transmission cable needed to bring the offshore wind power to market, but he\u2019s encouraged by Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec\u2019s recent call for expressions of interest to build it. There\u2019s also growing interest in data centres, he adds, helped by the fact that major transatlantic cables from Europe land in Halifax.<\/p>\n
Saying you\u2019re open for business just doesn\u2019t cut it<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t being directed from behind a desk. Houston is racking up the air miles, personally courting investors and industry leaders. \u201cSaying you\u2019re open for business just doesn\u2019t cut it,\u201d he says. \u201cYou have to show up.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent months he\u2019s been at multiple key industry conferences \u2014 CERAWeek in Houston, the PDAC mining conference in Toronto, \u00a0a major offshore wind event in New York. Earlier this month he co-hosted a roundtable with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. He\u2019s heading back to Texas soon and will attend an upcoming offshore wind conference in Spain.<\/p>\n
The conditions for a fresh look at Nova Scotia are encouraging; robust global demand and prices for oil and gas, energy-hungry European markets within reach, and a province that sits on major resources yet produces virtually none while paying high costs to import energy.<\/p>\n
Still, Houston harbours no illusions. He is competing for capital in a market that often tilts south. Practical hurdles remain \u2014 there are currently no drilling rigs in the province. \u201cOne of the major producers told me they have 20,000 drill prospects, just in Western Canada,\u201d he says. \u201cSo to get them to focus on Atlantic Canada \u2026 it\u2019s a long way away.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet he sees growing collaboration across provinces. He speaks warmly of his partnership with Smith: \u201cWe work really closely. They\u2019ve been very helpful. I think they can see the benefits to the country if we have another producer here.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is optimistic that some Canadian producers will seize a foothold in Nova Scotia. While neighbouring New Brunswick also sits on significant gas resources, he notes, the province retains its fracking ban.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m investing a lot of political capital in this,\u201d Houston says, \u201cpolitical capital that many people aren\u2019t willing to invest. If we can get the Nova Scotia industry moving in a positive way, then others will follow. They just won\u2019t lead.\u201d<\/p>\n
National Post<\/p>\n
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