Buoyed by election win, Nova Scotia premier tones down rhetoric toward Ottawa

HALIFAX — On the heels of a resounding election victory one month ago, Nova Scotia’s premier is adopting a more measured tone when it comes to assessing his province’s relationship with the federal government.

Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservatives were returned to power Nov. 26, capturing 43 of the legislature’s 55 seats after a campaign during which he attacked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government on a number of fronts. In fact, he justified his decision to call a snap election and ignore the province’s fixed-date election law — which had set the vote for July 2025 — by claiming he needed a strong mandate to stand up to Ottawa.

But in a recent end-of-year interview with The Canadian Press, Houston was more conciliatory, saying a Dec. 9 meeting at his Halifax office with Trudeau was conducted with “a spirit of collaboration.”

“We started to see right away that the tone was different,” he said, adding that whatever comes of Trudeau’s leadership of the Liberal party, Nova Scotia will retain its important relationship with the federal government. Trudeau, meanwhile, has been facing increasing pressure from inside his caucus to step down.

High on Houston’s list of grievances has been Ottawa’s imposition of carbon pricing in the province and its refusal to pay the entire bill for the costly work needed to protect the Chignecto Isthmus, the low-lying land link between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that is increasingly prone to severe flooding.

During the provincial election campaign, the premier accused the federal government of shirking its responsibility for the isthmus, on occasion accusing Ottawa of “trying to rip us off.”

However, his language has become noticeably less strident since the election win.

“I would say they were more open-minded to looking at different ways we could finance it (the isthmus project), so I will let that unfold,” said Houston. “It’s not resolved yet, I don’t want to give that impression, but certainly we are trying to work towards a resolution that both parties can live with.”

The federal government has said it is willing to pay 50 per cent of the estimated $650-million project to strengthen the dike system and rail line along the vital land corridor against rising sea levels. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are to split the other half of the cost, and the provinces have subsequently asked the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to rule on whether the responsibility for the work belongs entirely to the federal government.

Houston said the legal challenge — Ottawa should file its response in January — is going ahead, with hearings scheduled to begin in March.

“They haven’t filed yet and we haven’t withdrawn,” he said. “That stuff is still on the docket and I’ll keep that on the docket until there is a resolution.”

Nova Scotia can’t afford to be distracted by squabbles with Ottawa as the province tries to fend off threats from the president-elect of the United States, who says he will impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods when he gets into office in January unless border security is improved. Houston said he is on board with Trudeau’s Team Canada approach to Donald Trump because of the vital trade relationship Nova Scotia has with its southern neighbour.

According to Nova Scotia government statistics, nearly 70 per cent of the province’s exports between January and September 2024 were to the U.S. Exports were up 6.6 per cent over the same period in 2023, rising to $3.5 billion, the bulk of which range from seafood and agricultural products to lumber and tires.

“We want to be part of a positive resolution … The premiers are united on this, it’s their Number 1 priority,” said Houston, who added that meetings would probably be set up with governors from key trading partner states in the new year.

As for dealing with Trump, Houston said it’s best to take him at his word regardless of whether he gets his point across on social media or through traditional channels.

“He’s the president-elect of the United States so he has to be taken seriously, no matter which form he presents his ideas and thoughts,” Houston said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 26, 2024.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press