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Q&A’s with Stephen McNeil, Premier of Nova Scotia

Interview Organized By: Brad Smith, Executive Director, Mainland Nova Scotia Building Trades Council
The Mainland Building Trades has enjoyed a strong relationship Question:
with Premier McNeil where we have had many meaningful dialogues You are the 12th of 17 children in your family. How did growing up
on how we work together to grow the Nova Scotia economy, while in such a big family and being raised by your mother after your
ensuring we have the skilled trades to support this growth. The father passed away prepare you for a life in politics?
Premier has a strong understanding of the trades having been a
Premier McNeil:
tradesperson himself, and is fully engaged on the challenges and
I don’t know if anything really prepares you for a life in politics.
opportunities of building a skilled workforce. We look forward to
But growing up in a large family did provide me the opportunity to
continuing to work closely with the Premier and his government to
hear a wide variety of perspectives and points of view. I am grateful
strengthen the Apprenticeship Procurement Program. With several
that our mother instilled in all of us a responsibility for public
major public infrastructure projects on the horizon, we are also
service, whether it be in elected office or other endeavours that
advocating for other initiatives around procurement that will help to
serve our community.
build a diverse, inclusive and skilled workforce. We are very proud
of the work with the Premier and his government in building a legacy I’ve also been fortunate to have a large supporting network of
of skilled tradespeople in this province. family as I’ve had navigated the minefields of elected office. I’ve
tried to do what I believe to be right and worry about the politics
Question:
of it after, and that comes directly from my family.
Under your leadership, Nova Scotia’s electricity sector has
undergone major changes – did the legislation you passed, which
was meant to open the electricity market to more producers, do
what was intended?
Premier McNeil:
A decade ago, Nova Scotia’s electricity sector relied on coal and
heavy carbon fuels for more than 80% of its production. By the
end of next year, it is expected that this will have fallen to
approximately 30%. These new producers and suppliers include:
a large number of local wind farms, with a variety of ownership
arrangements; large, new, external suppliers of hydro-electricity;
as well as the energy efficiency contributions of all Nova Scotians.
In addition, we are now also seeing increasing amounts of new
solar power coming online, and fully expect to see more renewable
energy suppliers in the years to come.

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