Premier Houston Heads to Alberta, Texas in First Trip as Energy Minister

CANADA, October 30 - Premier Tim Houston will be in Calgary, Alberta, and Houston, Texas, next week to discuss energy opportunities for the province in his first trip as energy minister.

“I’ve been clear: I want to turn Nova Scotia into an energy powerhouse,” said Premier Houston. “We can do that by learning from others and meeting with energy experts and leaders to explore the full range of clean energy solutions which can help meet the future energy needs of our province and other markets.”

In Calgary, the Premier will meet with two industry associations. In Houston, the Premier will meet with energy companies and Susan Harper, the Consul General of Canada in Dallas.

Nova Scotia continues to make progress on the energy file in 2025:

• Last week, the Province signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario to explore small modular reactor technology as a clean energy option.

• On October 16, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator launched the offshore wind call-for-bids process, which starts with a call for information and a prequalification process for potential developers. This effort follows the strategic direction given to the regulator by the federal and provincial governments.

• In September, Prime Minister Mark Carney recognized Nova Scotia’s Wind West project as one of national interest that could be further developed and considered by the new Major Projects Office as a nation-building project. That same month, the Province passed the Powering the Offshore Act to update legislation related to offshore wind and tidal energy. The ban on hydraulic fracturing was also lifted to open up the opportunity to develop Nova Scotia’s estimated seven trillion cubic feet of onshore natural gas.

• In July, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator opened a call for bids for offshore petroleum exploration. It is an opportunity to explore 13 shallow and deep-water parcels that are rich with potential in and around the Sable Island area.

Quick Facts:

• offshore wind is projected to be a $4.6-billion industry in Nova Scotia within about seven years
• Premier Houston became the Energy Minister in a cabinet shuffle last week; he is also the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
• delegates include Premier Houston; Marco MacLeod, Ministerial Assistant for Energy; Nicole LaFosse Parker, Chief of Staff and General Counsel, Premier’s Office; and Adam MacDonald, Director, Energy Resource Development, Department of Energy

Additional Resources:

Wind West: https://novascotia.ca/wind-west/

Nova Scotia offshore wind: https://novascotia.ca/offshore-wind/

Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator: https://cnsoer.ca/

News release – Nova Scotia to Learn from Ontario on Small Modular Reactors: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/10/23/nova-scotia-learn-ontario-small-modular-reactors

News release – Call for Bids Issued for Offshore Natural Gas: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/07/07/call-bids-issued-offshore-natural-gas

Study of offshore petroleum resource potential – Scotian Basin Integration Atlas 2023: https://oera.ca/research/scotian-basin-integration-atlas-2023