Nova Scotia Buzz
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has made his first trip to Ottawa as Premier to meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at 10:30am Eastern (11:30am Atlantic).
Nova Scotia has a goal of reaching a population of 2 million people by 2060 and wants to work with the Federal Government on this.
Initiatives like the Atlantic Immigration Program will assist in reaching this goal says the province. The program is designed to help employers in Atlantic Canada hire foreign skilled workers who want to immigrate to Atlantic Canada, as well as international post-secondary students who want to stay in Atlantic Canada after they graduate. The province currently has more than 1,500 designated employers across many key sectors.
“We can do so much more when we work together across both levels of government,” said Premier Houston. “I welcome the opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Trudeau and discuss solutions to the big challenges, like achieving truly universal mental healthcare. This is one of the first priorities that we want to work with the federal government on.”
The province says the two leaders will begin discussions on Nova Scotia priorities and common interests between the provincial government and federal government, including improving access to healthcare, advancing climate change and environmental goals, increasing immigration and continuing to work collaboratively to increase the affordable housing supply.
“We need support from the federal government to reduce processing times for applicants seeking permanent residency, increase our immigration allocation numbers, and increase support for training to address our labour market needs,” said Premier Houston. “I look forward to speaking with Prime Minister Trudeau and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Minister Sean Fraser on these important issues.”
Premier Houston returns to Nova Scotia Tuesday, November 23.
