REALITY CHECK: Energy Minister Tim Houston spent over a quarter of the year outside Nova Scotia while power bills soar

HALIFAX –Despite making time for international trips and PC Party events, Premier Tim Houston has yet to answer to Nova Scotians about the province’s credit rating being downgraded for the first time in 30 years.

Today, Houston is also skipping his government’s first post-Cabinet media availability in nearly a month to attend an event in New York.

In 2025, Houston took 26 trips to destinations like Denmark, the UK, Italy, Spain, Paris, Washington, and Boston – costing taxpayers more than the average Nova Scotian’s yearly salary ($82,000). So far, Nova Scotians have not seen any new jobs, revenue or concrete timelines, just government announcements.

Houston travelled to Boston last week to sign a wind power MOU with Massachusetts, with no timelines and no guarantee that it will actually lead to jobs for Nova Scotians.

“Nova Scotians are hardworking people who don’t ask for too much. The Premier has created the worst deficit in history and it’s the people of this province who are on the hook for that. The least Nova Scotians deserve is someone who shows up to answer for his choices,” said NSNDP Ethics and Accountability Critic Paul Wozney. “A lot of people gave this government the benefit of the doubt but, five years later, power bills have climbed by more than $400 a year, families can’t find a home they can afford and rural Emergency Rooms remain closed. People just aren’t seeing the results they were promised and the Premier is missing in action.

“Nova Scotians don’t need more slick announcements about hypothetical ideas that may or may not happen in 15 years with no timelines, money, or jobs attached. They need an Energy Minister who holds Nova Scotia Power accountable now and actually lowers their bills this winter. The very, very least they should be able to expect is a premier who shows up and answers questions about how he’s spending their hard-earned money.”

Tim Houston spent 104 days travelling outside the province and just 30 days delivering solutions for Nova Scotians in the legislature in 2025.

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