Dear Editor,
Nova Scotia’s PC-led super-majority government tabled its budget on February 23rd, 2026, and, to put it mildly, Nova Scotians are not “super” enthusiastic about Premier Houston’s vision for the province. The budget projects a whopping $1.24 billion deficit that includes the gutting of provincially sponsored arts and culture programs, cuts to tourism, the environment and climate change, climate science, as well as the complete elimination of the Wildlife Division within the Department of Natural Resources.
The Financial Measures (2026) Act, the omnibus bill that includes the government’s budget, as well as an assortment of other proposed government initiatives and laws, is unambiguous about where the government’s focus will be and where it will not. It is notable that for the second straight year the government appears to be maintaining its laser-like focus on natural resource extraction.
This theme first emerged alongside the 2025 budget that saw the removal of bans on fracking for liquified natural gas (LNG) and uranium exploration, a deeply concerning and radical shift in the government’s policy. Both fracking and uranium exploration were banned over a decade ago due to overwhelming evidence of the health and environmental catastrophes that are direct consequences of these practices. But the premier is undeterred, as he brands this shift in policy as evidence of his government’s action to remove red tape and spur investment in the province. The industry-friendly, and environmentally harmful, posture of this government has invited corporations seeking access to Nova Scotia’s lands and resources to invest in the province as Premier Houston makes commitments to turn Nova Scotia into an energy superpower. It is a radical new vision for the province. It is also sorely misguided.
The harms of this vision are wide-ranging and tragic in that they will result in the clear cutting of forests, noise and air pollution and the long-term poisoning of soil and water – including drinking water – with heavy metals and radioactive materials. There is very good reason why both fracking and uranium mining have been banned in the province, as both are linked to respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, various cancers (especially in children), reproductive harms, birth defects, and increased infant mortality. Yet this is the path the government has chosen and continues to choose with the latest budget. The question is why and how in the world did we end up here?
One might reasonably assume that the current situation is the result of the PC party’s re-election win and the government’s subsequent action to deliver on campaign promises. This is typically the pattern of how elections and government work, as parties campaign on policies and then, once elected, work to deliver them. But Nova Scotia’s 2024 election was not typical in this sense and the process described is not what is taking place within the Nova Scotian government.
Despite the PC’s intense focus on natural resources extraction since the election, the party never actually campaigned on the controversial practices of fracking and uranium mining. They didn’t even seriously campaign on natural resources development or making Nova Scotia an energy superpower. Rather, the PC’s 2024 “Make it Happen” platform touted “lower taxes,” “more doctors,” and “higher wages,” but did not include the mention of its plan for the province’s natural resources. In fact, the closest the party came to campaigning on the topic was the statement that, if elected, a PC government would: “Focus on the smart development of [Nova Scotia’s] energy and natural resources sectors through the ‘Nova Scotia Clean Energy Plan…’”
So, if following the 2024 election, you found yourself caught off guard by the government’s shift in focus from healthcare and affordability to include the pursuit of the dangerous and toxic extraction of natural resources, you’re not alone. It certainly was not advertised by the premier or his party members. I suppose “cancer for children” doesn’t quite have the same voter appeal as “lower taxes,” “higher wages,” and, ironically, “more doctors,” which may explain the absence of this policy objective from the PC party’s platform.
This has nothing to say of the PC government’s delivery of stated policy objectives. The issue is with the failure to disclose the policies that saw the removal of the ban on fracking and uranium mining. The absence of these extremely controversial policies from the PC’s election platform suggests the intention was to mislead Nova Scotians into believing that the primary focuses of the government would be healthcare and affordability, which is not untrue. However, the inclusion of an aggressive strategy for natural resources extraction, particularly, one that includes fracking and uranium exploration, makes for a very different election platform. I have written on the “bait and switch” tactic employed by the PC party in the past, particularly as it related to the government’s handling of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park. This is yet another example of the party’s use of this deceptive tactic.
The reality is Premier Houston did not campaign on fracking and uranium mining, which, had he done so, would have resulted in staunch opposition and risked his chance at securing a majority government. He also did not campaign to dismantle environmental protections and independent regulatory oversight, which have been tools used to facilitate his push to see Nova Scotia become an energy superpower.
Thus, as a result of the premier’s intentional withholding of this major and highly controversial policy ambition, voters could not and, consequently, did not consent to this ill-advised change to the province’s natural resources strategy. The PC party also quite likely received support that they otherwise would not have and should not have received. To be clear, Nova Scotians did not vote in favour of the premier’s hidden agenda, which has since become a primary focus of the Nova Scotian government.
Had this deeply flawed and harmful vision for the province been one the premier expected to receive broad support, you can be assured that it would have been highlighted in his party’s election platform. It was not. The reason being is that the only way to unleash a plan of such destruction and devastation on the public was to deceive the electorate and keep them ignorant of the true intentions and ambitions of the premier and his party. Power first had to be seized and secured before a policy of this nature could be made public and pursued and that is exactly what has taken place.
Having secured the protection of a super-majority in the legislature, the PC government is now moving at alarming speeds in its unabated pursuit to exploit the provinces natural resources without meaningful concern for the collateral damage that it will inflict on Nova Scotian communities. The resulting collateral damage will see the province polluted and Nova Scotians made sick. The pitiful justification for these policies is jobs and economic growth and, while these are indeed needed in the province, at what cost and on whose authority?
Are we, as Nova Scotians, willing to sacrifice our air, soil, and water – the very foundation of our health, well-being and survival – to the ideological ambition of becoming an energy superpower, as the premier – without the electorate’s consent – has unilaterally decided for all Nova Scotians?
Doug Lowry
West Mabou