Latest news with #TimHouston
CTV News
7 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
Nova Scotia announces new long-term care homes to open in 2028
Nova Scotia released a request for proposals for two new long-term care homes July 31, 2025. (Source: Province of Nova Scotia) Pictou and Kings counties will have more long-term care spaces, expected to open in 2028, the Nova Scotia government announced Thursday. The long-term care home opening in Westville, Pictou County, will have 96 single rooms. The home in Kings County will have 144 single rooms. Each room will have a private washroom. 'Taking the next step toward building new, modern long-term care homes in the town of Westville and in Kings County is exciting,' said Premier Tim Houston. 'New homes create jobs and help drive economic activity in communities. These new homes will also be generational additions to these communities that will provide excellent care and a home-like environment for seniors for many years to come.' A request for proposals for service providers to build and operate the homes also opened Thursday. The location of the Kings County home will be determined through this process. 'Our seniors should be able to count on quality care being there for them when they need it. That's why we are building and replacing long-term care rooms across this province,' said Barbara Adams, minister of Seniors and Long-Term Care. 'I am thrilled with the excellent progress being made, and reaching this milestone is another step forward. I know how important these modern, new, comfortable homes will be for seniors and their families in Kings and Pictou counties.' The 240 rooms are part of the province's commitment to build and replace 5,700 single long-term care rooms by 2032, as part of the Action for Health, Nova Scotia's plan to improve health care. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Proposed offshore wind development areas finalized as call for bids looms
Four areas off the coast of Nova Scotia have been finalized for potential offshore wind development and a call for bids is expected by the end of the year, although much work remains as the province works toward a goal of becoming a green energy superpower. "We're taking action now to build a more resilient Nova Scotia and Canada," Premier Tim Houston said during a news conference in Halifax on Tuesday. Officials with the provincial government announced the French Bank, Middle Bank, Sable Island Bank and Sydney Bight will all be open for development. The French Bank and Sydney Bight areas were both reduced in size following recent public feedback. The French Bank area is 20 kilometres from shore, while the other three are 25 kilometres from land. The Sable Island Bank maintains a 25-kilometre buffer from Sable Island National Park Reserve. With the areas established, the federal and provincial governments will provide direction to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator to begin the licensing process. Along with the call for bids, officials said there would also be continued consultation and engagement and planning to develop supply chains and a workforce. Houston noted that some companies are already using Nova Scotia as a staging area for other offshore wind projects and he believes that, along with the potential of further development, makes the venture attractive. "People have been waiting for this resource to get tapped." Kim Doane, executive director of energy resource development for the provincial Energy Department, said three of the areas moving ahead have depths shallow enough to be suitable for fixed-bottom turbines, a more proven and cost-effective technology than floating turbines. The exception is the French Bank area, which has deeper waters. Doane said that challenge is offset by it being the closest to land, which should help with the economics of potential projects. The first call for bids will be for 2.5 gigawatts of wind energy, although the aim is to license five gigawatts by 2030. For context, Nova Scotia's peak usage is 2.4 gigawatts of electricity. Although Houston has lobbied for even grander aspirations, pushing a project that could eventually see the generation of more than 60 gigawatts of energy, even reaching five gigawatts will require system upgrades to bring that energy to land and distribute it to various markets. Who will pay for that is an open question, although officials Tuesday said they hope it can be some combination of companies participating in the endeavour, along with government support. Houston has lobbied Prime Minister Mark Carney for federal help to upgrade transmission capabilities and capacity to get energy onshore and distributed to other parts of the country and potentially across the border into the United States. Liberal MLA Iain Rankin said that's a key question the public needs more details about. "All of this is contingent on building high-capacity transmission to different markets," he said in an interview. Successive governments have looked at ways to improve the grid and transmission capabilities. Rankin said solving that issue early would reduce potential financial risks for the public. Fifth area put on hold Rankin said the government's approach at the moment is "kind of like trying to build a factory without the roads that you need to get there." NDP energy critic Lisa Lachance said in a statement that offshore wind is an opportunity to deliver affordable, reliable, renewable energy to the province and it's important any projects benefit all Nova Scotians. Officials also announced Tuesday that a proposed fifth energy area, Western/Emerald Bank, will not be considered until after 2030, when the first round of licences is awarded. Doane said the decision was made because of the complexity around Western/Emerald Bank and feedback from the public. The area includes fish conservation areas, space used for national defence activities and operations, and shipping routes, all of which require more evaluation before moving forward, said Doane. MORE TOP STORIES
CTV News
2 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Four offshore wind energy areas designated off Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston (centre) makes an announcement about offshore wind energy in Halifax on July 29, 2025. (Callum Smith/CTV Atlantic) The Nova Scotia government says Canada's first four offshore wind energy areas have been designated on the province's offshore. The federal and provincial governments jointly designated the following four areas, which were announced on Tuesday: French Bank Middle Bank Sable Island Bank Sydney Bight The province says the designation is a key step in developing the offshore wind industry. 'With some of the top wind speeds in the world, Nova Scotia has the potential to become a clean energy superpower,' said Premier Tim Houston in a news release. 'With the right infrastructure, we'll have the opportunity to send our wind west to power other parts of Canada. By becoming an energy exporter, we can secure long-term prosperity for Nova Scotians.' A regional assessment initially identified eight areas with strong potential for offshore wind. After further review, the federal and provincial governments shortlisted five locations as possible offshore wind energy areas. The government says public feedback on those five proposed areas helped it decide on which four locations to designate, and to make the French Bank and Sydney Bight areas slightly smaller. Offshore wind energy areas in N.S. Canada's first four offshore wind energy areas are seen in this image (Province of Nova Scotia) The next step is identifying parcels within the designated areas, which will be included in the first call for bids later this year. 'The identification of wind energy areas off the coast of Nova Scotia is a significant step forward towards unlocking our renewable energy potential,' said federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson. 'We are moving quickly to deliver on our commitment to advance offshore wind, create clean jobs and support our long-term energy security.' The province hopes to license five gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030, which is says will 'set the stage for future offshore wind development and position Nova Scotia to become an exporter of clean energy.' After the first round of licences are awarded, the government will revisit four other areas identified in the regional assessment of offshore wind development. Those areas include the Western/Emerald Bank, which was the other area shortlisted in the spring. Private companies that wish to build offshore wind projects in Nova Scotia are required to participate in a competitive licensing process managed by the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CTV News
23-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Nova Scotia looks to become offshore energy superpower
The Nova Scotia government is hoping to become a major energy provider with the Wind West project. The Nova Scotia government thinks it has a resource that could make it one of the major energy providers in Canada. 'We have onshore, but our offshore winds are first class. They're world class and they could be producing enough power to support much of Canada,' says Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau. If the 'Wind West' project gets off the ground, it could cover as much as 25 per cent of the nation's energy needs. Nova Scotia is hoping to have offshore wind turbines producing five gigawatts of electricity but Boudreau thinks the output could be much more. 'They have the potential to produce 66 gigawatts of power so with that in mind, Nova Scotia uses 2.4 gigawatts at its coldest day of the year,' he says. It will be a couple years before turbines are standing in the ocean. Once they are in place, power would move by cable throughout the country and possibly across the ocean to Europe. The Ecology Action Centre is on board but they're closely watching how the project unfolds. 'Ultimately we're very much in favour of building a transmission line and we are in favour of building offshore wind, but the devil is in the details when it comes to building offshore wind,' says Thomas Arnason McNeil. 'Are we making sure that we are engaging fishing communities, indigenous communities that rely on the fishing economy at the earliest stages of project development?' Premier Tim Houston is attending meetings with other premiers and the prime minister to gather support for the project. 'We all see the opportunities that we have before us to make for a stronger country and we're all pushing in that direction,' says Houston. Five areas have been highlighted for potential wind farm development: French Bank Middle Bank Sable Island Bank Western/Emerald Bank. Sydney Bight Four are off the province's eastern shore, the other is off Cape Breton. Wind farm A fishing boat passes the West Pubnico Point Wind Farm in Lower West Pubnico, N.S. on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. (Andrew Vaughan) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
CBC
23-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ford praises Carney after late-night fireside chats at Muskoka cottage
Social Sharing It may not be the sunny ways government, but some premiers certainly seem to be feeling sunny about the future. And that's despite troubled trade negotiations with the United States and the worsening effects of that country's tariffs on Canadian businesses. Still, provincial premiers have nary seemed so cheerful about their own relationships to each other — and the federal government. "First off, isn't it great? Like, these are such important relationships for Canadians and we're all kind of binding together and spending time together," said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston in response to a question about what has been achieved in the three meetings premiers have so far held together since Mark Carney became prime minister. Premiers typically get together about once a year, and even more rarely with the prime minister present. Houston was speaking in Huntsville, Ont., where Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been hosting this year's premiers' meeting, which Carney attended on Tuesday. Both Houston and Ford — two conservative leaders — heaped praise on Carney in news conferences at the cottage country gathering. Houston listed the passage of Bill C-5, Carney's internal trade and major projects legislation aimed at creating "one Canadian economy," as one of the accomplishments achieved thanks in part to better relations with and between Canadian first ministers. But perhaps most notable was Ford's near soliloquy about the night Carney spent at his cottage. WATCH | 'He's humble, he listens,' says Ford of Carney: Ford says Carney stayed over at his Muskoka cottage Monday night 3 hours ago Ontario Premier Doug Ford, speaking to reporters at the end of Day 2 of the first ministers' meeting in Huntsville, Ont., says he and the prime minister were up past midnight 'chatting by the fireplace, solving the world's problems.' Just as Ford was preparing to wrap up a news conference held with Quebec Premier François Legault, a reporter shouted a question about Carney's dinner invitation to Ford's Muskoka home on Monday. "Full disclosure, the prime minister stayed up at my place," Ford said. "We had dinner, we were up 'til 12:30 at night, chattin' in front of the fireplace, solving all the world's problems." Legault, seemingly amused, leaned into the microphone to interrupt Ford: "A very nice, small chalet," he said. "Yeah, yeah I have a little shack up — down the street, there," Ford said. 'The most humble person you'd ever want to meet' Undeterred, he continued. "The prime minister is the most humble person you'd ever want to meet," Ford said. The Ontario premier went on to list Carney's roles at Goldman Sachs, Brookfield, Bloomberg and as governor of the Bank of Canada and Bank of England. Ford said he'd never heard the prime minister name drop any of them, perhaps a surprising feat given how much Carney's resumé featured in the federal election. "I'd hand the keys of a business over to the prime minister," Ford said. "He has his hands full because of the last 10 years of what has happened in our country…. He doesn't need to be doing this, I can assure you that. But he's given it everything he possibly can." Legault could be heard chuckling as he followed Ford off the stage. It's not the first time Ford and Houston showed Carney their support in direct or indirect ways. During the federal election, Ford was critical of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's campaign. And less than a week before election day, on the eve of Poilievre's visit to Nova Scotia, Houston released a campaign-style video on social media, prompting some to wonder whether he was eyeing Poilievre's job. The two Progressive Conservative premiers have sought to distinguish themselves from the federal Conservatives, but such transparent support for the Liberal leader is relatively new. "I actually have tremendous confidence in the prime minister, and the team that is representing us as Canadians, to look at all of the factors and the moving parts, and come up to the best deal for Canadians," Houston said. Ford has said he supports dollar-for-dollar tariffs, while Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith have said the impact of tariffs on U.S. consumers should be enough to force President Donald Trump to change his approach. What all the premiers do agree on is that they don't want to force a trade deal with the U.S. at all costs. If there is no deal that can benefit Canada, they want to focus on internal trade, "national interest projects" and diversifying trade with other countries. "It's still government in many ways. But I will say that the urgency is felt and I'm personally, as a Canadian, incredibly optimistic about the future of this country," Houston said.
