Iain Rankin Sworn In As Nova Scotia Premier
HALIFAX – The province of Nova Scotia officially has a new Premier and cabinet. On the morning of February 23, Premier Iain Rankin and 16 members from the Liberal Party were sworn into office by Lieutenant Governor Arthur J LeBlanc.
“Seventeen days ago, when I became the leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, I said to you that this was the beginning of the province’s next chapter,” said Rankin after he and his new cabinet were sworn in. “And with the swearing-in today, we are putting pen to paper.”
“The governments that have come before ours, whether Liberal-mostly Liberal, or NDP, or Conservative, have provided us with strong foundations to support our agenda.”
Rankin went on to compliment Nova Scotians for their response to the pandemic, which the new Premier believes has set the path to a bright future for the province. He gave a shoutout to the business community and frontline workers for their sacrifices.
“Nova Scotians have emerged stronger; we stand out from the rest of Canada because we’ve sacrificed for the collective good,” said Rankin. “Businesses voluntarily closed in the early days of the pandemic to keep us safe. Our healthcare heroes selflessly cared for us against all odds.”
Rankin said Nova Scotia is able to come out of the pandemic economically strong, and competitive with other jurisdictions.
“We’re planning for an economic recovery to position Nova Scotia to have a competitive advantage,” said Rankin. The recovery that I envision involved strategic investment and continued discipline on public taxpayer money-your money.”
The new Premier also touted Nova Scotia’s recent record on immigration, highlighting it as a driving factor behind the province’s population growth.
“In 2013…our population was 940,000 and going down. Today, it is roughly 980,000 and increasing, while Halifax is one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada and that is a good thing for our entire province. Furthermore, all 18 counties in our province are now growing in population.”
“Research is showing that nearly 90 percent of Nova Scotians are now embracing immigrants coming to our province. That speaks to our retention rates that leads all of Atlantic Canada at 71 percent.”
Rankin spoke on the province’s responsibility to tackle the climate change crisis and how the economy will play a big role in that. The Premier mentioned, as an example, Dartmouth-based CarbonCure Technologies, which has received investments from companies like Amazon interested in its green solutions to doing construction with concrete.
“That technology is now being used across North America and Europe. That’s innovation, and that’s job creation,” said Rankin.
Below is a list of Rankin’s cabinet ministers and portfolios.
- Deputy Premier: Kelly Regan
- Minister of Finance: Labi Kousoulis
- Attorney General and Minister of Justice: Randy Delorey
- Minister of Environment and Climate Change: Keith Irving
- Minister of the Public Service Commission: Ben Jessome
- Minister of Municipal Affairs: Brendan Maguire
- Minister of Health and Wellness: Zach Churchill
- Minister of Lands and Forestry and Energy and Mines: Chuck Porter
- Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development: Derek Mombourquette
- Minister of Equity and Anti-Racism: Tony Ince
- Minister of Immigration and Population Growth: Lena Metlege Diab
- Minister of Infrastructure and Housing: Geoff MacLellan
- Minister of Transportation and Active Transit: Lloyd Hines
- Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and Aquaculture: Keith Colwell
- Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services: Patricia Arab
- Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage and Gaelic Affairs: Suzanne Lohnes-Croft