Nova Scotia’s premier says a trip to Alberta to push his province back into energy discussions was extremely productive. Tim Houston was in Banff this week meeting with industry leaders. He spoke at a Canadian Energy Executive Association event Thursday after a sit down with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Houston told CTV News the long flight was more than worth his time. “It’s been a receptive audience,” he said. “People are very interested in what we can do as a country to support each other and how we can grow the sector.” Nova Scotia’s leader has long championed the sector. “A lot of industry executives don’t really understand or appreciate what Nova Scotia has to offer,“ he said. Houston is currently focused on expanding out both onshore and offshore oil and natural gas, tidal and solar. And he said Thursday he’s particularly excited about utilizing wind energy in his province to send to Western Canada and the United States. “There’s a lot of expertise that exists here in Western Canada — certainly in Alberta — (and) there’s a lot of Nova Scotians that are experts in oil and gas, (who) just don’t work in Nova Scotia.” “So we want some of those people to bring some of that expertise back as well.” The Easterner’s trip comes at an interesting time for the sector. Alberta is currently in various stages of three different crude pipelines: one a federal partnership west, one a still-early line east, and one the potentially-revived private sector Keystone XL expansion. Asked about his conversations with Smith and about how Nova Scotia can be helped by the projects, Houston said a strong industry is good for all of Canada. “When you’re a premier and you have a strength like Alberta has energy, to have another ally at the table with you in a big diverse country is a good thing,” he said. “We have to press our advantages, and energy is one for our country. So I’m excited.” Smith did not make herself available to media Thursday.
