Tim Houston, Premier of Nova Scotia

It’s been three years since our government was elected on a promise to fix healthcare. That is a commitment that we have not wavered on – even for one day.

We knew fixing healthcare wouldn’t be easy but we are facing the challenge head on. My motto quickly became more, faster.

I’m excited to share some of the progress we’ve made.

We knew coming in we needed more doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals of all types. We were watching our population grow while recruitment lagged and retention wasn’t a focus of past governments.

I’m proud that since September 2022 we have 226 more physicians – 65 family doctors and 161 specialists – working in the province. This is the net number, meaning this is over and above replacing those who have retired or left.

On top of that, we have 2,225 more registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and nurse practitioners in the system. Since January 2024, 65 paramedics and 11 emergency medical responders have joined our ranks and many more are in training.

We also need to keep our current hardworking and dedicated professionals. That’s why we negotiated new agreements with higher pay for doctors, nurses and paramedics, as well as making retention a key priority in our Action for Health plan.

And we’re seeing the benefit. Access to care is increasing across the province. Through phar ...