N.S. premier shuffles cabinet, appoints first Black woman

Premier Tim Houston shuffled his cabinet Thursday, appointing the first Black woman to cabinet in the history of the Nova Scotia Legislature and announcing he'll be nominating a close political ally as the province's first female speaker of the house.

Twila Grosse, fresh off a commanding byelection win in Preston, becomes the new minister responsible for the public service and minister responsible for African Nova Scotian Affairs.

Grosse, who will take her seat in the legislature for the first time when MLAs return next month for the fall sitting, said she was struck by the opportunity, honour and privilege of the moment. She said she hadn't given much thought to being the province's first Black female cabinet minister, but noted there are several ways to look at it.

"It means a lot," she told reporters.

"Sometimes being the first in something, people always think of sort of the glamour and the glitz of it, but on the other side, I mean, there's a lot of responsibility that comes with being first."

The newly-minted minister said she would take some time to dig into the portfolios before settling on any priorities.

"It's not about what I want, it's, you know, what's best for … the African Nova Scotian community."

Kent Smith, the Eastern Shore MLA first elected in 2021, is the new minister of fisheries and aquaculture. He takes over for Steve Craig, who confirmed on Wednesday that he will not be seeking re-election.

Finance Minister Allan MacMaster adds the communities, culture, tourism and heritage portfolio to his duties, which already included finance and labour relations.

MacMaster's new duties follow the announcement from Pat Dunn that he will also not be running again. Dunn was previously responsible for African Nova Scotian Affairs as well as communities, culture, tourism and heritage.

Meanwhile, Trevor Boudreau is the new community services minister and minister responsible for L'nu affairs. Those roles were previously held by Karla MacFarlane.

Boudreau, who was first elected in 2021 in the district of Richmond, wasn't ready to get into specifics about the portfolio on his first day, such as whether income assistance rates need to be raised, but he said he was undaunted by the challenge that comes with his new role.

"I look at things as a problem solver," he told reporters. "And so, yeah, there are problems and I don't believe that I can fix everything.… But at the end of the day, I came here to make a difference and so, if that means taking on some big challenges then so be it."  

MacFarlane's resignation from her portfolios clears the way for her to be nominated next month as Speaker of the House. Although it requires a vote by MLAs before it's official, the Tory majority in the House means MacFarlane will become Nova Scotia's first female Speaker.

She told reporters that being the first is an aspiration she's had from her early days in politics. MacFarlane was first elected as the MLA for Pictou West in the 2013 provincial election.

"I've thought about everything, but this is definitely one that has stuck with me because I felt that I have the skill set and I certainly will put every effort forth."

Houston said Nova Scotia getting its first Black female cabinet minister and female Speaker are milestones that have been a long time coming.

"The fact that it's taken the province over 175 years to have an African Nova Scotian woman at the decision-making table and over 175 years to have a woman nominated as the Speaker of the House, it's surprising for sure it's taken that long, but we're going to make up for it now."

The swearing-in ceremony took place at Government House, the Lieutenant Governor's residence. In a break from custom, reporters were not permitted to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.