The Nova Scotia government has introduced legislation to allow for the exploration of uranium and potential natural gas production, saying resource development can make the province more self-reliant, especially in the face of U.S. tariff threats.
N.S. Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton has introduced Bill 6 to repeal the province’s ban on uranium exploration and amend a law prohibiting hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. The “Act Respecting Agriculture, Energy and Natural Resources” was introduced on Feb. 18, the same day the province tabled its 2025-26 budget.
“The world is demanding critical minerals and other natural resources in the transition to net zero by 2050,” said Rushton in a Feb. 18 press release. “Nova Scotia can be a safe, responsible and ethical source of those materials and we need to remove barriers to explore all our options,” he said.
“We can create jobs, make our economy more resilient to future Trump threats and join the global fight against climate change.”
U.S. President Donald Trump on Feb. 3 agreed to a 30-day pause in his threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on Canada, with a reduced levy of 10 percent for Canadian oil. The decision followed a commitment from the Canadian government to strengthen border security to curb the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
However, the president has since announced tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, set to take effect next month, and has indicated more tariffs may come as his administration reviews trade deals with other countries by April.
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The new provincial budget accounted for potential tariffs by introducing major tax cuts, a reserve fund in case Trump follows through with tariffs, and spending to develop Nova Scotia’s economy through market diversification and resource development.
Before the U.S. tariff reprieve was announced, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston had prepared retaliatory measures, including restricted access to provincial procurement for American companies and the removal of U.S. alcohol products from store shelves. The province did not implement the measures because of the tariff pause, but Houston said the province remains ready to respond.
Finance Minister John Lohr said in his Feb. 18 budget address that the province’s response to tariffs would not “just be focused on retaliation,” but also on making the province “more resilient and independent.”
Lohr said the province needs to boost its economy by removing obstacles to investment and economic growth in the form of “outright bans.”
Such bans, he said, “are lazy policy” that make it impossible to have “important but hard conversations” about uranium and natural gas. “This means lifting bans and avoiding outright bans in the future.”
Uranium exploration has been banned in the province for more than 15 years under the Uranium Exploration and Mining Prohibition Act, which the newly introduced Bill 6 would repeal. It also amends the Petroleum Resources Act, legislation amended in 2014 that prohibits high-volume hydraulic fracturing or fracking.
Other changes in the new bill pertain to the agriculture industry and the province’s Public Utilities Act.
The province said the repeal of the prohibition on uranium exploration would only allow for government research “to better understand opportunities for developing this resource,” and that all industry activity regarding uranium would continue to be prohibited.
Uranium exploration is under provincial jurisdiction, but its mining and processing are regulated by the federal government under the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.
As for the possibility of producing natural gas, the province said any hydraulic fracturing activity “would be subject to strict regulations to minimize any environmental threat,” adding that fracking would only occur after the province holds conversations on “how to do it safely.”
