HALIFAX - Nova Scotia鈥檚 opposition parties say Tuesday鈥檚 surprise cabinet shuffle by Premier Tim Houston was done in secrecy and without regard for accountability.
NDP house leader Lisa Lachance said Wednesday that the shuffle 鈥 closed to reporters and announced in a news release 鈥 is 鈥減ar for the course鈥 for the Progressive Conservative government.
鈥淭ime and time again the Houston government does not feel it needs to be accountable or transparent to Nova Scotians,鈥 Lachance told reporters.
Lachance said the New Democrats were left with questions after Houston named Tory backbencher John White as the new housing minister 鈥 without creating a Housing Department. The role had been eliminated in December 2024 when the portfolio was folded into the Department of Growth and Development.
鈥淲e have a housing crisis in this province and Nova Scotians need a plan, they need action,鈥 said Lachance.
Interim Liberal leader Derek Mombourquette said he believes the surprise shuffle was calculated to consolidate power in the premier鈥檚 office. As part of the shuffle, Houston named himself energy minister, booting Trevor Boudreau from the portfolio 鈥 and from cabinet entirely. The premier also dropped longtime ministers Becky Druhan and Tory Rushton from cabinet; Druhan was at justice and Rushton at natural resources.
Mombourquette said such moves leave the government open to speculation on whether there are problems within the Tory caucus.
鈥淚t (the shuffle) was done in secrecy, which I don鈥檛 understand,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f you have cabinet ministers that are being sworn in, do it in public.鈥
The government鈥檚 move to bar reporters from the swearing-in ceremony wasn鈥檛 without precedent. Last December, cabinet was sworn in during a private ceremony at a downtown Halifax convention centre in a break from a long-standing tradition of open coverage.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the premier鈥檚 office said the government opted for a small private ceremony at Government House so new cabinet members could 鈥渟hare the special moment with family and close friends.鈥澛
The latest criticism comes after the NDP and Liberals recently voiced concerns over a short eight-day fall sitting of the legislature, which wrapped up earlier this month. The sitting saw the passage of several bills the opposition parties said were attempts by the government to avoid scrutiny and accountability. Both parties said the bills, including one that bans protests on logging access roads, were rammed through the legislature with little debate.
This report by 好色tvwas first published Oct. 22, 2025.