CCI Response to the 2026 N.S. Budget

Nova Scotia’s government delivered Budget 2026–27, Defending Nova Scotia: Planning for the Long-Term, at a time when provinces across Canada are navigating tighter fiscal conditions, rising geopolitical uncertainty, and growing pressure to strengthen domestic industrial capacity.

The Council of Canadian Innovators sees this budget as a signal that Nova Scotia understands the connection between economic resilience and economic sovereignty. Investments in cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, natural resources, and energy development reflect a recognition that long-term competitiveness will depend on the province’s ability to modernize core sectors while building new ones.

CCI welcomes measures including a $34 million investment in cybersecurity, the creation of a resilient data centre, commitments to reduce regulatory delays, and continued support for strategic sectors such as critical minerals, mining, energy, and ocean-related industries. These investments matter not only for growth, but for Nova Scotia’s role in Canada’s defence, supply chains, and industrial capacity.

However, funding alone will not determine whether the province succeeds. Long-term prosperity will depend on whether Nova Scotia pairs investments with policies that help locally headquartered companies scale — including stronger procurement pathways, better access to growth capital, and coordinated use of data, IP, and standards to ensure value created in the province stays in the province.

CCI notes that Nova Scotia’s continued work on procurement reform is particularly important. Public procurement is one of the most effective tools governments have to help domestic firms land customers, build revenue, and grow globally. Strategic use of procurement, paired with targeted capital supports, can help Nova Scotia move from supporting innovation to scaling companies that drive long-term economic growth.

In a tight fiscal year, the province’s focus on resilience and industrial capacity is welcome. With the right follow-through, Nova Scotia has an opportunity to build stronger companies, deeper supply chains, and a more sovereign economy rooted in Atlantic Canada.

“Nova Scotia’s budget reflects the reality that innovation policy is now inseparable from security and sovereignty,” said Karen Moores, Senior Advisor to the Council of Canadian Innovators. “The province has a real opportunity to anchor domestic industrial capacity in sectors like ocean technology, defence, clean energy, and critical minerals — but success will depend on whether governments go beyond investment and use procurement, capital tools, and industrial strategy to help innovative Nova Scotia companies scale into global players. When Canadian firms scale at home, we strengthen supply chains, create better jobs, and ensure the value of innovation stays in our communities.”

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Media Contact‍

Michel LeClair
Communications Coordinator
mleclair@canadianinnovators.org