Nova Scotia·NewPremier Tim Houston says his government was just trying to act quickly when, in the wake of its 2021 election win, an untendered contract went to a communications firm that employs people who used to work for him and supported his campaign.Firm employing former PC campaign workers awarded buy local contract in 2022Michael Gorman · CBC News · Posted: Oct 30, 2025 2:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 25 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesPremier Tim Houston says working on a political campaign shouldn’t preclude someone from getting a government contract. (CBC)Premier Tim Houston says his government was just trying to act quickly when, in the wake of its 2021 election win, an untendered contract went to a firm that employs people who used to work for him and supported his campaign.AllNovaScotia.com reported this week that the Atlantic branch of Enterprise Canada received an untendered marketing contract for $1.9 million related to the Nova Scotia Loyal program in 2022.The Halifax office of the communications firm opened not long after Houston’s team first formed government and held a launch party that coincided with Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative annual general meeting that year.The office includes Houston’s former director of communications, Cal MacLellan, and David Tarrant, a senior strategist for the 2021 Nova Scotia PC campaign. MacLellan also worked on the campaign.Houston told reporters Thursday that Nova Scotia Loyal, the rewards-style program he’d thought about for a few years and included in the 2021 platform, was something he wanted to act on quickly, and Enterprise had previous experience working on a similar campaign for an Ontario grocery store.“We wanted to get going so we went with the people who could get it going in our estimation at that time,” he said following a cabinet meeting in Halifax.“Who was awarded contracts and how that went wasn’t a decision I was part of.”The program that’s operating today is not what was pitched during the 2021 campaign.A shifting programAt the time, Houston presented it as a rewards-style program that would include a dedicated card for people who buy Nova Scotia products.Eventually, it morphed into a program that piggybacked on the Scene+ points system at Sobeys and Air Miles rewards for purchases at the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. Houston said that change followed “significant” and “meaningful” research that showed consumers didn’t want another rewards program.The government gave Sobeys an untendered contract worth almost $1 million toward the effort using Scene+ points.The rewards approach lasted for about a year before the government pivoted in favour of something that focuses more on branding, along with distributing vouchers that can be used at farmers’ markets around the province.’A patronage move’NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it seems clear the connections of the people in the Enterprise office is what landed them the contract, and they were unable to deliver what was asked of them.“What materialized was a cheque to Sobeys,” she told reporters.“We have a failure [and] we have a bunch of government money that went to close friends. Again. Very on brand.”Liberal MLA Iain Rankin called the contract “a patronage move” and an example of people being able to get ahead based on connections to the premier.“This is a step back in terms of how government operates,” he told reporters.The contact for Nova Scotia Loyal marketing subsequently went to tender and landed with another firm. The premier said working on a political campaign shouldn’t preclude someone from getting a government contract.“It’s a small world, really, when you think about the people who do these types of things. I don’t think people should be penalized for volunteering and helping on campaigns.”MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORMichael Gorman covers the Nova Scotia legislature for CBC, with additional focuses on health care and rural communities. Contact him with story ideas at michael.gorman@cbc.ca
$1.9M untendered N.S. Loyal contract was about acting fast, not connections: Houston
