Nova Scotia ‘recalibrating’ its relationship with China as minister attends fisheries expo

Nova ScotiaPremier Tim Houston says a change in the dynamic between federal government officials for Canada and China has opened the door to Nova Scotia representatives beginning to resume closer ties with the province’s second-largest trading partner.It was the first trip to the country by provincial government officials in six yearsMichael Gorman · CBC News · Posted: Nov 13, 2025 2:43 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Kent Smith is Nova Scotia’s minister of fisheries and aquaculture. He just completed his first trip to China. (CBC)Premier Tim Houston says a change in the dynamic between federal government officials for Canada and China has opened the door to Nova Scotia representatives beginning to resume closer ties with the province’s second-largest trading partner.The province’s fisheries minister, Kent Smith, recently concluded a 10-day trade mission to China where he attended the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Qingdao and the Canada China Business Council annual meeting, among other events.It’s the first time representatives for the provincial government have travelled to the country in six years. Houston told reporters in Halifax that it made sense to revisit things while the federal government is doing the same.“Before the minister went there, we engaged with the federal government to say, ‘Is this a good idea? Bad idea? Do you care?’ And we were encouraged to try and establish a relationship,” he said following a cabinet meeting Thursday.Former premier Stephen McNeil and his fisheries minister, Keith Colwell, were frequent travellers to China as the country began buying more and more of the province’s seafood. Exports to the country were worth $615 million in 2024, with lobster leading the way.But as relations between federal leaders of the two countries became strained, Nova Scotia officials shied away from travel to China. More recently the sector has tried to contend with a 25 per cent tariff China placed on Canadian seafood last March in response to Canadian tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, aluminum and steel.WATCH | Chinese tariffs hit N.S. lobster sector:N.S. lobster industry taking a big hit this yearTariffs imposed by China have cost the industry almost $77 million this spring and summer compared to the same period last year. Watch Tom Murphy’s interview with Kris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.Despite the size of the market, those tariffs have had an effect on Nova Scotia businesses, with industry representatives estimating a loss of about $77 million.Smith told reporters on Thursday that he heard directly at the fisheries expo about the impact the tariffs have had.“The importers I met at the show all said the same thing: that they would love to be buying more seafood from Nova Scotia,” he said following the cabinet meeting.“The tariffs are an impediment and they’re holding them back.”Already hit by China, Nova Scotia’s seafood sector braces for upcoming U.S. tariffsChinese seafood tariffs will destroy business, says N.S. company officialDespite that, Smith said he came away from the trip with an “overwhelming sense of optimism” that things could be poised to turn around.The minister’s trip coincided with meetings between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese President Xi Jinping, in which the two leaders pledged to work on a closer relationship.“Once that meeting took place and both leaders gave direction to move swiftly to work on fixing tariffs, that changed the narrative quite a bit,” said Smith.’Vital for us to return’The minister said he’s been invited back and he’d like to return to China. Houston also said he wouldn’t rule out a trip there.“We want to move swiftly to recalibrating the relationship that we have with China,” said Smith.Eight Nova Scotia companies were represented at the seafood expo, including Louisbourg Seafoods, World Link Food Distributors, Right Source Group, Clearwater Seafoods, Everich Import and Export, Mersey Seafoods, Ship’s Lobster Pound 2005, and Golden Alliance Canada.Smith said it was important to be there to support those businesses.“It’s such a large market and it’s such an important market for us that we knew that it was vital for us to return.”Foundation for a positive futureChris Vascotto, executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, said Smith’s trip is “excellent news” for the industry.He said having government and sector officials travel to the country even during trade disputes helps demonstrate that “we are still in this together.””Really, that’s what this trip did,” he said in an interview.”It helped bolster our market position, it demonstrated that we’re still there and we’re going to be there for a while. So really I view this as setting the foundation for a positive future.”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