Premier Stephen McNeil. Image: Submitted
The premier took time out of Thursday’s cabinet briefing, his last before a new premier is chosen, to reflect on his government’s record.
Stephen McNeil says he is proud of the work they have done.
McNeil says he made a lot of hard decisions, but they were the right ones.
“They may not always like your decisions,” he says. “But they’ll respect them if they think you’re doing it for them, and not just your government, and I want to assure all Nova Scotians over the last seven years our government made decisions solely based on what we though was in your best interest.”
McNeil announced his departure from politics at the height of his popularity last year.
The province’s governing Liberals saw a huge surge in approval ratings through the COVID-19 pandemic.
McNeil also took time to speak against his critics.
“For all of those out there who believe all I cared about was balancing budgets, you couldn’t be further from the truth,” he says. “I wanted to balance the budget so I could invest in your kids and pre-primary. I wanted to invest in children with autism. I wanted to make sure that the entrepreneur who had an idea knew they could create that job here.”
McNeil says everything he has done was only possible because of the people around him, and he thanked those who helped him govern over the years.
Voting for the next provincial Liberal party leader is open, and the winner of the leadership contest is set to be announced Saturday.
