The population of Nova Scotia passed the one million mark last year. It’s an exciting milestone, and what’s more exciting is that our population continues to grow at a steady pace. The secret is out—people are seeing Nova Scotia’s potential, they want to be a part of it, and they’re coming in record numbers. In Develop Nova Scotia’s work to grow our economy and to attract people to Nova Scotia, it isn’t just about what we build, but how we build it. It isn’t just about attracting people, but about creating the conditions for people to stay, to participate, to thrive.

Our mandate is to build strategic economic infrastructure that helps grow Nova Scotia’s economy and population. We build places for people that attract people. And because we do it with people, we strengthen community, our economy, and Nova Scotia’s value proposition in the process. The impact of our work is a collection of irresistible, intensely-local places across our province that are magnetic to people, that are vital to community and population growth, and where local businesses can expand, innovate, and prosper.

Now that we’ve passed one million, what’s next? Our plan is to keep doing what we’ve been doing with an urgency to have impact—with speed but with intention and through continued collaboration with our many partners across community, public, and private sectors. We will do more of what we’re celebrating in this annual report. We’ll continue to design and build high-quality economic and social infrastructure in a way that meaningfully engages diverse communities. We’ll continue to manage complex procurement processes that stand up to intense scrutiny. We’ll continue to engage with communities to build public spaces that encourage locals to gather, facilitate new business opportunities, and attract visitors.

One million is a wonderful milestone. But it’s just one stop on our journey to something even bigger. Together, we can build places and infrastructure that build a stronger Nova Scotia—public spaces that attract people and enhance the quality of life of all residents—like the projects in this report are already doing.