Nova Scotia Come To Life

Many of our employees have come to Nova Scotia to live and work.

Here are some of their stories.

“Taking the leap and giving Halifax and Emera a try.”

While living in Calgary, Alberta, Emera approached me to see if I could put them in contact with someone who had pipeline experience. I knew just the person, me. After researching what Emera could offer by the way of challenges, both short and long term, I met with Emera’s management team, including President and CEO of Emera, Chris Huskilson, to discuss this exciting opportunity.

Having never given much thought to moving to the East coast, my family and I were suddenly shifted into taking the leap and giving Halifax and Emera a try. Upon completion of the Emera Bunswick Pipeline, I made the decision to remain in the Emera family and accept a position with Nova Scotia Power.

Roger Burton
Senior Director, Projects

“I didn’t have to be asked twice to come over and take a look at what the province and the position offered.”

Having lived on the same latitude as Rome and Northern California, in Amherstburg, Ontario, My wife and I can say safely suggest that it wasn’t Nova Scotia weather that drew us here. For us, it was about the welcoming, honest and friendly people of Nova Scotia.

When I heard of a job opportunity with Nova Scotia Power, I didn’t have to be asked twice to come over and take a look at what the province and the position offered. The Maritime culture appealed to us and being from Scotland and Denmark we felt immediately at home in a ‘familiar’ place with over three hundred years of seafaring history.

We have been here for almost a year now and are thoroughly enjoying everything that the province has to offer.

David McGregor
Senior Director, Technical Service

"Our family put it on our ‘possibilities’ list.”

Having spent childhood summer vacations in Prince Edward Island, I have always had an affinity for the Maritimes. In the summer of 2000, my husband, kids and I travelled East on our own vacation, where we spent some time in Halifax. Since that trip our family put it on our ‘possibilities’ list, when exploring opportunities outside of Ontario. At the time, our children were still several years away from university applications, but the culture and size of the city coupled with the academic opportunities for our children, was a real draw for us.

Following our trip to Halifax, I began to watch for employment opportunities within the region. It wasn’t until the summer of 2001, that I applied for the position as an Executive Assistant with Nova Scotia Power. After a series of telephone and face-to-face interviews, I joined the team at Nova Scotia Power and have been here ever since. Funny enough, when it was time for our son to choose a university, he chose Waterloo, Ontario.

Janice Sutton
Senior Communications Advisor

“A friend of a friend was curling with a senior leader of Nova Scotia Power and told him that he should meet me.”

Native to Nova Scotia, with a shared passion for engineering, my wife and I moved out West for several years where we lived in Alberta, working for Suncor Energy. While we enjoyed our work out West, we always felt that for the long term our life would be in Nova Scotia. With the news of my wife and I expecting a baby, we actively started looking for opportunities in Halifax, as we wanted to be settled prior to the baby’s arrival. Lauren, my wife, found a great position with Energy Instrumentation Sales Limited. For me, in classic Nova Scotia fashion, a friend of a friend was curling with a senior leader of Nova Scotia Power and told him that he should meet me. From that chance meeting, I was put in touch with Emera consultant, Graeme MacKenzie, who was looking for support to develop wind sites. As an Environmental Engineer I can’t think of anything I’m more interested in than supporting Nova Scotia’s branding as a renewable energy leader. I’m thankful to Graeme.

We came home to be close to family and to raise our own. It was no surprise to either of us that there is no sacrifice professionally. There are great projects, smart and dedicated people, and plenty of opportunity for growth right here. I love my job.

Sean Brennan
Project Manager

“The Nova Scotia Power recruitment team played a large part in helping to make the difficult transition much easier.”

As graduates of the Technical University of Nova Scotia, (TUNS) my wife and I left for Eastern Ontario to take jobs in the chemical and automotive industries. As a young couple, this was a chance to gain valuable experience, begin a solid career path, and experience another part of Canada. We left Nova Scotia for Ontario with no doubt in our minds that we would return ‘home’ within a few years. A few years quickly turned into a decade and we then found ourselves the proud parents of the first of our three sons. This is when the desire to return to Nova Scotia began to really manifest itself.

We’ve always both felt extreme pride in Nova Scotia, the lifestyle, the heritage, the values and beliefs. In January 2010, I began working with Nova Scotia Power. With the move back to the Maritimes, we needed to sell our home, change provinces, change schools, and change jobs all just weeks after the birth of our third son. Nova Scotia Power recruitment team played a large part in helping to make the difficult transition much easier for myself and for my family.

David Walker
Capital Engineer

“We are finally completely content and happy where we are.”

After graduating from Dalhousie University with Undergraduate Degrees in Engineering, my boyfriend, David, and I were very disappointed in the job prospects in Nova Scotia at the time. We both received offers from an Oil Services Company in Alberta which were too good to turn down. It was very difficult to leave, not knowing if or when we’d have the opportunity to move back. Working in the oil patch in Alberta was exciting and very rewarding but it was certainly a different life style from what we were used to in Nova Scotia. There wasn’t much down time but at every opportunity that we had, we made a trip home to Nova Scotia to visit our families and take time to slow down. After working there for four years, we decided that it was time to try our luck at obtaining work back home – we realized that Alberta would never be ‘home’ to us.

Within that following year, both David and I were hired by Nova Scotia Power in Cape Breton. We are finally completely content and happy with where we are.

Melissa MacDougall
Engineer

“I again have a challenging job that I feel certain will provide me with opportunities for growth and advancement.”

Returning home to Nova Scotia was a decision sparked by the recent economic downturn. For the past eight years I had been living and working in Calgary, Alberta, as an Engineer. For me, there is no denying that the West has some wonderful perks, such a plentiful employment opportunities for engineers, lower taxes and the stunning Rocky Mountains, but as a maritimer, proximity to the ocean is quite important to me.

Returning to Nova Scotia allowed me to create a more relaxed lifestyle for myself, and provide me with greater opportunities to achieve a better work-life balance. Both my partner and I felt that the opportunities that existed for us in Nova Scotia exceeded what Alberta had to offer. Now, working for Nova Scotia Power, I again have a challenging job that I feel certain will provide me with opportunities for growth and advancement.

We are happy with our decision to move back to Nova Scotia, and having bought our first home here, plan to stay awhile.

Erin MacNeil
Engineer

“Nova Scotia has always offered us a sense of peace that we could not find elsewhere.”

My husband and I were both working for a large oil company out West. Our different schedules offered us little time together and between balancing our work-life, family and other commitments, we were always in a rush. Every year our family would take two weeks’ vacation in the summer and visit my home in Nova Scotia. My husband who is Alberta born, enjoyed his time here as much as I did. During our trip in 2009, we had discussed moving to Nova Scotia at some point but had no solid plans. We decided to start looking for opportunities and if something promising came up for either of us we would consider it further. Within days of returning to Alberta, I applied for a position with Nova Scotia Power.

Nova Scotia has always offered us a sense of peace that we could not find elsewhere. Although we've only been residents for a little over a year, we still feel like we are on vacation; and I hope that never goes away.

Stacy Vandecappelle
Power Engineer

“I always knew that Nova Scotia Power was where I wanted to work.”

While my initial application for a position with Nova Scotia Power was unsuccessful, my perseverance paid off. I always knew that Nova Scotia Power was where I wanted to work. The opportunities for growth and position advancement that Nova Scotia Power has to offer, is what solidified my decision to return home to Nova Scotia from Alberta.

Jason MacIsaac
Wiring Inspector