Jamie Muir Appointed Nova Scotia Finance Minister

Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald today, March 10, appointed Jamie Muir as finance minister.

Muir has been a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus since 1998. He has held a number of cabinet positions including: Minister of Health; Minister of Education; Minister of Justice and Attorney General; and Minister for Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

The premier said Mr. Muir's work as chair of the Treasury and Policy Board, where he worked closely with the Department of Finance, will be an asset in his new portfolio.

"Jamie Muir has the experience and knowledge to lead our team as we finalize the budget," said Premier MacDonald. "He has been a valuable voice around the cabinet table in the past, and I am pleased to welcome him back."

Mr. Muir left cabinet in January after announcing he would not be reoffering in the next provincial election. He said this appointment does not change his long-term plans, but he is looking forward to the challenge of being finance minister.

"I know a lot of the budget work has been done, but there is still a lot to do before we are ready to present it to the people of the province," said Mr. Muir. "We are committed to delivering an eighth consecutive balanced budget, but as everyone knows, these are challenging times, and we have a lot of tough decisions to make."

Mr. Muir's appointment is effective immediately. He replaces Michael Baker who passed away last week.