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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - JULY 2015CELEBRATING NOVA SCOTIAbusiness this month, CIO had the opportunity to speak with Premier Stephen McNeil, who offered his in- sights into entrepreneurship, the latest industrial projects, and economic health of the province.McNeil’s passion for Nova Scotia stems from his family roots, as one of 17 siblings who were born and raised in Nova Scotia. McNeil understands business in Canada, as a former small business owner for 18 years. Notably, McNeil’s mother Theresa was the first female sheriff in Canada and this in- spired McNeil to become involved in community service.Premier McNeil was elected to the Legislative Assembly to serve the people of Annapolis in 2003. After winning re-election in 2006, he became leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal party“In addition to building on our key resources, we want to build an entrepreneurial community.”in 2007. McNeil served as leader the official opposition for four years before being elected Premier on October 8, 2013.Where is the province’s econom- ic growth strategy focused right now?Currently we’re building on what we consider our key resource sectors. In order to do this, we have a role as a government to provide education, healthcare, and look after our citizens and infrastructure, so that we have the capacity to grow.Ocean technology, for example, is a huge opportunity for our province. We have seen a lot of growth in that sector, and with the participation of our education system and the private sector we believe we can build on that.In addition to building on our key resources, we want to build an entre- preneurial community. We’re starting to see a lot of young people interested in becoming entrepreneurs, so we want to build that culture of entrepre- neurship and the ecosystem that will allow those students to take off.What are some unique strengths the province offers to new businesses and those planning to open a branch in Nova Scotia?You can be a global company here: you can do business in London and in Canada the same day. In addi- tion, this can be a strategic location for8