Nova Scotia Government Quietly Reshuffles for Spring

Last month, we reported on the biggest government personnel shake-up we’d ever tracked: 580 changes across 28 departments, 312 departures, and a new Deputy Minister for Addictions and Mental Health.

March was a lot quieter. We detected 162 personnel changes across 21 departments: 130 new hires and 32 title changes. No mass departures. No dramatic restructurings.

130 New Hires | 32 Title Changes | 21 Departments

About This Report

This is our third monthly report tracking personnel changes across all Nova Scotia provincial departments. All data is sourced from publicly available government employee directories. This information is technically public but rarely compiled in one place.

The Headlines

Acting directors are being made permanent

The clearest pattern in March’s data. Multiple directors who were serving in “Acting” or “A/” roles have dropped the prefix.

Mallory Coutinho went from “A/Director, Policy and Legislation” to “Director, Policy and Legislation” at Health and Wellness. Kenzie Urquhart went from “Acting Director, Service Excellence” to “Director, Service Excellence” at Cyber Security and Digital Solutions.

When governments confirm acting directors into permanent roles in bulk, it usually means a reorganization is settling into its final form.

Public Works is still hiring

In February, Public Works lost 80 people and hired 48. This month, they hired another 41 and made 9 title changes. That’s 89 new hires in two months against 80 departures.

Among the new arrivals: Greg Chisholm as Construction Manager Northern, and Rabail Gul, promoted from Intern Architect to Design Team Lead. The department is clearly investing in construction and design capacity.

Social Development keeps scaling up

Opportunities and Social Development brought on 34 new hires, the second-highest of any department. Combined with February’s 44 new hires (offset by 47 departures), the department is steadily expanding its service delivery workforce.

Three changes in Executive Council

Greg Landry joined as Senior Project Executive for Strategic Foresight. Rachel Boissonnault was hired as Cabinet Committee Coordinator. Ryan Shaw was promoted from Corporate Advisor to Senior Corporate Advisor. Three changes in the Premier’s office in one month.

Notable individual moves

Maddison Dennison jumped from Project Executive to Director of Strategic Analytics and Innovation at the Office of Service Efficiency. Frank Boone went from Learning Strategist to Director of Standards and Examinations at Labour, Skills and Immigration. Jocelyn Ferguson moved from Legistics Analyst/Editor to Acting Deputy Registrar of Regulations at Justice.

And in the most Nova Scotia title change of the month: Sawyer Olmstead at the Department of Agriculture went from Plant Protection Coordinator to Provincial Apiculturist. Someone has to look after the bees.

Month-over-Month Comparison

New hires and title changes only (comparable basis)

New Hires: 170 to 130 (-24%) Title Changes: 96 to 32 (-67%)

Director-Level Changes

Mallory Coutinho | Promotion Director, Policy and Legislation, Health and Wellness (Previously: A/Director, Policy and Legislation)

Kenzie Urquhart | Promotion Director, Service Excellence, Cyber Security and Digital Solutions (Previously: Acting Director, Service Excellence)

Maddison Dennison | Promotion Director, Strategic Analytics and Innovation, Office of Service Efficiency (Previously: Project Executive)

Frank Boone | Promotion Director Standards and Examinations, Labour, Skills and Immigration (Previously: Learning Strategist)

Andrew J. MacDonald | New Hire Director, Financial Advisory Services, Finance and Treasury Board

Jennifer Wagg | New Hire Director Employment Nova Scotia, Labour, Skills and Immigration

Jocelyn Ferguson | Promotion Acting Deputy Registrar of Regulations, Justice (Previously: Legistics Analyst/Editor)

Notable Manager-Level Changes

Nick Bruinsma | Promotion Manager, Cyber Security Risk Advisor, Cyber Security and Digital Solutions (Previously: Senior Business Analyst)

Sharon Fraser | Title Change Manager, Quality Assurance, Education and Early Childhood Development (Previously: Manager, Licensing and Compliance)

Jenna Beaton | Title Change Manager, Licensing and Compliance, Fisheries and Aquaculture (Previously: Manager, Licensing and Registration)

Kim Preeper | Title Change Manager Corporate Services and Projects, Office of Addictions and Mental Health (Previously: Manager of Corporate Operations)

Steve Patterson | Title Change Senior Data Scientist, Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Service Efficiency (Previously: Senior Strategic Policy Advisor — Data and Analytics)

Leslie Power | Promotion ELCC Project Executive, Education and Early Childhood Development (Previously: ELCC Advisor)

Ryan Shaw | Promotion Senior Corporate Advisor, Executive Council (Previously: Corporate Advisor)

Tammy Gallant | Promotion Coordinator of Driver Licensing, Public Works (Previously: Driver Licensing Case Assessor)

Rabail Gul | Promotion Design Team Lead / Architect 1, Public Works (Previously: Intern Architect)

Sawyer Olmstead | Title Change Provincial Apiculturist, Agriculture (Previously: Plant Protection Coordinator)

Greg Landry | New Hire Senior Project Executive, Strategic Foresight, Executive Council

Greg Chisholm | New Hire Construction Manager Northern, Public Works

New Hires by Department

Public Works: 41 new hires Opportunities and Social Development: 34 new hires Justice: 14 new hires Service Nova Scotia: 14 new hires Cyber Security and Digital Solutions: 7 new hires Natural Resources: 5 new hires

(Plus new hires across Executive Council (3), Emergency Management (2), Finance and Treasury Board (2), Labour, Skills and Immigration (2), Growth and Development (2), Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage (2), Education (1), and Legislative Services (1)).

Title Changes by Department

Public Works: 9 title changes Opportunities and Social Development: 5 title changes Cyber Security and Digital Solutions: 3 title changes Office of Service Efficiency: 2 title changes

(Plus title changes across Health and Wellness (2), Education (2), Justice (2), Advanced Education (1), Environment and Climate Change (1), Labour, Skills and Immigration (1), Office of Addictions and Mental Health (1), Agriculture (1), Executive Council (1), and Fisheries and Aquaculture (1)).

Notable New Hires

Greg Landry, Senior Project Executive, Strategic Foresight (Executive Council) Rachel Boissonnault, Cabinet Committee Coordinator (Executive Council) Andrew J. MacDonald, Director, Financial Advisory Services (Finance and Treasury Board) Jennifer Wagg, Director Employment Nova Scotia (Labour, Skills and Immigration) Michelle Venturini, Senior Corporate Strategist (Growth and Development) Alonso Chiri Ponce, Technical Specialist DevSecOps Cloud (Cyber Security and Digital Solutions) Femalben Bhikhan Odedra, Senior Application Developer (Cyber Security and Digital Solutions) Suzanne Millar, Program Lead, Municipal and CI Business Continuity (Emergency Management) Sarah Drysdale, Court Administration Team Lead (Justice) Kallie Stone, Mineral Development Facilitator (Natural Resources) Timothy Locke, Area Manager (Natural Resources) Ashley Dorazio, Executive Administrative Coordinator for ADM (Service Nova Scotia) Pam Harris, Business Manager (Service Nova Scotia)

ScotiaSignal Research publishes monthly reports on Nova Scotia public sector leadership changes as a public service. We believe transparency in government leads to better accountability.

Originally published at https://scotiasignal.ca on April 1, 2026.