Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil was in Alberta yesterday to sign a deal with new Alberta Premier Jim Prentice that will allow apprentices to move more freely between the two provinces. Nova Scotia and Alberta have agreed to recognize training and trade-hours reciprocally. The benefit to the apprentice is that he or she will not be cut off from work and training opportunities in either jurisdiction because they are indentured in the one province. "Once you were enrolled in Alberta," Premier McNeil said, "what we effectively did is we locked our sons and daughters into Alberta's apprenticeship program for six or seven years." It remains to be seen whether this development will encourage the many Nova Scotia apprentices who have headed West for work during the oil sands boom to return. Over the three years ending on June 30, 2014, the net migration to Alberta from Nova Scotia was almost 9,000 people.