TORONTO - The premier of Nova Scotia made a pitch to the financial heart of the country Thursday that as Canada digs itself out of recession his province is a solid place to invest.

Darrell Dexter spoke to the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto, in his first public address outside Nova Scotia since being elected premier in June.

He touted the province's inroads on renewable energy and energy conservation as well as successes of companies in Nova Scotia such as Lockheed Martin and Research in Motion Ltd.

Dexter said he will work with business leaders worldwide to attract business to Nova Scotia and improve the economy.

"I will actively recruit businesses willing to come to Nova Scotia to access the highly educated and dedicated workforce," Dexter said.

"The people that have made the decision to come to Nova Scotia recognized what I have known for a long time and that is Nova Scotia has it all."

Dexter's government -- Atlantic Canada's first NDP government -- tabled its inaugural budget last month with a $592-million deficit the province has promised to eliminate by next spring.

"The province will have some very difficult and tough decisions to make in order to balance the books and live within our means without undue disruption," he said.

After the speech Dexter said he's not worried the deficit will deter potential investors from the province, as most other regions of the country are in the same situation.

"We see it as a very important thing to move back into balance," Dexter said in an interview.

"We are in the unfortunate position of being the province in the Confederation that is worst placed to absorb more debt."

During the election campaign, Dexter promised to balance the books without raising taxes or substantially cutting spending. That commitment helped secure a majority government for the party.

Dexter said Thursday that his government is still working toward balancing the books by next year, but that it's difficult to pinpoint when that can happen until he has received reports on how that can be achieved.

"At this point I'm not putting time frames on this," he said after the speech.

"I'm not going to prejudge what the panel has to say, (but) I don't think any of the choices are going to be particularly pleasant."

Finance Minister Graham Steele gave few details when the budget was released on how the government plans to keep its promise to balance the books for 2010-2011, though the budget documents reveal that expenses would have to be cut by $570 million to reach that goal.