Cape Breton Post

‘ENDLESSLY INSPIRING’

Editor’s note: As interest in the film industry grows, our Cape Breton Film series explores the past, present and future of the film industry on the island. My wife and I moved to Cape Breton during COVID-19 with a food truck and a loose plan. Work...

SAFETY FIRST

Organizers of this year’s Rotary Ribfest opted to shut down the remainder of its weekend run early Sunday afternoon because of rain and windy conditions. “In the interest of public safety, we felt it wise to shut down the site because of the inclement...

INTERNAL TRADE BARRIERS STILL COSTING CANADA: CFIB

A leading business group is giving some provinces and the federal government good grades for trying to break down Canada’s costly internal trade obstacles, even as those barriers continue to cost Canadians billions of dollars a year. In its annual...

SHAW-SOME CELEBRATION

NEVER A BAD DAY FOR GOLF IN CAPE BRETON

There’s never a bad day to be out on a golf course in Cape Breton. A golfer keeps a close eye on his ball on No. 4 at Cabot Links in Inverness on Tuesday afternoon. Several golfers were on the course at Cabot Cape Breton, taking in the breathtaking...

RACK ’EM UP! ROTARY RIBFEST RETURNS

The smell of barbecued ribs and chicken will be filling the air this weekend as Rotary Ribfest makes its return to Open Hearth Park in Sydney this weekend. Steven Rolls has been attending the annual feast since it first started in 2015. He said going...

SCREENING FOR INCENTIVES

Editor’s note: As interest in the film industry grows, our Cape Breton Film series explores the past, present and future of the film industry on the island. The recent success of the independent film Little Lorraine has helped push this question to...

Destination Cape Breton proposes summer takeover of visitor centre

The Port Hastings tourist information centre that closed earlier this year may get a new life, if the province approves a proposal from Destination Cape Breton. The destination marketing and management organization that helps promote all things Cape...

SPENDING NEEDED FOR ‘GROWTH,’ MINISTER SAYS

The federal government plans to pay for its recent big-ticket spending through a combination of economic growth and deficit increases, Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne says. Prior to officially kicking off the government’s pre-budget...

SUPPORTING LOCAL

Singer-songwriter Jordan Musycsyn performed outside the Joan Harriss Cruise Pavilion on Thursday afternoon as part of the launch of Meet Me at the Fiddle: Dockside Sessions. The free lunchtime concert series is part of the Port of Sydney’s Meet Me at...

TRASH ACTION

The chief administrative officer of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality says there are plans to look at hiring more contractors to ramp up its garbage collection efforts following a rash of residents’ complaints. Changes to the way garbage gets...

READY TO ROLL

To Gary Fraser’s recollection, the last time a Glace Bay community festival hosted a soap box derby dated back to the mid- to late 2000s. "I held it in 2006, 2007 and 2008 – those three years – and actually the third year it was held in Glace Bay,...

HOT AUGUST NIGHTS ‘DONE’

Hot August Nights has been cancelled for 2026 – and has likely ended its run, the event’s organizer says. The annual classic car showcase and fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Canada foundation has attracted thousands of spectators to a section of...

‘IT’S UNACCEPTABLE’

Cape Breton Regional Municipality residents are becoming increasingly frustrated with garbage handlers over missed pickups and delays in collection dates — especially now that the weekly curbside collections are being solely handled by municipal...

OLAND MURDER STILL OPEN 15 YEARS LATER

SAINT JOHN, N.B. For those who were in the packed, fifth-floor courtroom of the Saint John Law Courts on Dec. 19, 2015, it was a scene that cannot be forgotten. Dennis Oland, on trial for the second-degree murder of his dad, Richard, stood next to one...

TROUBLED WATERS

Bill Nicholson, a Catalone Gut resident and technical co-chair of the Catalone Lake Restoration Committee, is disappointed the provincial government will not complete an environmental assessment during their replacement of the steel truss bridge along...

WRITTEN IN THE CLOUDS

Photographer James Forsey captures a roll cloud with his drone camera during Tuesday morning’s storm from his home in Coxheath. Meteorologist Cindy Day said in a Facebook post that a roll cloud, scientific name volutus, is a “rare phenomenon” that...

‘NOT A GOOD TIME TO BE A POTHOLE’

To deal with a growing number of potholes along many Nova Scotia highways, the province’s Department of Public Works is bringing in dozens of pieces of mainly new specialized equipment to its maintenance fleet to add to its various depots...

PADDLING TO THE PAST

A young Membertou woman has a good reason to be showing up almost every day to help build a traditional Mi’kmaw birch bark canoe — thought to be the first in Unama’ki (Cape Breton) in about a hundred years. Anastasia Kabatay has a story to tell that...

A cruel irony of the war on drugs

It took Corey Tochor three years to get to this point. The Conservative MP turned heads on Parliament Hill when, in the midst of the House of Commons’ final dizzying days of passing legislation before adjourning for the summer, he emerged with an...

GRADUATION SEASON

Riverview High graduate Callie Doyle (green on the right) with her date Avan Laderoute, who is in Grade 11. Both are active in theatre and Doyle has done acting as well as backstage work, including being an assistant stage manager for the Savoy...

SHORING UP SOME CASH

The Marine Atlantic ferry terminal in North Sydney will get some upgrades thanks to an $80-million boost in federal funding. The funding announcement was made Wednesday at the ferry terminal in North Sydney by Sydney- Glace Bay MP Mike Kelloway, who...

BLEEDING RED AND WHITE

Universal health care, the public education system, hockey, politeness, and the maple leaf. These are some of the pillars that one might default to if they wondered about what it meant to be Canadian – at least historically. Over the last few years,...

‘WE’RE ALL HUMAN’

As a multi-sport Special Olympics athlete, Kellan Deruelle has been competing on the provincial and national stage since she was a child. But in recent years, one of the highlights each year is when she gets to run onto Cape Breton University’s Ness...

STRONG BONDS

The Cape Breastoners Dragonboat team is celebrating 25 years of supporting, healing, paddling and just plain having fun. Dragon boats look like very large canoes — about 38 feet long and seating 20 paddlers in pairs, a coxswain (steerer) in the back...

MILITARY POLICE WARNED ABOUT OFFICER’S CLAIMS OF ACCESS TO ANAND

A Canadian Forces officer in charge of a private organization raising funds for Ukraine told a civilian she not only had access to then-defence minister Anita Anand, but suggested she may be able to shape how federal government funds were spent on the...

HALL OF FAME CELEBRATION

Sydney’s Centre 200 turned into a homecoming, a kitchen party, and an overall musical night to remember for the inductees into the fourth edition of Cape Breton Music Industry Hall of Fame. This year’s induction ceremony honoured the late Cape Breton...

‘IT’S JUST A MAGICAL SPOT’

Cape Breton was front and centre on a recent episode of a Food Network Canada program. Andy’s East Coast Kitchen Crawl, hosted by Dartmouth chef Andy Hay, included an entire episode filmed on the west side of the island. It included stops at the Red...

‘YOU HAVE TO STAY GROUNDED’

In his formative years, Gordie Sampson initially resisted anything related to Celtic, country music and even the sounds of Cape Breton fiddlers and their piano or guitar accompanists. Instead, the in-demand songwriter and producer based out of...

EDGEWATER FACING MORE CHANGES

The development firm looking to build a mixed-use commercial and residential complex on the Sydney waterfront has informed the Cape Breton Regional Municipality that it will once again delay the start of construction – this time until at least the...

WALK THIS WAY

You can’t keep good people down. Or, as in the case of the fundraising walk for Ronald McDonald House, a little cold and rain will not keep them at home. Michelle and Justin Kennerknecht may have had a sinking feeling when they woke up to rain and 10...

Lax border policies fostered one of Canada’s most dangerous gangs

At the immigration hearing for an accused Indian gangster earlier this month, an Edmonton police officer attempted to illustrate the scale of the criminal operation that law enforcement was now dealing with. The hearing concerned Jashandeep Singh, an...

DAVIS DESCENDANTS

From left, Sharon Hines, Loretta Mcleod, Sheldon Macdonald, Lorraine Head, Norma Macdonald, Anita Davis of New Waterford, Susan Roberts, Brandon Macdonald, Lorraine Woods and Evelyn Mcleod, all descendants of the late William Davis, stand in front of a...

‘PEOPLE ARE HURTING’

Food Banks Canada released its annual poverty report card that includes low and failing grades, but that’s no surprise to North Sydney Food Bank general manager Stacy Ellis. The report gives a bleak outlook nationally, and gives the country a D+ grade...

BRIDGING THE BUSINESS GAP

A group of small businesses is making a go of it in a converted church hall in Marion Bridge. The Bridge opened in August 2025 and includes six different businesses. It’s been not only a place to buy vintage clothing, get a massage, or pick up coffee...

‘LIKE A ROCKY MOVIE’

Chris Billam-Smith, right, lands a punch clean to the face of Cape Breton’s Ryan Rozicki during their 10-round cruiserweight main event of Zuffa Boxing 07 at Bournemouth International Centre in Bournemouth, England, on Saturday. Billam-Smith, who is...

HOUSING PRICES WOULD BE 10% LOWER IF CANADA HAD KEPT PACE WITH U.S.: CMHC

OTTAWA Canada’s housing stock would be about 30 per cent larger and prices 10 per cent lower if this country’s building industry had been as responsive to demand as its American counterpart over the last couple of decades, says a new report from the...

SHOW OF SUPPORT

Cheryl Keough thought when Premier Tim Houston looked her in the eye and said, “We want you back,” he meant it. One of the striking North Sydney Community Guest Home long-term care support workers, Keough is a hairdresser who has worked the last 10 of...

INVESTIGATION ONGOING

A stabbing investigation led to a police pursuit and the arrest of two men in Cape Breton on Wednesday afternoon. Cape Breton Regional Police were called to Frederick Street in Whitney Pier around 11:30 a.m., where they located a male with stab...

HOW THE WEST WAS WON

It wasn’t supposed to be a proper film per se – just Cape Breton comedy duo Tracy and Martina capturing some footage during a tour stop in Fort McMurray, Alta., for their social media channels. “We didn’t really have any plans to make a movie when we...

HELP WANTED

It’s estimated there are 70,000 job openings in Canadian eateries, and the owner of one Nova Scotia restaurant knows all too well that finding staff is getting harder and harder. “It’s been a horrible go, to be honest,” said Jason LeBlanc, co-owner of...

‘IT’S ABOUT ATTITUDE’

Stephanie MacNeil first noticed some unusual body activity affecting her about 10 years ago at the age 25. “It started with numbness in my foot one night, and then by the next day it had gone up the whole right side of my body,” the Sydney resident...

FEDERAL MINISTER POURS MORE COLD WATER ON N.B.’S LNG IDEA

Canada has reached a landmark deal to export liquefied natural gas to Germany — but it’s from the Pacific coast. And federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson has poured more cold water on the possibility of an East Coast export terminal, even as New...

CALMING WATERS

In October 2025, the Canadian Armed Forces Naval and Army Reserves conducted a training exercise in Sydney Harbour. Plans are moving forward for a satellite detachment in Sydney for Halifax’s Naval Reserve unit, HMCS Scotian. Details online at...

WORDS OF INSPIRATION

Brian Prince’s front tuck in the middle of the stage at Cape Breton University’s first spring convocation ceremony surprised many. But it might have been the best physical representation of what the first group of 2026 graduates were feeling as they...

AI IMPERSONATION

When Amber Buchanan took a phone call from her 16-year-old daughter, the teen sounded like she was in major duress and was crying for her mom to help. “She was in a panic and said, ‘I need you to come get me right now.’ And then she said, ‘They won’t...

LOST IN THE WILD

Chris Bellemore walks into the woods. He knows them; he’s been there many times. He’s not only looking for a person. He is looking at the ground for tracks. At broken vegetation. At objects someone may have dropped without noticing. At the spot...

GOING THE DISTANCE

On your marks, get set — and they’re off. The 36th edition of the Cabot Trail Relay Race began amid a cool but sunny Saturday morning outside the Gaelic College entrance in St. Anns, where the first leg of participants congregated to chat with running...

POLITICIANS SEEK TO EASE FOOD COSTS, BUT ARE BATTLING MARKET FORCES

OTTAWA Call it the coriander conundrum. Like with parsley, carrots, dill and most other members of the apiaceae family of edible plants, the retail price of coriander has been growing like a weed. While the prices of many items on grocery store...

CAPE BRETON ROCKS

Goldie Boutilier called her double victory at Thursday night’s East Coast Music Awards gala validation for all the years of hard work and things she had to overcome in her life. “I will never forget this night, especially that (these wins are) in my...

SHUTTERED BADDECK RINK UNDERGOES DEMOLITION

Victoria County’s only indoor ice rink will soon be no more. The 52-year-old Victoria Highland Civic Centre (VHCC) in Baddeck is currently in teardown mode as it prepares to begin work on a new multi-use recreational facility, which will include a new...

‘IT’S VERY HUMBLING’

Forty years after The Barra MacNeils recorded and released their eponymous debut album, Stewart MacNeil is still processing the rise and success of the Cape Breton Celtic-folk group as they prepare to accept a lifetime achievement honour from the East...

‘ABSOLUTE QUALITY’

The new executive director behind the East Coast Music Awards says he wants this year’s Sydney event to be an unqualified success – and a memorable one for everyone taking part. Certainly, the in-person experiences of all the live performances,...

‘DETERMINED TO CARRY ON’

Black and white photos from 1943 of a young couple who chose to walk and bus around the Cabot Trail on a whim illustrate that even in its early years, the trail was a wonder of nature that people wanted to experience. Not having a car wasn’t a problem...

DOING DOUBLE DUTY

Striking long-term care workers from four seniors’ homes in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality took their picket line to Cape Breton University on Thursday afternoon. “We heard Mr. Houston was going to be here. We’d like to meet with Mr. Houston,”...

WATERFRONT PROJECT MOVES AHEAD

For several weeks now, barricades have prevented vehicular traffic from entering a gravel parking lot off Sydney’s Esplanade. The area had provided access to the waterfront boardwalk, several seasonal kiosks as well as Tide Tacos & Tequila – the...

STANDING TOGETHER

Construction on the new Maple Hill Manor long-term care facility was stopped for a second day in a week by striking nursing home employees. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) members from three long-term care facilities joined the picket line...

‘HELD IN HIGH REGARD’

There’s no slowing down for the Men of the Deeps. North America’s only coal miners’ chorale just wrapped up a tour of southern Ontario to nearly sellout theatre crowds to plug their 60th anniversary as a group. Soon they will be a fixture at the Cape...

IMPRESSIVE MILESTONE

At the end of last year’s Teal to Heal Mother’s Day walk/run event, organizer Dena Edwards Wadden hoped the annual fundraiser would meet or exceed the $1-million mark in overall fundraising contributions for 2026. Mission accomplished. The fifth...

SUPREME COURT SET TO WEIGH IN ON HUGE INDIGENOUS TITLE CLAIM

The clock began ticking April 7 on what could be one of the most important Supreme Court of Canada cases in New Brunswick’s history. That’s the date the country’s top court told several law firms involved in the Wolastoqey Nation’s landmark title...

SOLID GOLDIE

The church of Goldie Boutilier is a broad one. At her concert March 26 at Vancouver’s Hollywood Theatre — the perfect venue for a chanteuse whose various pop-star personas are often inspired by old movies — the enthusiastic crowd responds to her...

‘YOU NEVER KNOW UNTIL YOU START’

George Fraser is hopeful that he’ll get a good price for his lobster catches this season. He’s fished lobster out of his home port of South Bar for the past two decades and is optimistic as the season on the east side of the island gets going on...

‘They are more than statistics’

The founder of the Jane Paul Indigenous Women’s Resource Centre says violence against Indigenous women is not accidental and is a national issue that must be addressed. Heidi Marshall spoke at Tuesday’s Red Dress Day event and walk at Wentworth...

‘IT’S DANGEROUS’

Maritime musician Ashley MacIsaac is used to a rough ride in the public eye. During a frequently controversial career, the Cape Breton-born fiddler’s political views, sexuality, pre-legalization cannabis use and onstage antics have all prompted...

PROPERTY GEMS

The well-known Canadian celebrities of all things applying to home design, who also operate a seasonal boutique hotel in Louisbourg for several months each year, wanted to introduce prospective homebuyers to both Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia...

WHY IS WASHINGTON STILL SO ANGRY OVER BANS ON U.S. ALCOHOL?

LONDON, ONT. It has been more than a year since most provinces banned U.S. alcohol from liquor store shelves, but the United States government is still feeling the hangover. Late last month, the issue of U.S. alcohol bans by every province except...

NEW RULES FOR OLD GARBAGE

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has kicked its annual heavy garbage collection to the curb, replacing it with a new call-to-haul program that came into effect May 1. The Cape Breton Post sifted through details to break down why the CBRM ended the...

‘MUSIC OF THE PEOPLE’

The Canadian Folk Music Awards are coming to Cape Breton in 2027. The 22nd edition of the awards, which celebrate and promote Canadian folk music in all its forms, will take place in Sydney over a four-night span from April 8 to 11. At the conclusion...

‘THEY PUT THE BURDEN ON ME’

Wanting to restore his father’s iconic bakery and bread shop in Whitney Pier has been on Bernie Kokoszka Jr.’s mind for years. But the 82-year-old says it’s becoming more difficult to fulfil that dream. And the structure that once housed Bernie’s...

TAKING OUT THE TRASH

Volunteers on George Street in Sydney fill up a truck with bags of garbage during last year’s Great Cape Breton Cleanup. The much-anticipated annual event is set for Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

‘THEY WERE ALL A PART OF MY RUN’

Kate MacInnes reached two significant milestones while running in a recent Boston Marathon. For starters, the East Lake Ainslie resident marked the first-known Cape Breton female to finish the long-established race to run it in under three hours —...

MILITARY RECRUITMENT SOARS AFTER PAY RAISES, SOVEREIGNTY THREATS

The Canadian Armed Forces has recorded its highest recruitment levels in over three decades, enrolling 7,310 personnel in the last fiscal year. That’s up 600 new members year-over-year. Officials said the new numbers show strong or stable recruitment...

SHOOTING FOR FUN

Aidan Herman had one thing in mind before his Riverview Unified basketball team hit the court on Wednesday: shooting three-pointers. The Coxheath high school hosted a Unified Basketball Tournament, where athletes with diverse needs came together with...

POLICE CALLED TO CRIME SCENE

Cape Breton Regional Police are investigating the death of a female at a residence on Ling Street in New Waterford on Wednesday evening. Officers were called to the location at approximately 6 p.m. on April 22, where they discovered an unresponsive...

‘WE’VE BEEN ABLE TO HELP MORE PEOPLE THAN EVER’

The Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation raised a record-breaking $4.81 million in 2025, but the true impact isn’t measured in dollars. Foundation-funded programs and initiatives provided direct financial support to 5,227 patients this year,...