The Chronicle Herald (Metro)

STAR POWER

A couple, nestled into a booth, is about to get into an argument, and one of them is going to make a really bad decision. “Here we go,” yells out Wanda Arab, first assistant director. “Let’s roll sound.” “Rolling!” echoes across the bar as dozens of...

TENTS POP UP IN PARK

P.J. Mckay watched four new tents be set up at the Green Road Park homeless encampment in Dartmouth over the weekend. She said it’s part of a cycle she’s seen before, having just wrapped up her third winter at the camp, with warm weather inviting...

Old Burying Ground secrets explored

Halifax’s first cemetery is said to have close to 10,000 unmarked burials. On Friday, a group of Saint Mary’s archeology students, in partnership with the Old Burying Ground Foundation, were able to confirm the location of several of those burials,...

HOSTS DIVE INTO SMALL-TOWN N.S.

HGTV stars Colin and Justin found themselves in Louisbourg – tears streaming down their faces. They were shooting an episode of their latest project called Small Town Escapes. “There were 19 couples and only one single … Michelle was our single...

‘WE HAVE A VOICE’

After more than a year without seeing his neurologist and a hefty list of cuts in the recent provincial budget, Jorge Mora decided to write to Premier Tim Houston about his experience navigating multiple sclerosis care in Nova Scotia. For the Bedford...

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...

SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

All of Lansdowne Station is hurting. “Every day I look out my kitchen window and think of them,” said a neighbour who didn’t want her name published. “There’s not a person in this neighbourhood who doesn’t wake up every morning with the children on...

MAPLE SYRUP FARM DISPUTE GETS STICKY

The dispute between the embattled owners of a Nova Scotia maple syrup farm and the provincial government took another heated turn. Chris and Anna Hutchinson, who own Hutchinson Acres in Lake Paul, near Aylesford, have been given notice by the Nova...

Rising bills, confusing charges

Editor’s note: Electricity powers every home and business in Nova Scotia, yet few understand how the system works or why the rates keep rising. In our four-part series, Power Play, we examine rising costs, potential solutions, and lessons from last...

DIEHARDS TOAST PATIO SEASON

Although poet T.S. Eliot declared April the cruelest month, establishments across the region are happily opening for patio season, with some Haligonians stirring for fresh air and drinks with friends. Joe Mcguinness, who owns Durty Nelly’s, said he...

STRATEGIC STEPS

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...

HOPE ON HORIZON

For a girl described as a dragon with fire in her veins, she sure can enter a room sweet as sugar. The school bus was pulling away from their Cole Harbour home as eight-year-old Harper Tanton walked in, taking jolting steps in her butterfly-adorned...

‘I’M ACTUALLY SMILING FOR A CHANGE’

Derrick Pye doesn’t recommend living in your car. It’s cramped and uncomfortable and cold in the winter. There’s also the issue of finding a spot to park – be it a Walmart lot or some forgotten back road – where you won’t be woken up by police tapping...

Hail ride on Halifax Harbour highway

It looks like water out there in Halifax Harbour but, to these entrepreneurs, it looks like opportunity. “It was something we were always looking at … how the harbour is underutilized from a water transportation perspective. Obviously, there’s...

Councillor shaken by road rage incident

Becky Kent knows about aggressive driving. As the councillor for Dartmouth South-woodside-eastern Passage and a police board commissioner, she knows the stats. But it’s something else entirely to experience it firsthand. “It was very intense. I had...

Rural homelessness hides in plain sight

Chuck Lowther knew he had to get out. The 59-year-old had been living in Dartmouth but he said he couldn’t stay once the friend he was living with started drinking. He decided to head back to the Musquodoboit area, which he’d called home for most of...

‘SCENARIOS ARE ALL EITHER BAD OR VERY, VERY BAD’

Grocery prices are elevated, gas prices are high, job markets are cooling, and U.S. President Donald Trump is sticking to his tariff plans while the world eyes a shaky ceasefire with Iran. The truce between the U.S. and Iran has raised hopes and...

ARTPORT’S WINGS CLIPPED

The Artport gallery co-operative inside the Halifax Stanfield International Airport will close at the end of April, forcing senior artists to find alternatives and ending a decades-long presence in the terminal. The gallery, run by 11 retired artists,...

‘THESE PEOPLE AREN’T MAKING ENOUGH MONEY’

Tabatha Khoury’s regular visit with her ailing father was even more heart-wrenching than usual on Monday. The mother of two from Hammonds Plains goes to see her dad, Gary Abric, every day at Glasgow Hall in Dartmouth. The 75-yearold is in the late...

MAN IS KILLED ON AMHERST STREET

First came the sound of someone jumping a fence and running by his window Monday at about 6:50 p.m. “I thought, ‘Alright, what’s going on now?'” said the man, who did not want to be named due to safety concerns. He stood up and went to the window...

‘Challenging times are ahead’

A national survey offers a snapshot of Nova Scotians’ feelings toward the government following a tense spring sitting at Province House defined by spending cuts, affordability pressures and questions of public trust all wrapped in a historical...

LONG-TERM CARE WORKERS ON STRIKE

With pickets going up at long-term care homes across Nova Scotia on Monday, the provincial government released selected details of the offer that has been rejected by the Canadian Union of Public Employees executive. According to a written statement...

FEWER CANADIANS CROSSING BORDER — AND DUTY-FREE SHOPS ARE PAYING

WASHINGTON, D.C. Canadians still have their elbows up when it comes to travelling south of the border, and those fewer trips are having a disastrous effect on a key business: duty-free shopping. Tariff spats, Donald Trump’s “51st state” rhetoric and...

EAT WITH ANDY

Chef and TV host Andy Hay, slicing vegetables in the kitchen of his Dartmouth home, has a new food-travel show, Andy’s East Coast Kitchen Crawl, premièring on the Food Network. Inspired by Anthony Bourdain, he travels throughout Atlantic Canada looking...

She works full-time but can’t afford a home

She emerges from a nearby path, a stone’s throw from the Green Road Park homeless encampment, and asks to tell her story just as the cameras and microphones are being put away. The Chronicle Herald was there on Tuesday for another assignment, covering...

‘TOO MUCH DEBRIS’

There was a rabbit in P.J. Mckay’s camper on Easter weekend – one of the lost creatures she’s rescued at the Dartmouth homeless encampment. But the real holiday spirit arrived on Tuesday as city staff started cleaning up Green Road Park. People...

HOUSTON SAYS MI’KMAQ DON’T HAVE A TREATY RIGHT TO SELL POT … OR DO THEY?

Seven RCMP cruisers were vandalized and four provincial highways were blocked or slowed by protesters over raids on Mi’kmaq cannabis dispensaries. Over the Easter weekend, Premier Tim Houston and Mi’kmaq leadership offered conflicting accounts of...

Housing construction ‘levelling off’

So far in 2026, housing construction in Halifax is cooling, some demand is ebbing, and it’s taking far, far longer than ever to finish projects. “I know builder sentiment from the single-family builder perspective is not the best right now. And some...

PROTESTERS PUSH BACK

Demonstrators from Sipekne’katik First Nation (colonially called Indian Brook First Nation) picket at Exit 10 on Highway 102 in response to cannabis seizures on First Nation territory, near Shubenacadie, earlier on Thursday.

CLOWN CAR

Infilling company launches legal action

Already embroiled in legal action with the municipality, the company looking to infill on Dartmouth Cove is launching legal action against the federal government and the local MP. In a news release issued Monday, Bruce Wood, chief financial officer of...

‘IT’S TIME FOR A NEW STORE’

It’s suspected that it was a carelessly flicked cigarette in the neighbouring alley that led to an alarming phone call at 5:45 a.m. on Oct. 4: “Your store’s on fire.” Harold Knickle got that phone call about the Tian Phat Asian Grocery, which he runs...

JEWISH LEADERS WARN OF IRAN-INSPIRED TERROR THREAT

The Jewish community throughout North America has faced a shocking 900 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents since 2014, according to the Anti-defamation League data. Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in Israel, synagogues, community centres,...

STEERING A COURSE

Mark Carney came to Halifax on Thursday to explain how Canada’s military plans to adapt to what he described as an increasingly unsafe world. The prime minister held a news conference on HMCS Margaret Brooke at the Halifax Dockyard to announce...

HAMMONDS PLAINS BECOMES ROW HOUSING CENTRAL

Matt Flynn never set out with the aim of building row housing. As a local who grew up in Dartmouth, Flynn spent years in commercial construction before branching out with his four partners to start the Harbourtown Group just over two years ago. But...

‘IT’S JUST A SHAME’

Lil Macpherson can’t help but feel disappointed whenever she sees the Eisner Cove Wetland development project. “I drive by all the time, look in and just shake my head,” the local business owner and environmental activist told The Chronicle Herald....

Mother fights for autism services for daughter

Martha Rose feels she is in a race against time to get critical support for her three-year-old child. Rose said her daughter, Lulu, is non-verbal and autistic, with significant developmental needs. She is waiting for an assessment for confirmation of...

A TRAIN RUNS THROUGH IT

Darren Landry stands by the tracks sometimes. As the air is overcome by the diesel baritone and the grates and squeals of steel turning against steel, the ground rumbles all that moving mass up into his bones. Then the CN freight train passes out...

CANADA’S LANGUAGE WATCHDOG TRIPPED OVER A DOG’S TAIL ...

It was not Ai-generated, computer-translated from English or the work of anglophones. The Valentine’s Day message was written by real, live francophones — and, yes, they knew some would read it as a reference to part of the male anatomy. Internal...

Loblaw stores fined for mislabelling products as Canadian

Two Loblaw-owned grocery stores in Toronto have been fined for mislabelling imported products as Canadian. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued two penalties of $10,000 each to the stores for misleading country-of-origin claims on in-store...

BRING THE NOISE

Ziggy Kirch, student union president at NSCAD University, leads chants at Dalhousie University in Halifax as part of a provincewide university student strike. Among their demands are a 20 per cent reduction in tuition and divestment from companies...

TOUGH BREAK

A firefighter puts up caution tape to close off access to Green Road in Dartmouth after a utility pole snapped and caught fire. This week’s extended period of inclement weather caused widespread disruptions across Nova Scotia.

CUTS BOOKED FOR SCHOOL LIBRARIES?

Although there’s uncertainty around her future as a school librarian, Kristin Welbourn is certain of one fact: she loves her job. “It’s one of the most rewarding jobs,” she told The Chronicle Herald. “There’s so much more to it than just books. I help...

Rare earth elements potential mined

The Canadian and United States governments have pumped tens of millions into a Nova Scotia company to help it loosen China’s tight grip on rare earth mineral supply. Halifax-based Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has received US$22 million from the U.S....

OFFICIAL INTRIGUED BY ANTI-DRONE SYSTEM FROM TRIO AT HEART OF EXPLOSIVES TRIAL

A senior official at the Department of National Defence says he wants to learn more about the anti-drone system three men charged in an Ontario gun and explosives investigation are working on, once their legal problems are resolved. But developing...

DUNES UNVEIL HISTORY

Remnants of the Swift, a British sloop that sank in 1812, are exposed by eroding dunes to Parks Canada staff on Sable Island. If verified, they represent a rare instance of researchers being able to confirm artifacts from a historical wreck before the...

LOOKING FOR NEW LEASE ON LIFE

Jane Muir is still struggling to make sense of why the lease wasn’t renewed for her popular La Cucina Italian restaurant. On May 31, her lease with North American Development Group will expire at the Dartmouth Crossing location, ending a successful...

HOUSTON WALKS BACK SOME CUTS

The Nova Scotia government is reinstating $53.6 million in grants and funding for programs that support seniors, people with disabilities and Indigenous and African Nova Scotia students following criticism of cuts in the recently tabled provincial...

Caplan’s budget videos strike chord

Most Nova Scotians probably know Ben Caplan for his baritone voice and traditionally rooted tunes but it’s his political videos commanding an encore lately. Caplan, who moved to Halifax in 2005, recently started posting videos on social media...

‘IT’S WORTH KEEPING’

As a teenager, Karen Mitchell would eagerly open the doors of the Halifax Memorial Library on Spring Garden Road. “The sense of atmosphere filled with its books and friendly staff was representative of a time relevant to an era which can never be...

RUSSIA MAY SEE CHANCE TO BENEFIT FROM MIDEAST WAR

For Russia, the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the latest blow to President Vladimir Putin’s network of anti-western partners, and it exposed Moscow’s diminished influence on the world stage, from the Middle East to...

MOVING EXPERIENCE

1857: Baseball decides nine innings constitutes an official game, not nine runs. 1876: Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for the telephone in the U.S. 1911: U.S. sends 20,000 troops to Mexican border. 1918: First World War: Finland forms an...

NOT A PRETTY PICTURE

Artists and supporters filled Granville Street outside Province House with music, poetry and chants, calling on the Nova Scotia government to reverse planned cuts to arts and culture funding. The Culture is Critical rally was organized in response to...

Apartment hunt hastened by animal rescues

P.J. Mckay’s camper is like a little harbour to Green Road Park’s animals. She rescued a rabbit in the encampment last fall. More recently, she saved Buddy, a pit bull mix, from a nearby tent that Mckay called “a bad environment.” Now, all three...

CYCLISTS WANT BIKE PROJECTS PRIORITIZED

The message of David Trueman’s presentation was simple: all HRM residents should have choices for how they navigate the city, and projects should be prioritized based on impact, be they bike lanes or road work. But it’s a message that was largely met...

Museum funding cuts trigger alarms

The arts, culture and heritage sectors took a major hit when the Nova Scotia budget was tabled last week, with a significant loss in funding for many programs and services. Devin Casario, the executive director of the Association of Nova Scotia...

IS TRUMP RUNNING OUT OF TARIFF CARDS TO PLAY AHEAD OF CUSMA REVIEW?

Even the highest court in the land could not convince Donald Trump to stray from his love of tariffs. The U.S. president’s yearlong imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was brought to a halt by the...

LOVE FOR LOCAL

North Brewing Co. president Peter Burbridge, outside the company’s Portland Street taproom in Dartmouth, says craft breweries must adapt to changing consumer habits while coping with rising operating costs.

NSGEU protests service cuts

Roughly 200 Nova Scotia civil service employees and supporters gathered in downtown Halifax to show their displeasure with some of the decisions announced in Monday’s provincial budget. Members of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees...

RIDING THE HARBOUR HIGHWAY

Editor’s note: In our eight-part weekly series, How Halifax Works, we examine how Halifax’s core systems operate, why they’re under pressure, and what practical improvements could make daily life better. A wide open waterway. Clogged roads. It’s easy...

CIVIL SERVICE CUT BY 5% ANNUALLY

We’re looking for well thought-out reactions to the budget. Have one? Email Chnewsroom@postmedia. com. You may just get published. Nova Scotia’s 2026-27 budget shows the province is in a hard financial spot. The provincial government is wrestling...

FACE FACTS

Maybe we just pass on the Olympics next time. After two weeks in northern Italy that had become more notable for Canadian disappointment than joy, a second overtime hockey loss in a gold-medal final in four days was, let’s be honest, a brutal blow to...

TRADE ‘SECRET’ MEETING LED TO HOWE BRIDGE DEAL

The key piece of the puzzle that saw Canada pay the entire bill for the Gordie Howe International Bridge — thus allowing the massive project to proceed — came at a secret meeting. At least, it was supposed to be secret. In an interview with Postmedia...

DOCK WORKER

HALIFAX FORUM CAMPAIGN REIGNITED

Paul Card can’t believe the community has to rally to save the Forum – again. “It’s sad, frankly, that in 2014 the community and the board had to rally with the Save the Forum campaign, and we did,” said Card. “Here we are, 12 years later, doing...

EVER-CHANGING SKYLINE

Editor’s note: In our eight-part weekly series, How Halifax Works, we examine how Halifax’s core systems operate, why they’re under pressure, and what practical improvements could make daily life better. Halifax’s skyline is changing faster than most...

‘IT’S A LOT OF ATTENTION FOR AN AUTHOR’

A hockey romance written in Nova Scotia filled the room at the Truro Public Library on Saturday. Rachel Reid, author of Heated Rivalry, drew a crowd of around 100 people to her Q -and-a session and book signing, as the Canadian television adaptation...

TOTALLY TUBULAR

DINO DRAMA

Melissa Boucher-gilbert works on lighting a scene depicting an Allosaurus versus Ceratosaurus scrap at the Museum of Natural History in Halifax. The exhibit Dinosaur Exploration 2 runs through Sept. 7.

CUBA TRIPS CALLED OFF

The news that airline service to Cuba was being suspended hit hard for Ashlee Heard. The Halifax woman was part of a 12-person group headed to Varadero to celebrate a friend’s destination wedding. “We are pretty upset about this. Vacation is supposed...

ABANDONED BOATS REMOVED FROM SAULNIERVILLE WHARF

Crews removed three fishing boats over the weekend that had sunk at the Saulnierville wharf in recent weeks. In a written statement, Fisheries and Oceans Canada refused to state who owned the vessels, citing privacy concerns. “Fisheries and Ocean...

PRICE OF SEPARATION

As Albertans line up to sign an independence petition and its separatist leaders meet with senior members of the Trump administration, Nova Scotia is acutely vulnerable. Our provincial budget is heavily reliant on equalization payments originating in...

Metal detectorist finds sentimental treasures

They were two weeks married when his wedding band slipped off his finger and fell to the bottom of the lake. It was last September, and newlyweds Kirsten and Jon were swimming with friends at Falls Lake, near Windsor. They scoured the lake bottom and...

FALLS ARE KILLING MORE OLDER CANADIANS

Had she known the northwestern Quebec city of Val d’or would be blanketed in snow in early November, Montrealer Anne Renaud would definitely not have worn her UGG boots, “which have absolutely no traction,” to visit her boyfriend there. The morning of...