The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)

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

Ilze Lucis and J. Marshall Burgess are two of the artists who run the co-op gallery at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. They are dismayed the site is soon closing as the airport is not renewing the lease.

‘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

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 encouragement by...

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

A painting on a freight train in Dartmouth is a bit of a mood brightener as April kicks off with a predictable dose of wet weather.

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

GEORGE MYRER 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...

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...

CANADA

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...

Row housing hailed as bright spot

Although it’s still a step too far to say Halifax has found the “missing middle” to the city’s housing affordability issues, recent numbers shared by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. indicate things are on the right track. The report, which...

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

Lifestyle changes don’t get much more radical than what Tanya and Bruce Cameron chose five-and-ahalf years ago. Back in 2020, the couple was living in the heart of Toronto, where Bruce was an advanced care paramedic and Tanya was a 911 operator. It...

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

Nova Scotia’s 2026-27 budget shows the province is in a hard financial spot. The provincial government is wrestling with a deficit that ballooned to $1.25 billion in 2025-26. Even with large-scale cuts to the civil service (five per cent annually for...

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...

‘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

Mark Gamon clears snow next to a catamaran at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron in Halifax. He’ll likely be back as significant snowfall and strong winds are forecast for Monday and Tuesday across the province.

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...

HALIFAX PODCASTER AND BIG BROTHER COMPETITOR TACKLES PUSHUP CHALLENGE

Kyle Moore is honouring his mental health journey one pushup at a time in February. The Life’s a Wreck podcaster and former Big Brother 10 participant signed up for the Push-up Challenge, a national mental health promotion initiative led by the...

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...

SMOOTH OPERATOR

Surgical robotic co-ordinator James Bush gives a demonstration of the da Vinci Xi advanced surgical robot at the QEII Health Sciences Centre in Halifax. Surgeons say it allows procedures through much smaller incisions.

FIRE HITS HISTORIC HALIFAX ARMOURY

Firefighters from the Department of National Defence and Halifax battled an early morning fire at the historic Halifax Armoury. The fire was reported at about 4 a.m. at the building on North Park Street. Brad Connors, district chief with Halifax Fire...

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO … BEHIND SCHEDULE?

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. If you take the bus in Halifax, you’re probably...

‘A lot of reasons to come here’

Other than owners of snow removal companies and students enjoying an extra day off school, very few Nova Scotians are feeling all that jubilant about our recent weather. Temperatures have been well below zero for a couple of weeks now, and we just got...

NSP defends 2026-27 proposed rate hikes

Nova Scotia Power is urging regulators to approve proposed rate increases for 2026 and 2027, while the provincial government and opposition argue that the application either needs to be rejected outright or the price significantly cut. The Nova Scotia...

CANADA HAS PLEDGED EV SECTOR $50B IN SUBSIDIES. IS IT WORTH IT?

If you want to play, you have to pay. But when that payment is in the Canadian automotive industry, it in turn pays off in building businesses across several sectors that grow a national economy and generate thousands of jobs, industry experts...

KEEPING CANADA SHIPSHAPE

‘IT’S A PROPOSAL TO SETTLE A DEBT’

Halifax City Hall opened the doors to residents, and right out of the gate Treno Morton hit councillors with an impassioned speech. And a list of requests. Growing up in his north-end neighbourhood, Morton said, you’re more likely to know someone who...

TAKING AWAY THE TOLLS

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. Peter Wünsch has given up trying to drive a car...

AUTHOR, ANIMALS ON SAME PAGE

Amelia Thomas has travelled around the world. She has seen animals and creatures on several continents. She has a family history of farming that goes back generations, until her parents decided to live in the suburbs of Birmingham, England. “Every...

PROVINCE HUDDLES UNDER SNOW BLANKET

Schools, businesses and government offices were shut Monday as a significant snowstorm blew across Nova Scotia. Between 25 and 40 centimetres were forecast to fall by Tuesday morning, with high winds causing reduced visibility and drifting snow. Many...

‘EVERYONE TOLD ME I WAS CRAZY’

At 15 years old, Danny Motyka dreamed of one day opening a psychedelics drug lab. Two decades later, the Calgary chemist leads a team developing pharmaceutical-grade psychedelic compounds, operating out of a warehouse-sized laboratory in the city’s...

EYES IN THE SKY

There are more than a few sentimental thoughts as the last of the Hercules CC-130H Hercules aircraft prepares to take off from 14 Wing Greenwood in the Annapolis Valley for the final time. The last of the Hercs, which have been at Greenwood since 413...

Fearful for grain elevator’s future

Soybean farmers in Nova Scotia need answers now. Before the end of January, most farms will have purchased soybean seeds in time for spring planting, said James Kinsman of Windcrest Farms and WCF Grain Solutions, near Berwick. But before placing their...