• Halifax council puts off decision on bike network alternatives

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-10-27 20:41:35.0
  Tags: [Municipal, Nova Scotia, Infrastructure, Transportation]

  Halifax Regional Council voted to defer a decision on alternative routes for the all ages and abilities (AAA) bike network, opting to send the plans to transportation committees for further public feedback. The proposed network, part of the municipality’s Integrated Mobility Plan, has seen its projected cost climb from an initial $25 million to $85 million as of January. While Mayor Andy Fillmore expressed concern that committee reviews will introduce costly delays, cycling advocates and councillors argue that reviewing the seven staff-identified alternative routes is necessary to ensure the infrastructure achieves the intended mode shift toward sustainable transportation.

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• Halifax Forum meeting to be rescheduled, councillors raise concerns over project pause

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-10-20 20:03:00.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Infrastructure, Culture, Governance]

  Halifax Regional Council voted unanimously to reschedule a public consultation meeting regarding the proposed demolition of the 98-year-old Halifax Forum municipal heritage property. The redevelopment project was previously paused by municipal staff after updated project costs exceeded the council-approved $126 million budget by 10 to 12 per cent. Councillors expressed frustration over the sudden project pause and lack of advance briefing, though a comprehensive staff report with third-party cost verification is scheduled for release in December.

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• ‘Just not acceptable’: Backlash grows over Nova Scotia AI data centre project

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-10-19 20:13:17.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Energy, Infrastructure, Technology, Environment]

  Energy and infrastructure company EverWind announced a $10 billion private investment to build a large-scale data centre campus at its existing Point Tupper site near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, with AI firm Anthropic signed on as a long-term tenant. The project is planned to begin with an initial 95-megawatt phase in late 2027, scaling up to a full development capacity of 420 megawatts by 2028, and includes a $2 billion investment to advance EverWind's onshore wind energy projects. Opposition parties and community advocates are pushing back, demanding an emergency sitting of the Nova Scotia Legislature due to concerns over public consultation, grid reliability, electricity rates, and water resource impacts.

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• EverWind announces $10B investment in N.S. data centre campus, wind projects

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-10-16 15:57:09.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Infrastructure, Energy, Technology, Economy]

  Energy and infrastructure company EverWind has announced a $10 billion private investment to construct an AI data centre campus and associated onshore wind projects at its Point Tupper site near Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia. The project includes $8 billion for the data centre and $2 billion for $2 billion in onshore wind development, aiming for an initial 95-megawatt phase in late 2027 and a full build-out capacity of 420 megawatts by 2028. EverWind has reached a long-term lease agreement with an artificial intelligence company and is negotiating a potential ownership stake with a First Nations consortium led by Membertou Development Corporation. The facility will employ a closed-loop cooling system—using an estimated 100,000 litres of water daily in phase one and 500,000 litres daily at full capacity—while EverWind funds all electricity infrastructure costs to prevent ratepayer impact and generates 2,000 construction jobs and 215 permanent operating roles.

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• Westwood Hills residents welcome work on new emergency exit, but want more routes

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-10-06 21:06:52.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Infrastructure, Transportation, Emergency]

  Following the devastating 2023 wildfires that forced the evacuation of over 16,000 residents and destroyed more than 150 structures, the Halifax Regional Municipality is set to begin construction in early October on a new emergency-only exit connecting the Westwood Hills subdivision to Highway 103. Commissioned staff reports and municipal plans are also evaluating additional connector roads linking Westwood Hills, Upper Hammonds Plains, and Highland Park North to improve regional emergency egress and transportation connectivity. Local residents and community groups, including the Westwood Hills Residents Association and Pockwock Corridor SAFE, have expressed ongoing reservations regarding the specific placement of the gated emergency exit and the reliance on roads feeding into Hammonds Plains Road without alternative routes toward Highway 101. The municipality is currently gathering public input on the proposed connector roads through an online survey and in-person engagement sessions scheduled for October 7 at the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Centre and October 15 at the Tantallon Public Library.

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• Halifax gets nearly $2M in federal funding to prevent gun, gang violence

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-29 19:46:50.0
  Tags: [National, Nova Scotia, Municipal, Public Safety, Social Services]

  Federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced up to $1.9 million in federal funding for the Halifax Regional Municipality through the Build Safer Communities Fund to prevent gun and gang violence. The initiative is part of a broader $157.5-million national commitment over three years, intended to support community projects addressing the underlying social conditions leading youth to crime. Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore and municipal public safety advisor Amy Siciliano noted that the funding will expand crisis de-escalation supports, improve spaces for youth mentorship, and provide educational, mental health, and anti-trafficking resources. The funding allocation is based on community crime severity data, which showed nine homicides and 30 shootings in the municipality in 2025.

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• Three Nova Scotia communities to launch crime prevention projects

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-17 18:29:37.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Public Safety, Justice, Social Services]

  The Nova Scotia government announced it will allocate $550,000 in federal funding from Public Safety Canada to three municipalities to establish tailored crime prevention projects. Provincial Justice Minister Scott Armstrong confirmed the initiative will help communities address complex local challenges such as mental health, addiction, housing instability, and poverty. In New Glasgow, Mayor Nancy Dicks noted the funding arrives as the town addresses escalating public safety issues and debates the future of a local 20-bed emergency homeless shelter.

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• Halifax Wanderers pitch privately-funded $100M stadium and sports hub

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-15 20:37:12.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Infrastructure, Culture, Tourism]

  Halifax Wanderers president Derek Martin has submitted a $100-million proposal to Halifax Regional Council to construct a permanent, privately-funded stadium and sports hub on municipal land. The project features a year-round Wanderers Block stadium with a potential winter dome, a 650-space parking structure serving the adjacent QEII Health Sciences Centre, integrated facilities for the Halifax Lancers horse riding school and a lawn bowling green, and a community sports hub at Maybank Field in Dartmouth. While Halifax Regional Municipality would partner through a 99-year land lease, the proposal faces scrutiny over its tight timeline—targeting a January 2027 groundbreaking—and the implications of private investment on public land, though Halifax Regional Council voted 15–1 to request a staff report on the project.

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• More heavy rain forecast for Cape Breton as it recovers from weekend storm

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-07 14:01:08.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Emergency, Public Safety, Environment, Climate]

  Following severe storms that triggered local states of emergency in Inverness, Victoria, and Richmond counties—with some areas receiving over 120 mm to 200 mm of rain and resulting in the death of a Cleveland, N.S., woman—Environment Canada issued yellow rainfall warnings for Sydney Metro, Cape Breton County, and Victoria County. An additional 25 to 40 millimetres of rain are forecasted, prompting provincial officials including Premier Tim Houston and Emergency Management Minister Kim Masland to urge residents to avoid non-essential travel and follow local road closures.

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• Lunenburg water conservation continues after Dares Lake dam breach

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-04 20:59:53.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Infrastructure, Emergency, Environment]

  A crack formed in the recently constructed $1 million Dares Lake dam in Lunenburg, N.S., causing a breach that submerged the pump building and interrupted the town's main water supply. Mayor Jamie Myra reported that mandatory water conservation efforts, along with closures of schools like Bluenose Academy and businesses including High Liner Foods, were implemented to prevent the town from running out of water over the Labour Day weekend. As of Friday, two of the three pumps were partially operational, allowing the water utility to slowly recover capacity while provincial officials collaborate with the town to investigate the cause of the failure.

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• ‘211 years of community’: Funding aims to protect Upper Hammonds Plains from wildfires

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-04 19:36:52.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Environment, Climate, Emergency, Infrastructure]

  The Government of Nova Scotia is committing $199,000 from its Sustainable Communities Challenge Fund to the Upper Hammonds Plains Community Land Trust. The funding supports wildfire risk assessment and mitigation initiatives, including FireSmart Canada home assessments, community clean-ups, and remediation for 85 historic homes, a church, and other community buildings. The initiative addresses heightened wildfire safety concerns following the 2023 Tantallon wildfire and local emergency egress vulnerabilities identified in a Halifax Regional Municipality staff report.

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• Free transit pass program for Halifax students to continue after funding uncertainty

  Source: Nova Scotia - Halifax & Regional News
  Date: 2026-09-03 21:14:18.0
  Tags: [Nova Scotia, Municipal, Transit, Transportation, Education]

  The provincial government of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality reached an agreement to continue the Student Transit Pass Program for grades 7 to 12 students in the Halifax Regional Municipality through August 31, 2027, resolving months of funding uncertainty following the province's initial $1.2-million funding adjustment. The Department of Opportunities and Social Development is contributing $600,000 to fund passes for over 1,700 youth connected to Employment Support and Income Assistance, while providing $500,000 for public school students requiring school bus alternatives across five high schools. The Halifax Regional Municipality is funding the remaining passes for grades 7 through 12 students, which will be distributed via Halifax Transit’s HFXGO mobile app and expanded to include private school and homeschooled students.

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