🗞️ Back in black

Good morning!

I hope you managed to de-thaw after a true winter hellscape of a weekend.

You know what might really warm you up? The results of our annual Sex and Dating survey. I combed through the stats—in the least creepy way possible, which is still very creepy 👀—in search of some trends.

In a time where we feel more divided than ever, we can take solace in the fact that we are united by our common horniness. Of the hundreds of people who responded, the majority have: been busted in the act (alone and/or with a partner), had a one night stand, went to pound town on a first date, sent or received nudes and used sex toys in the bedroom.

And that’s just “the tip” of the data…

@guskenworthy

It’s the wink for me 😉

My personal favourite section of the survey was the one in which Haligonians reported the most cringe-worthy things they’ve said or heard during sex and it’s good to see that the most humiliating/timeless classic of all sex quotes is still going strong: “what are you doing?” 🤌

Read more about those awkward exchanges here ⬇️

Stay sexy Halifax and have a great day!

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌨️ -8°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ -1°

Next Day: ☁️ 0°

7-day forecast

🚗 Driving, biking or busing today? Check out the current traffic conditions and ongoing road closures.

NEWS

 7 burning questions as Halifax Wanderers enter 2025 soccer preseason

Halifax Wanderers head coach Patrice Gheisar has had a busy winter. Two years and three months into his tenure with the Canadian Premier League soccer club, the 49-year-old is approaching the final year of his coaching contract with a familiar challenge: Winning games. It’s a challenge that has, at different times in the Etobicoke, Ont. native’s long career, looked both remarkably easy—inevitable, even—and frustratingly difficult. 

In his first year in Halifax in 2023, Gheisar led his players to a third-place finish and set a dizzying array of club records along the way, from new highs in points to wins to goal differential. It felt like a natural evolution for the Wanderers bench boss, who, prior to becoming Halifax’s second head coach in club history, hadn’t lost a regular-season game in two years with League1 Ontario’s Vaughan Azzurri. But if soccer is “the beautiful game,” it is also a cruel one—and last year, Gheisar’s second in charge of the Wanderers, was a tale of trials. The club finished sixth in the eight-team league and missed the playoffs by just four points. Eight times in 2024, Halifax had players sent off for offences ranging from rough play to dissent against the referee. The team conceded 43 goals in 28 matches—tied for most in the league. At the start of the year, the Wanderers went nine straight matches without a win.                                 

Speaking with the fan-hosted Down the Pub podcast, Wanderers president and founder Derek Martin said there was “obviously something missing” from the team’s performance on the pitch. He added that there were “concerns right out of the gate” around how the Wanderers roster “just wasn’t jelling and wasn’t meshing.”  

Which brings us back to Gheisar’s busy winter: As the head coach returns to BMO Soccer Centre for the second week of the Wanderers’ pre-season—one that will take the team to England for the first time in March—he is tasked with bringing together a roster that has undergone several high-profile departures.

With Halifax’s first match set for April 5 on the road against Atlético Ottawa, Coast reporter Martin Bauman has you covered with seven things to watch as the CPL team returns to action.

🤔 Need To Know

🪶 This Heritage Day, the province honoured Nora Bernard, a Mi'kmaw activist and a member of Millbrook First Nation—she was also a survivor of the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School.

🚒 One building was destroyed in a fire at the site of the old Bloomfield school in Halifax—fire crews were called to the property on Agricola Street around 1:35am where they found a blaze on the first floor and the basement, fighting through barricaded doors and windows.

🎐 A wind warning is still in effect for most of Nova Scotia, calling for up to 90 km/h winds—high winds are expected to continue through to Tuesday for most areas.

🛻 Optimize your vehicle fleet with Jim Pattison Lease! Flexible leasing, telematics, analytics, upfitting, and fleet management tools boost efficiency and reduce costs. Learn more about our services now!*

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EDUCATION

Back in black to school

For CUPE school support staff in Nova Scotia, wearing black shirts and hats on Wednesdays was a campaign that started during their last time negotiating a new contract with the province, in 2022. It was a gesture of solidarity during a prolonged period of bargaining drawn out for more than a year that saw workers on the verge of striking province-wide before reaching an agreement in the summer of 2023. Wearing black on Wednesdays became a tangible way for school staff to show support for their union members at the bargaining table—and to connect bargaining for improved contracts to the work they do every day in schools. 

Today, as school support staff approach nearly a year since their last contract expired and as members have been at the negotiating table since May, frustrated by the province’s attempts to stall—wearing black on Wednesdays has made a full return. 

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips has more on how this round of bargaining has gone for the 5,000 CUPE school support workers in Nova Scotia ahead of another Wednesday campaign.

🗞️ In Other News

🧂 Wet, freezing weather has coated the streets of Halifax with ice and a rush for salt and sand has emptied store shelves across the city—retailers say they are struggling to meet demand as customers search for anything that will provide traction.

🇨🇦 Monday was deadline day for candidates to pay up so they can stay in the running to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader and the field appears to be set.

🎵 Grammy-nominated music producer and composer Jacob Smith, AKA My Best Friend Jacob, started his career in Halifax and now he’s giving back—together with Music Nova Scotia, Smith will help an aspiring producer in the province navigate the industry.

🌬️ Nova Scotia is stepping closer to the development of offshore wind farms in its open waters—but the success of the province's pursuit is far from certain.

⚖️ Prosecutors in provincial court in Halifax have withdrawn environmental charges relating to a highway-twinning project on the South Shore—eight charges were laid against Dexter Construction and a subcontractor, Design Point.

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX TRANSIT

Have questions about the upcoming Feb. 24 service changes?

Check out a helpful list of frequently asked questions on our website, call 311, or email [email protected]. 

🗓️ Things To Do

Looking for something to do this week? Check out these Coast picks:

🗓 The Music Room Chamber Players Series Presents Lower Strings Spotlight: Rarely heard together on their own, the cello and double bass are a perfect match as chamber music partners. In the hands of Symphony Nova Scotia members Aiden Russell and Jemma Jones, you will hear just how these instruments' soulful voices can shine! | Feb. 19 | 7:30pm | $35

🗓 A Mother Apart - Documentary Screening: An emotionally sweeping tale of healing and forgiveness, A Mother Apart accompanies powerhouse Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin as she re-imagines the essential art of mothering—having been abandoned by her own mother. | Feb. 19 | 7pm | Free

🗓 Halifax Live Presents James Mullinger: James Mullinger was one of the UK’s hardest working comedians and the Comedy Editor for GQ magazine when he moved to The Maritimes in 2014. Since his arrival, he has taken the country by storm. He has sold out shows across the country, made appearances on CBC’s The Debaters, movies, television shows, festivals, award shows and stand-up specials. | Feb. 21 and 22 | 7pm | $32

Have an event to share? Let us know at [email protected].

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The NYK Meteor container ship leaves Halifax for Southampton, UK at 12am.

🚢➡️ The Atlantic Sun container ship arrives in Halifax from Liverpool at 5:20am and leaves for New York at 5pm.

🚢➡️ The EM Kea container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am and leaves for Bremerhaven, Germany at 5pm.

➡️ The Vivienne Sherri D container ship leaves Halifax for Argentia at 4pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥙 Looking for something fancy, but also…a donair? A Frite has you covered with its Donair Aranchini, served with pine nut picada.

🫖 Rise and shine at Chaii Samosa with the ultimate breakfast duo: a fluffy flavour-packed omelette bun paired with their signature Karak Chai.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎤 It was the twilight of COVID-19 lockdowns in Nova Scotia, and Keith Maddison and Jeff Mosher were doing what lifelong rock n’ rollers do: Playing some tunes. Concert gigs were still on hold. The live-music industry felt forever changed. As the two reflected on past shows and bands, Mosher asked his old friend: Had Maddison been writing anything new? It was a question that would spark the beginning of a Halifax Americana supergroup. As The Coast’s Martin Bauman reports, the band is gearing up to make their live debut with an album they call “one of the most powerful things” they’ve ever recorded.

👄 The Coast has a gift for you—the 2025 Sex + Dating Survey results. This annual Halifax heat map is like a Cupid's arrow that gets right to the heart of local desire. Deliberately anonymous to encourage honest full disclosure, it provides a window into local bedrooms, a look at wishes, a glimpse of dreams, plus funny stories of dates gone wrong. Check out the raw data at The Coast.

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