🗞️ Halifax housing is expensive

Good morning, Halifax!

As some of you may know, I’m from Newfoundland. I moved to Nova Scotia to get a job in journalism in 2022, and have been there ever since.

This week, I’m back on The Rock visiting friends and family for the holidays. Though I have only been here for two days, I’ve come face to face with reminders of why I left.

Transportation on and off the island has always been an issue, and while Marine Atlantic ferry prices became cheaper over the summer thanks to the feds, the boat is unfortunately inconsistent: sometimes due to weather, other times due to mechanical failures.

Last summer, while I was traveling home for a funeral, the boat was cancelled 15 minutes before I arrived in North Sydney. I was rescheduled for a ferry four days out, which did not work for me. I had to soak up the costs of the hotel that night and drive to the Halifax airport for a flight to St. John’s. This time, weather delayed the boat by a day. Both of these issues are completely fine, by the way: I cannot blame a ferry for not sailing due to mechanical issues or weather. It’s just happens to be a common issue with travelling to an island some distance from the mainland.

What I cannot get behind are the absurd pricing for flights. I have found cheaper tickets flying to Toronto for a concert than I have flying home to Newfoundland to see family. They really tend to gouge you wherever they can, and it makes travel to and from the island a nightmare.

Since moving to Nova Scotia, I’ve truly appreciated how I can logistically travel anywhere within Canada (besides Newfoundland) by car or train, with no need of managing ferry or plane trips if I don’t want to. More options is always better, in my opinion.

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ -3°

Tomorrow: ☁️ 5°

Next Day: ☀️ 2°

7-day forecast

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

HOUSING

Halifax is Canada’s fifth most expensive city according to new rental report

According to a new rental report from Zumper, Halifax is amongst the most expensive cities to live in across all of Canada.

Halifax ranked fifth amongst all Canadian cities when it came to the median rent of one and two bedroom units according to new data from Zumper, who aggregates data from rental listings across the city. Above Halifax are Vancouver and Burnaby in British Columbia, and Toronto and Kingston in Ontario. Falling closely behind Halifax is Ottawa.

Data shows Halifax's one-bedroom units are rented at a median asking rent of $2,100, a 2.40 percent year-over-year increase. Two-bedroom units have a median asking rent of $2,500, a 1.20 percent year-over-year decrease.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer goes over the new report as well as suggestions from local housing experts on what steps the province could take to address the ongoing housing crisis.

🤔 Need To Know

⚡ An 89-year-old cabin owner was billed nearly $500 by Nova Scotia Power despite the power being turned off at his cabin, with his typical bill being around $50—the utility is currently under investigation for its irregular billing.

🏠 Shannon Park in Dartmouth will see hundreds of new units due to work from both the province and federal government—1,400 units are expected to be built across Nova Scotia with $300 million in funding.

🚨 A man has been charged in the death of a 28-year-old at a home in Beaver Bank—Evan Wheadon, 20, appeared in provincial court in Dartmouth on Monday.

🎁 Wrap up wellness this holiday season with a gift from Spirit Spa! eGift and gift cards available, plus free shipping across Canada. Shop Online.*

🍷 Purchase a WINE TOUR GIFT CERTIFICATE for any amount or a specific tour and your guest chooses the date they want to go. Give an experience to the person on your list who loves wine.*

🛍️ Hospice Halifax opens Encore, the non-profit’s secondhand store, where all purchases support the organization’s free, end-of-life care and community grief support programs. 2748 King Street.*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY LYFT

50% Off First Five Lyft Rides

Lyft is now live in Halifax, giving you an easy and reliable new way to get around HRM. From downtown nights to early commutes, you can request a ride in seconds and see your price up front. To mark the launch, Lyft is offering 50% off your first five rides with a promo code exclusively for The Coast audience. Max $10/trip. Terms apply. To redeem, just click the link in this newsletter and the promo code, COAST50, will auto-apply when you request the first ride. The discount will apply directly to your account once activated. It’s the easiest way to try Lyft, save on your first trips, and see how smoothly it moves you across the city. 

Click the link to unlock this launch deal.

🗞️ In Other News

⚖️ Convicted murderer William Sandeson had an appeal for his second-degree murder conviction denied by the courts—he was sentenced in 2023 for killing Taylor Samson in 2015.

🐋 A proposed whale sanctuary looking to develop on 40 hectares off of the province’s eastern shore needs $15 million to meet its expected opening of summer 2026—the CEO said it only has $2 million as of now and will attempt to fundraise for the remainder.

🪙 Metal detector hobbyist Drew Wilson found a 300-year-old coin while combing a beach near Halifax—the coin was a Spanish real from 1721.

SPONSORED BY FEED NOVA SCOTIA

Last call for 50/50 tickets!

It’s your final chance to help support food insecure Nova Scotians this holiday season through Feed Nova Scotia Holiday 50/50! Each ticket purchased directly supports over 130 food banks, meal programs, and shelters across the province, so why not grab yours today?

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Knots and Knits: Bring a knitting or needlework project you’re working on and hang out with like-minded crafters in a quiet space with hot drinks. Happening at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. | Dec. 16 | 1PM |

🗓 Tuesday Night Jazz at The Shoe: Join The Shoe every Tuesday night for three sets of live jazz featuring Leo Cox (Bass), Dante Kierstead (Drums), and Ben Tucker (Guitar). Happy hour is from 4pm-7pm. | Dec. 16 | 7PM |

🗓 Neptune Theatre: The Wizard of Oz: Get ready for the classic tale of Dorothy’s travels in the magical land of Oz on the Neptune Theatre stage. Featuring all your favourite songs from the movie. Family-friendly. | Nov. 4 - Jan. 4 | 7:30PM | From $40 |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢➡️ The Mungracht cargo vessel arrives in Halifax from Qaqortoq at 6:20am and departs for Bay Bulls at 3:30pm.

➡️ The Algoma Acadian tanker departs Halifax for Saint John at 8am.

🚢➡️ The Oceana container vessel arrives in Halifax from New York at 8:20am and departs for Kingston at 6pm.

➡️ The Target heavy lift vessel departs Halifax for Argentia at 9am.

🚢➡️ The Lars D container vessel arrives in Halifax from Mariel at 1:15pm and departs for Mariel at 10pm.

➡️ The Morning Concert vehicle carrier departs Halifax for Southampton at 3:30pm.

🚢 The Grande Congo container ship arrives in Halifax from Baltimore at 6:25pm.

SPONSORED BY CRAFT NOVA SCOTIA

Halifax’s newest holiday shopping destination

There's still time to experience 40 Days of Fine Craft, which transforms the Centre for Craft Nova Scotia into a festive holiday shopping experience. Explore the very best in visual art, woodworking, glass, ceramics, fibre, and more from 45+ local artists. Open daily 10am–7pm now through December 21. Free admission. Learn more.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥂 Try a tasty and comforting Rum and Eggnog Slushy while grabbing a bite to eat at CHKN CHOP during the holiday season.

🫜 Via Condotti is serving a flavourful, fresh and winter-forward dish for you to taste: buratta and beets. A great meal to try out on your next night out.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎶 I first saw BASYL when he opened for Danny Brown at Hopscotch Festival in 2024. Before that, I only knew some of the bigger names in the Halifax hip-hop scene, the people whose legacies had already been well-defined. Unfortunately, up-and-comers were not in my purview as much at the time. BASYL is the artist who made me realize just how much I was missing out. He was energetic. His bars flowed like water from the tap. Most importantly, he was fearless. BASYL brought a Palestinian flag up on stage and made the crowd chant “Free Palestine” at the top of our lungs. It wasn’t just an excellent performance; it felt unifying. Since then, I’ve been following BASYL’s trajectory from an engineering student who wanted nothing more than to make music, to selling out his first headline gig and releasing an enticingly rhythmic EP, Love Bombers, earlier this year. He’s also a member of the Million Vibes Collective, who have been taking Halifax by storm. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer chats with BASYL in the long-awaited third part of our Music Week Interview Series.

🚫 A new report from the federal public sector watchdog accuses Mary Chapman, CEO of the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, of mistreating staff and using inappropriate language—the report says Chapman called her senior leadership team “sluts” in public. Chapman has since departed her role as CEO.

🔎 Halifax mayor Andy Fillmore was found not to have broken the municipal code of conduct after an investigation into his misleading comments about the role of the CAO in municipal government—Fillmore claimed he reports to the CAO, when in fact the CAO reports to the mayor and council.

That’s it!

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