🗞️ Haligonians can't name a single candidate

Guys!

Between Justin Beaver (formerly known as Ed the Sock, amirite?) and Elon Musk’s mother, we are getting the message loud and clear: we gotta vote! It’s our gd civic responsibility.

And despite literally not being able to swing my British shorthair around without hitting a sign on someone’s front lawn, apparently many Haligonians cannot name a single candidate for mayor and I am gagged by this information.

MQO Research conducted a survey that asked several questions, beginning with lobbing an underhand grapefruit: can you name anyone running for mayor? 46% said they could not name one.

Furthermore, lots of respondents named people that are just…not in the running, including: Sam Austin, Gloria McCluskey, Mike Savage, Tim Houston and Justin Trudeau.

Simply amazing.

Obviously none of the people surveyed were Coast Daily readers because you guys are so smart and engaged and cool. And we clearly need more of that in our great city. I encourage you to start name-dropping mayor candidates and their platforms at dinner parties. Or better yet, why not refer one of your dumb-dumb friends to this newsletter?

With great looks, comes great responsibility. Or something.

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 15°

Tomorrow: 🌦️ 13°

Next Day: 🌦️ 13°

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

ARTS + CULTURE

Get into the Halloween spirit with this special candlelight concert

A classical quartet, dimly lit by hundreds of candles, can convey many emotions—intimacy, romance, relaxation, and in some circumstances, it can even create an eerie atmosphere.

For their upcoming performance, Candlelight Concerts and Fever will opt for the latter as they present a memorable night of Halloween-themed tunes played by the Listeso Quartet as they are lit by nothing but candlelight. The concert will occur at the Joseph Strung Hall on Oct. 25 and 26, starting at 6:30pm.

The setlist contains many horror favourites, such as “Tubular Bells”, best known from The Exorcist soundtrack, and even some pop hits like Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, all covered in a classical style. And while classical music doesn’t have the broadest appeal, Candlelight in Canada team lead Andrew Bryan believes experiencing the atmosphere in full is worth the ticket.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer speaks with Bryan about the upcoming candlelit concert to ring in the spooky season.

🤔 Need To Know

☑️ A new poll is finding the race for mayor in Halifax is getting closer—the survey from Narrative Research finds Andy Fillmore remains the preferred candidate for voters with 24% support, but the gap over Maye Mason is closing.

💉 Nova Scotians can now book flu shots online and by phone and receive the free seasonal vaccine at pharmacies— book through an online portal, call 1-833-797-7772 or visit the Public Health Mobile Unit website to find drop-in clinics that offer flu shots. 

⛺ As the weather starts to cool, Halifax municipal staff are looking into new ways of supporting people dealing with homelessness through the winter months—and calling on the province to help.

🎬 Join filmmaker Trudie Styler for her latest film and live Q&A at Devour! on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 5 PM. Get your tickets!*

👻 Dare to enter Alderney Landing's Bluenose Ghosts Festival—the HRM's most terrifying haunted house experience, running select nights until October 31st!*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY AFTERWORDS LITERARY FESTIVAL

Who Will You See at AfterWords?

More than fifty writers are headed to Halifax November 2-10 for the sixth annual AfterWords Literary Festival. Heather O’Neill brings her fantastical new novel The Capital of Dreams, MG Vassanji presents his Balsillie Award-nominated book Nowhere, Exactly, and Tanya Talaga offers The Knowing—a retelling of Canadian history that is both meticulously researched and deeply personal.

Audiences will see these three beloved Canadian writers and many more besides—giving readings, appearing in conversation, and leading workshops. With a mix of free and ticket events, venues around Halifax, and programming for kids and adults alike, anyone who’s interested in books, stories, writing, and ideas will be entertained and inspired at AfterWords.

Find more information and get your tickets today.

HFX Votes 2024

Final Voting Guides: Districts 11, 12 and 16

NOTE: If you are reading this before October 19, 2024, polls are now open, and you can vote in Halifax’s municipal election. How do you vote? I'm so glad you asked. Click RIGHT HERE for all the information you need on how to cast a ballot in this municipal election.

District 11, like its neighbour District 13 and cross-harbour pal District 2, is another one of Halifax’s kind of suburban, pretty rural, coastal communities. 

The Coast sent a questionnaire to all candidates to find out who is up to the challenge of fixing the unsustainability of Canada’s Ocean Playgrounds. The Coast’s extensive questionnaire tests what each candidate knows about the issues facing the city ahead of the municipal election on Oct. 19. 

For a hot minute there it looked like no one in District 11 was going to answer, but at long last The Coast got a response from one of the candidates. Get the full guide here.

The new boundaries for this upcoming municipal election will see a changed District 12, one with slightly more people than it should have. If District 12 were to be further divided it would require breaking up some “communities of interest.” And the city has been doing a lot of work in recent years figuring out where exactly the lines are around some of these communities.

And in District 12, we’ll start with the incumbent in this voting guide.

Halifax’s District 16 is up for grabs after longtime, twice-acclaimed incumbent Tim Outhit decided not to reoffer. This district, according to the city, is “made up of well-established suburban neighbourhoods lying on the northwestern end of the Bedford Basin.” This district features many things, like a splash pad, a boardwalk along the basin, and a four arena complex which is now sponsored by Greenfoot Energy.

The good news for residents of District 16 is that there are some quality candidates running in this district. Read about them here.

🗞️ In Other News

🥼 The province is launching a new program that will certify internationally trained doctors more quickly to work in the province’s health system—Tim Houston says the program will significantly cut the assessment time for prospective candidates.

🔍 Halifax Police are still investigating the murder of Sheila Madore—the 48-year-old was last seen in the vicinity of Gottingen Street on July 23, 2020 and was reported missing by an outreach nurse.

⛽ The price of diesel jumped nine cents overnight after the province’s Utility and Review Board invoked its interrupter clause—the new minimum price for diesel in the Halifax area is 168.7 cents per litre.

🦈 Fisheries and Oceans Canada researchers says one of their ocean gliders likely had a run-in with a great white shark after it was recovered severely damaged over the weekend nearly 300km off the coast of Halifax.

🏫 Just over a year after opening their doors, two new schools in Bedford are still grappling with the growing pains of surging student populations—leaving some parents frustrated.

🐈 Coastal Care Veterinary clinic has become the first vet clinic in Nova Scotia to offer CT scans for pets.

SPONSORED BY ALDERNEY LANDING

Halloween Fun in Downtown Dartmouth

Each October, Alderney Landing presents the Bluenose Ghosts Festival, featuring Halifax’s scariest haunted house, a crypt ride, escape room, and more. Running select nights from October 4th to 31st, it’s the ultimate Halloween thrill in Downtown Dartmouth. Prepare for chills and unforgettable scares!

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Pluck! Harpsichord Music for Short Attention Spans - The Music Room Chamber Players Series: Canadian harpsichordist Cynthia Hiebert curates fascinating and fun programs that go far beyond the regular repertoire for her instrument. With insightful commentary, she will lead us on a journey from 16th-century England to present-day Canada. | Oct. 9 | 7:30pm | $35

🗓 Halifax Live Comedy Club Grand Opening With Ryan Belleville: One of the stars of the hit Netflix show Workin Moms—where he plays fan favourite Lionel—GQ magazine called him one of the best comics working today and he’s in Halifax for the grand opening night of Halifax Live! | Oct. 11 | 7pm | $25

🗓 Dave Sampson Live: Enjoy pop and folk songs delivered with a captivating and authentic voice that could blow down a brick house. Sampson writes with his heart on his sleeve and his knack for crafting simple ear-worms and his high-energy shows have been winning him fans from coast to coast. | Oct. 11 | 8pm | From $28

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🛳️➡️ The H Mercury container ship arrives in Halifax from New York at 5:20am and leaves for Kingston at 4:30pm.

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

➡️ The Algoma Mariner bulk carrier leaves Halifax for Aulds Cove at 8am.

🛳️➡️ The Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 8:30am and leaves for Canadian seas at 5pm.

🛳️➡️ The Vision of the Seas cruise ship arrives in Halifax at 11:29am and leaves Halifax for Canadian seas at 8pm.

🛳️ The NYK Daedalus container ship arrives in Halifax from Antwerp at 3:20pm.

🛳️ The East Coast oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Saint John at 3:40pm.

🛳️ The MSC Levina III container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 4:15pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🦃:🍂 ‘Tis the season for thanksgiving themed twists on classics and we’ve got two good ones for you to try this week:

The Pre-Game Sando at Tart and Soul: brined and oven roasted turkey breast slices, orange cranberry sauce, herb roasted squash, garlic aioli and greens on a house made stuffing bread.

The Turkey Dinner Fried Chicken Sandwich at CHKN Chop: fried chicken, stuffing, cranberry sauce, green peas, fennel slaw.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎸 Collaboration is at the heart of what makes music such a profound art form, and with Halifax’s music scene growing stronger and stronger every year, so too is the selection of bands that you can hear in venues across the city. Thankfully, our readers have narrowed down seven of the city’s top bands to contend for our annual Best Band award as part of The Coast’s Best of Halifax Reader’s Choice Awards, and final voting is open right now. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer guides you through this year’s nominees for Best Band.

🗳️ HFX Votes 2024: If you’ve never looked at District 13 on a map and have only been paying attention to municipal politics since the summer of last year, you might have the impression that District 13 consists of Upper Tantallon and Hubbards and that’s pretty much it.  But in reality, District 13 is a massive coastal district, and boasts the quintessential coastal tourism spot, Peggy’s Cove. This district, like its large rural and coastal siblings District 2 and 11, will be the focus of intense scrutiny and problem solving as the city works on coastal protection and reforming rural communities in the next council term. Read the District 13 voting guide, featuring two of the candidates who filled out The Coast’s questionnaire.

🗳️HFX Votes 2024: District 14 was held most recently by Lisa Blackburn who is leaving municipal politics, leaving her seat empty. This district still spans the north western communities in the HRM including places like the Plains of Hammonds, upper and regular, and the Sackvilles middle and upper. In District 14, none of the candidates completed the questionnaire, but Matt Stickland has prepared a voting guide nonetheless.

🏢 The federal government has initiated a building disposal process that could potentially see a vacant 61,000-square-foot office building in Dartmouth turned into housing for homeless people.

⚖️ A Halifax woman convicted in the murder of Loretta Saunders has been granted a 30-day, unescorted absence from prison to help her prepare for the potential end of her time in custody.

That’s it!

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