🗞️ Just tariffic

Oh hey Halifax,

Things are just going great.

More than a month after convicted felon and US president Don Trump first threatened—then postponed—a sweeping 25% tax on goods imported from Canada, it’s Facebook official: Canada and the US are in a trade war.

Trump’s long-threatened tariffs kicked into effect yesterday, prompting prime minister Justin Trudeau to retaliate with taxes on an initial $30B of US goods—with promises of more to come.

Trump’s tariffs—which the president has said are in response to fentanyl entering the US from Canada, but seem a lot like the precursor to his fantasy of Canada joining the US by economic coercion—arrive on the heels of a truly bonkers week in the Oval Office, even by his standards.

Last Friday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House, and Trump and his lower companion JD Vance went full Mean Girls and were like “On Fridays, we wear suits.”

On X, Nova Scotia premier Tim Houston called Trump “a short-sighted man who wields his power just for the sake of it, not having any consideration for the destructive impact of his decisions on both Canadians and Americans.” I didn’t know Houston had it in him to be anything but a huge suck-up, but even a broken clock is right twice a day, amirite?

Nova Scotia’s government has issued its own response to the US tariffs, doubling the tolls on American commercial vehicles at the Cobequid Pass and directing the NSLC to ditch American liquor from its shelves, among other sanctions.

All of this is my long-winded way of saying it seems like an opportune time for us to bring back our guide to buying groceries—and supporting local—during these truly cursed times.

Have a great day out there,

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌧️ 7°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 9°

Next Day: 🌧️ 6°

7-day forecast

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

EDUCATION

Bill 12 includes policy that could violate university workers’ rights

A revived piece of provincial legislation affecting universities is being amended in a new omnibus bill, Bill 12. This will change how schools can enter crisis-planning mode. 

Introduced in the original 2015 legislation, this is known as a “revitalization planning process.” Universities can use it to request emergency funding from the province. Under Bill 12’s proposed amendments, the minister of advanced education can now require universities to plan for a revitalization. 

What hasn’t changed is that entering such a period gives the provincial government, when requested by a university in financial woes, the power to pause the rights of its unionized workers, including their right to strike. 

This is all the more relevant in the context of Tuesday’s audit of university funding from the province’s top watchdog, which found $370 million in long-term debt across eight NS universities, and above-average debt-to-student ratios in four.

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips traces the roots of the revived legislation, which university workers warned in 2015 would “violate constitutional rights, undermine the independence of universities, and compromise academic freedom” if enacted.

🤔 Need To Know

🇨🇦 US tariffs should have the smallest impact on Nova Scotia out of all provinces in the country, according to a report from the Conference Board of Canada—the research publication focused on business says our small-but-mighty province is the best set up to defend American tariffs because of its “broadly favourable industry mix.”

⛴️ Embark on a March Break adventure in Downtown Halifax! From March 10-15, enjoy FREE ferry rides on the Alderney/Halifax ferry between 11 am-2 pm.*

🌁 Halifax drivers can expect some closures coming up this month as work begins to remove toll plazas on the Macdonald and MacKay bridges.

🍜 Take noodle appreciation to a whole new level during Oodles of Noodles, March 5-11 on Quinpool Road! Every day is a good day for noodles!*

🎸 Halifax Music Fest announced that 12-time JUNO Award-winning group Nickleback will star at the outdoor venue at Citadel Hill on June 27—other acts at the show include The Glorious Sons, Big Wreck and Tenille Townes.

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FOOD + DRINK

First look at Reta’s, the Hydrostone’s newest fine-dining favourite

Steph Ogilvie has worked in her share of high-end kitchens. The Halifax chef and Top Chef Canada finalist has done pop-up dinners at Montreal’s Ratafia wine bar, cooked at Toronto’s Michelin-recommended GEORGE and joined the kitchen crew at Newfoundland’s famed Fogo Island Inn, where Gwyneth Paltrow and David Letterman have stayed. But none compare to her grandmother Reta’s kitchen. 

It’s where the Petitcodiac, New Brunswick-raised chef fell in love with food, long before she helmed the kitchen at the Brooklyn Warehouse, won Best of Halifax honours at Barrington Street’s Chives Canadian Bistro or started her own pop-up dinner service, Hop Scotch Dinner Club. 

And as The Coast’s Martin Bauman reports, Rita’s kitchen is the inspiration behind Ogilvie’s latest venture, a fine-dining restaurant bringing Nova Scotian-inspired cuisine to Halifax’s north end.

🗞️ In Other News

💸 Nova Scotia’s Auditor General says the provincial government is not properly keeping track of the billions of dollars it is sending to universities—a new report says the province’s 10 universities have received $2.5B in government funding over the last five years, including $1.9B in unrestricted operating grants.

🚒 No injuries were reported after an early morning fire at a tent encampment on Barrington Street—police closed the ramp leading to the bridge, and traffic was reduced to one lane in either direction while a fire crew quickly extinguished the fire.

🎓 A group that represents 1,400 university teachers in Nova Scotia is accusing the provincial government of trying to overstep its authority—saying a recently introduced bill would give the advanced education minister the power to appoint the majority of members to university boards.

🎤 Less than 24 hours after announcing its 2025 nominees, the East Coast Music Association faced backlash for what some artists are labelling a lack of transparency and communication—Mo Kenney, Stephen Hero and Wolf Castle are among the nominees who are withdrawing their names.

🚨 The Nova Scotia Human Trafficking Unit arrested and charged a man in Vancouver for alleged offences that spanned multiple years—the unit says it received a report from a human trafficking victim in July 2023.

SPONSORED BY COLDSTREAM CLEAR

Savor the Flavor: Burgers and Coldstream Clear

Find your favourite drinks and delicious eats at Coldstream Dartmouth! Featuring for next month’s Burger Bash: The Hot Honey Peach Chicken Burger. Starting with a crispy breaded chicken burger topped with cheddar cheese. Drizzled with hot honey peach sauce, finished with red onion, tomatoes and coleslaw, nestled in a toasted brioche bun.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 The Music Room Chamber Players Series Presents Blair Lofgren in Recital: A long-time friend and supporter of Scotia Festival of Music, Dr. Carl Abbott passed away in February 2024. For many years, Carl and family hosted their close friend and Scotia Festival favourite, cellist Blair Lofgren. Now,  Lofgren comes to Halifax to celebrate Carl's life with some of his favourite music. | March 5 | 7:30pm | $35

🗓 Oodles of Noodles: Explore the noodles of the world with the only celebration of noodles in town! Discover all the tasty noodle dishes that the chefs on Quinpool Road have created.  | March 5-11

🗓 Choir! Choir! Choir! We Will Choir! You! An Epic Queen Sing-Along!: When it comes to epic anthems, it doesn’t get bigger than Queen! And nothing feels better than belting out their biggest hits with a room full of Queen fans! So unleash your inner Freddie Mercury, grab your best friends and frenemies, and create harmonies that will blow the roof off the place! | March 6 | 8pm | From $42.75

🗓 Halifax Thunderbirds Lacrosse: Come cheer on the home team as they take on the Toronto Rock at Scotiabank Centre. | March 7 | 7:30pm | $26.25

Have an event to share? Let us know at newsletter@thecoast.ca.

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The Ophelia container ship leaves Halifax for Kingston at 5am.

➡️ The CSL Tacoma bulk carrier leaves Halifax for Savannah, GA at 7am.

🚢 The One Aquila container ship arrives in Halifax from New York at 3:15pm.

🚢 The Algoscotia oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Sept-Iles, Quebec at 3:15pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍕 Back by popular demand, the Pizza Croissant is returned to the menu this week at Two If By Sea: loaded with pepperoni, mozzarella, pizza sauce and Italian seasoning.

Slow down and treat yourself to a long lunch and a Beer and Burger at Salt + Ash Beach House: cheeseburger topped with pimento cheese, dill pickles, iceburg lettuce and Thousand Island sauce.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎤 Spring is almost here—finally!—and with the longer days of March, Halifax is coming back to life. From film festivals celebrating homegrown talent to some of Canada’s biggest rock acts coming to town, there’s a whole lot more to look forward to this month than just the promise of warmer weather. (Although that certainly helps, too.) As always, The Coast has you covered with all the big shows coming to Halifax in March.

🇨🇦 After Andy Fillmore resigned last September as a member of parliament, prime minister Justin Trudeau and the ruling Liberal Party had 180 days to call a byelection for the vacant Halifax riding seat. They used all of them, finally launching the byelection on Sunday, the 180th day. Voting day is April 14. But with so much going on between Canada at the US, the Halifax byelection could get called off before the vote happens. The Coast’s Kyle Shaw shows how.

That’s it!

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