🗞️ Miserable but funny

Oh hey Halifax,

Fine, I’ll just say it: Donald Trump is giving major Dr. Evil energy.

The incoming US president has been stirring up controversy in Canada since his election victory—threatening to impose wild tariffs on Canadian goods and musing about the country becoming "the 51st state."

After outgoing prime minister Trudeau met with Trump in Florida to discuss the tariff threat, the president-elect started pitching the idea of Canada becoming the next US state, trolling Trudeau by calling him "governor" of the "great state of Canada" in social media posts.

Speaking at a press conference Tuesday, Trump threatened to use "economic force" to annex Canada, while once again raising issues with the trade deficit and saying the US doesn't need to buy Canadian lumber, dairy or automobiles.

It’s one thing to troll Trudeau, but now it feels like Trump is trolling all of us. He’s messing with our sovereignty at a time when we’re feeling especially vulnerable, which is true bully behaviour. As a country, it feels like we’re all just nervous laughing and being like…

Intuitively I know that he’s just making outrageous claims—like he invented the question mark—but it does come with a side order of existential dread.

Try to spread some Canadian love and light out there today. Just don’t let anyone mistake your kindness for weakness 🦫.

– Julie

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌨️ 2°

Tomorrow: 🌨️ 2°

Next Day: 🌤️ -1°

7-day forecast

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

ARTS + CULTURE

Jeremy Hotz is still miserable—and as funny as ever

Comedian Jeremy Hotz has built a career out of finding the downside in life. Pants, pigeons, prairies… no topic is too big or small to escape the 61-year-old Ottawa native’s ire.

“I’m the ‘get off my lawn’ guy, and I live in a condo,” he jokes, speaking by phone with The Coast. “I don’t even have a fucking lawn!”

Hotz’s unique blend of wit and misery has turned him into a Just For Laughs Comedy Festival favourite and Gemini Award-winning actor, and in his decades-long career, has brought invitations to The Late Show with David Letterman and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

On Jan 31, it will bring him to Halifax at Casino Nova Scotia’s Bruce Guthro Theatre. The Coast’s Martin Bauman catches up with the stand-up comic to see what’s irking him these days.

🤔 Need To Know

🚙 A 30-year-old man was issued a summary offence ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, after hitting and killing a man in his 70s at an intersection in Dartmouth on Monday.

🥀 A father and daughter who were killed on New Year's Eve in Halifax are being remembered as a highly intelligent man who loved sports and a woman who was the life of the party—Corelee "Alisha" Smith and Bradford "Coy" Downey were shot in a vehicle on Gottingen Street by Smith's boyfriend.

🏺 Nancy Oakley seeks to revive Mi’kmaq art form through pottery. Support4Culture proudly supports her and other artists within Nova Scotia. See the impact here.*

🛣️ There's still some work to be done, but the main parts of the new Nova Scotia Highway 107—named the Sackville-Bedford-Burnside Connector—are open and seem to be providing relief to motorists.

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY LIVE ART DANCE

Omote (面) by Shion Skye Carter & Miya Turnbull

Omote (面) uses hand-crafted paper-mâché masks to explore the creator's mixed Japanese Canadian heritage. The performance reflects on identity, contrasting honne (true feelings) and tatemae (public face), while challenging beauty ideals and revealing the layers of self through ritualistic gestures and symbolism. 

February 28, 8pm, March 1, 2pm & 8pm, at the Bus Stop Theatre.

ARTS + CULTURE

Call-out for African Nova Scotian artists

A trio of groups supporting African Nova Scotian artists and art-making are seeking three artists to exhibit their work in an upcoming February exhibition. 

The Black Artist Initiative, The Cowry Collective and The Concrete Garden Association are inviting Black and African Nova Scotian artists to submit their works for display in The Concrete Garden, which will run through February, African Heritage Month, at Nova Scotia Community College’s Truro Campus. 

The chosen artists will receive a $200 fee for their submitted pieces and can set the selling price as they see fit. Of the proceeds, 15% will go towards the Concrete Jungle Scholarship Fund, which helps Black and ANS artists pursue an arts education.

The Coast’s Lauren Phillips has more on The Concrete Garden showcase, including how to apply.

🗞️ In Other News

💜 A woman is mourning the death of her long-time friend who was killed in Edmonton in an act of intimate partner violence—Ashley Burke was originally from Pictou County and was found dead on the riverbanks of the North Saskatchewan River on Dec 30.

🇨🇦 Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister of finance and intergovernmental affairs and MP for Beauséjour, announced on Wednesday that despite receiving encouragement to make a run at the Liberal leadership, he won’t be seeking the job.

🏚️ From piles of beer cans to rotten food, broken windows, and holes in the walls and ceilings, NS landlords say tenants are leaving rental properties in shambles.

🥍 The National Lacrosse League has handed Halifax Thunderbirds player Tyson Bell a seven-game suspension after video of a violent altercation between him and spectators made the rounds on social media last month.

💸 The federal government has filed a 100-page reply to John Risley's latest tax appeal—arguing in detail why the Canada Revenue Agency believes the wealthy and prominent Nova Scotia business leader underreported his income by millions of dollars a year.

☑️ Members of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party will choose their next leader on Nov 21, 2026—which will be close to the two-year anniversary of a historically bad result in the provincial election.

🐕 Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources says a coyote that was running into windows and chasing people at the Spryfield Shopping Centre on Saturday has been euthanized.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Halifax Live Comedy Club Presents Luke Lawrence: Stand-up comedian and writer Luke Lawrence has been entertaining audiences for years in Newfoundland, and now he’s bringing the laughs to Halifax! You may have seen him on Just For Laughs or dropping in on the Best Kind Comedy Tour with the by's! | Jan 10 and 11 | 7pm | $26

🗓 Film screening—What Really Counts: Directed by Kent Martin, this is a is a thought-provoking documentary that challenges the dominant economic narrative centred around the gross domestic product or GDP, a statistic often deemed the most important in human history. This compelling call to revaluate the metrics by which we measure progress will be screened at the Central Library. | Jan 12 | 7pm

🗓 Watercolours on Tap: Discover the magic of this unique paint, sip and connect event—a truly one-of-a-kind experience. Sip on craft brews while connecting with fellow creatives and professionals in a relaxed setting, all while exploring your creative side! | Jan 12 | 2pm

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

➡️ The CSL Tacoma bulk carrier leaves Halifax for Burlington at 5am.

➡️ The One Stork container ship leaves Halifax for Saint John at 5am.

➡️ The East Coast oil tanker leaves Halifax for Saint John at 5am.

🚢➡️ The Box Endurance container ship arrives in Halifax from New York at 5:20am and leaves for Kingston at 4:30pm.

🚢➡️ The Heroic Ace vehicle carrier arrives in Halifax from Philadelphia at 5:25am and leaves for Altamira at 4pm.

🚢 The One Madrid container ship arrives in Halifax from Colombo at 5:45am.

🚢 The Nolhan Ava cargo ship arrives in Halifax from St. Pierre at 12:15pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍖🍺 Booze and BBQ: what more is there to say? 2 Crows Brewing Co. is hosting a Southern Comfort Pop-Up this Friday and Saturday at their Brunswick Street tap room. Come enjoy some pulled pork, vegetarian pinto beans and banana puddin’ paired with a nice, cold Howdy Hard Iced Tea!

🍦 Find your way through the fog on the Halifax waterfront to The Fog Company ice cream and premium sweets shop for a Gingerbread Fog Cone, topped with all the goodies.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🚔 Monday’s special Board of Police Commissioner’s meeting was held so the Mounties could present their budget ahead of yesterday’s public meetings on the city’s police budget. The RCMP is asking for 14 new cops this year, and plans to ask for an additional nine next year, for about $4 million in new RCMP spending. For more on the RCMP’s budget and the future of the city, here’s Matt Stickland’s report from Monday’s police board meeting. 

🎓 Dalhousie University is moving closer to releasing updated versions of its Sexualized Violence, Discrimination and Harassment policies, and a new standalone Racialized Violence Policy. On Dec 2, Dal’s Human Rights and Equity Services department of the Office of Equity and Inclusion shared a draft of amendments to the university’s Sexualized Violence Policy with the school community for review and feedback. The Coast’s education reporter Lauren Phillips digs into the new policies, including whether they will eliminate the university’s misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

That’s it!

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