🗞️ Rock and poll

Good morning Halifax,

As if the world couldn’t get any more strange, Katy Perry was launched into space yesterday.

In case you missed it, private space company Blue Origin—owned by Jeff Bezos—conducted an all-female flight to space. Unfortunately, the most depressing part of this is the fact that it was the first all-woman crew to go to space since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova went to space—BY HERSELF—in 1963. 

Crew members included the literal strangest mix of people to ever be assembled, including pop star Perry, Oprah’s BFF Gayle King, and Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez. And I would love to add a few caveats to this alleged “mission”: The rocket flew itself. The whole trip took 11 minutes. And the crew had access to full glam.

Arguably, my cats could achieve this same feat and they wouldn’t even have required fake eyelashes.

@ai.creator.stories

Astronaut kittens #space #catslovers #catsoftiktok #cutecat #fyp

My favourite detail of this true fever dream: As the women were buckling up for the ride back, Perry broke into song because of course she did. Despite urging by her crewmates, she resisted singing “Roar” (huge missed opportunity IMO) and instead chose “What a Wonderful World.”

I mean, sure. Girl power!

Hope your day is outta this world,

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 14°

Tomorrow: 🌤️ 12°

Next Day: ☀️ 9°

7-day forecast

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

FEDERAL ELECTION

And the candidates are…

Set to be an important battleground province for the Liberals and Conservatives—Nova Scotia voters are interested in a variety of key issues, but top of mind for obvious reasons (ah-hem Trump) is the economy and affordability. With the province’s trade tied up with the U.S., Nova Scotians are rightfully nervous.

Other hot button issues include health care and housing as Nova Scotians continue to see long wait times to see a doctor and a lack of affordable housing options.

There are 11 seats to be picked up in Nova Scotia and The Coast has you covered with the the final list of candidates in the running—by riding.

🤔 Need To Know

🚲 Police are warning bicycle owners to be extra vigilant as they're seeing a rise in thefts—the number of stolen bikes reported to Halifax police doubled from 2023 to 2024, increasing from 140 to 275 in the first 10 months of last year.

🗳️ Students at more than 100 universities and colleges across Canada are now able to cast their ballots for the upcoming federal election on campus—Elections Canada says campus polling stations are open today from noon until 6pm, and will operate from 9am to 9pm Monday through Wednesday.

🚑 Five residents were taken to hospital and treated for carbon monoxide poisoning following an incident at an apartment building in Dartmouth—Halifax Professional Fire Fighters received a call early Sunday morning from a staff member at Dartmouth General who was treating a patient who had been exposed to carbon monoxide.

🇨🇦 The Liberals continue to lead the federal election race at the halfway point of the campaign, a new poll suggests, but the Conservatives have narrowed the gap.

🎭 Mamma Mia! single tickets are on sale now! The magic of ABBA's timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, creating an unforgettable show - on stage July 1 - August 31.*

🖼 Mayworks and Live Art Dance bring Montreal-based Kira Arts to Halifax to present Altération at Breaking Circus May 3 and 4. Plus: PWYC African Dance Workshop May 4.*

🌮 THE PERFECT TUESDAY DOESN’T EXIST – WAIT-WHAT…? Taco Tuesday AND Trivia Night (from 8pm) at The Pint on Argyle… $3 tacos, $6 Corona and margaritas!? Yeah it’s real, see you down there!*

*Sponsored Post

SPONSORED BY JIM PATTISON LEASE

Custom fleet management and vehicle leasing

Jim Pattison Lease offers tailored vehicle leasing and fleet management solutions, combining flexible leasing options with advanced telematics and analytics for real-time insights. Their services include upfitting, expense management with a Fleet Card, and comprehensive local support to maximize efficiency and value while minimizing costs throughout the fleet lifecycle.

OPINION

An epidemic requires epidemic-level funding

This week marks five years since the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history. On April 18 and 19, 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, a man disguised as an RCMP officer drove from Portapique to Enfield, Nova Scotia, killing 22 people—including a pregnant woman. His murderous rampage began in his own home with his partner, a woman he had spent a lifetime abusing.

Since that day, advocates, researchers, and survivors have been sounding the alarm that gender-based violence (GBV) is not a peripheral issue — it is a central and pressing crisis.

Nova Scotia has the highest reported rates of IPV in the country. We are the province where the largest mass casualty event in Canada took place. Over the past six months, we have seen a disturbing rise in femicides. 

GBV has been declared an epidemic in this province. And still, when organizations asked provincial officials about core funding, the responses were shocking: “Look how much we are already spending!” and “Project-based funding allows people to innovate.”

In this explosive and thought-provoking op-ed piece, The Coast contributor Liz LeClair explores why governments are so quick to declare GBV an epidemic, and yet so unwilling to fund the response at a level that reflects its severity.

🗞️ In Other News

👷 Nova Scotia is attempting to grow skilled trades in the province through a $10M investment specifically in the construction industry.

🩺 Nova Scotia’s primary care waitlist went down by more than 2,000 people over the past month—there were 93,682 people on the Need a Family Practice Registry as of April 1 and the health authority says 2,193 people in total have been attached or removed.

👋 A new study shows Haligonians are still welcoming to American tourists despite political tensions between the two countries, though some concerns remain.

🚨 RCMP say the search for a man who went missing at a lake northeast of Halifax has been called off until they receive new information—the search ended Saturday evening after all options were exhausted.

🍺 Nova Scotia’s North Brewing Company has joined more than 40 other breweries across Canada in the Glorious and Free campaign that has breweries from coast to coast brewing their own version of Ottawa’s Dominion City Brewing Company Glorious and Free IPA using local ingredients.

💿 Some of the biggest names in Canadian music are paying homage to Joel Plaskett on a new tribute album that was made in secret—the double album titled Songs from the Gang features covers from 22 artists including Sloan, the Sheepdogs, the Arkells, Mo Kenney, Alan Syliboy and Jenn Grant.

SPONSORED BY NSCAD UNIVERSITY

NSCAD's Mayhem festival: Ceramics, Sculpture and more

Mayhem, NSCAD University’s year-end student showcase, continues.

• April 15, 5 - 7p.m.: Sculpture and Ceramics take over its Port Campus, 1107 Marginal Rd. Free.  

• April 16, 6:30 p.m.: Film Screenings, Park Lane. Film students show their work. Suggested donation, $8.

• Do you have tickets to the fashion show yet?

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Tim Forbes re/collection Recent Paintings & Sculpture: Bridging the abstract and minimalist, Forbes’ artistic vocabulary leverages a unique visual language in a bold, modern dialogue, often wrestling with contemporary issues that ground his work in the present. Influenced over time by mid-century aesthetics, he embraces its tenets—a selective monochromatic palette, enlarged mass, repetition, and pattern recognition—all contributing to a pared-down formality. | April 10-27 |

🗓 15th Annual Emerging Lens Film Festival Opening Night Screening: When a young couple learns they’re about to become parents, they decide to celebrate with a quiet weekend in the country. But when they need help with the property, their overly accommodating landlord shows up to lend a hand—and lingers far longer than welcome. | April 16 | 6:30pm | Free |

🗓 Rose Cousins Live: Rose’s new album, Conditions of Love—Vol 1, dropped March 14. Come celebrate her new music, which seeks truth, in all its imperfection, in the depths of humans’ most complicated emotion: love. | April 17 | 8pm | $47.75 |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢 The AS Felicia container ship arrives in Halifax from Montreal at 6:15am.

🚢➡️ The Viking Octantis container ship arrives in Halifax at 8am and leaves for Canadian seas at 6pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🇨🇺 Your lunch plans are solved with the new Ciabatta Cuban Sandwich at Almonak: spiced roasted pork, sliced ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, yellow mustard.

🦞 Check out some of the exciting new menu options at Peacock Wine Bar, including the Malloredus Puttanesca: hand-rolled pasta in a rich, briny sauce with lobster, anchovy, capers and olives.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🎤 Rose Cousins’ latest album—Conditions of Love Vol. 1— proves that love is both undefinable and limitless. Whether it be the ones closest to us, those too far to reach, or the harmony of lying under the sun, there is love all around us. Our parents, our children, our partners and our friends. Yet, when we try to describe our love, we can only gesture towards the emotion that keeps us going. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer spoke with Cousins about the inspiration for her new album and her upcoming performance at the Rebecca Cohn. 

🗳️ Canadians officially head to the polls on April 28 and many people will wait to cast their ballots on that day. If that’s your route, go to Elections Canada and type in your postal code to find your riding, candidate and polling station. But you certainly don’t have to wait for election day because there are other options available to you—including early voting. Plus, you get to skip the lines! Not sure how or when to vote? We don’t blame you! The Coast has you covered with a breakdown of all the ways you can cast your ballot.

That’s it!

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