Good morning!

As much as I like talking local and provincial politics, I do want to turn my attention towards the feds for today’s intro. Specifically, towards Pierre Poilievre.

About a week ago, I had a conversation with my younger brother about Poilievre’s appearance on Joe Rogan. I did not watch the conversation as I would rather not have my brain melt out of my ears, but my brother filled me in on some of the details—enough to be concerned.

After a devastating election cycle last year where Poilievre lost his own seat, he retreated to Alberta to win the safest seat in the entire country in a byelection. Now, the leader of the opposition has to repair his own image.

Many conservative pundits, including former party leaders, recognized the weaknesses in Poilievre’s rhetoric. When Carney entered as the Liberal Party’s leader, Poilievre had no avenue of attack. Rather, he focused on mobilizing young men with social conservatism, a play that does not work throughout most of Canada where many caught on to his agenda.

This rhetoric cost Poilievre a relatively straight-forward win against a political newcomer. Many of us were surprised when he was voted to stay on as party leader after such a disastrous performance. What the Joe Rogan interview managed to do, from what I can tell, is patch up Poilievre as less of a right-wing nutjob and more of an economically-focused leader. He did this by repeating a lot of—get this—left-wing economic talking points.

As my brother repeated them to me, saying how brilliant they are, I immediately caught on to what was happening. As the NDP are down and out, Poilievre may think its a decent idea to flank the Liberals, who are essentially fiscal conservatives themselves, from the left.

I say all this to remind folks that regardless of their talking points, Poilievre and the Conservatives will never act upon any of the pro-worker talking points they might share to convince you putting them in power is the solution to your economic problems. They won’t focus on pro-worker economic policy. They won’t raise taxes on Canada’s most wealthy. They won’t go after grocery companies who continue to gouge us for every dollar we have.

It’s all a façade to help them gain support amongst people who are annoyed with the Liberal’s fiscal policy. Don’t fall for the con.

Best,

– B

📷 @creamy_yet_smooth

Today: ☀ 8°

Tomorrow: ☀ 10°

Next Day: 🌧️ 9°

7-day forecast

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

Edoardo Vitali, an Italian game designer, spent a year in Nova Scotia in the 2010s. Inspired by what he saw, Vitali is developing an atmospheric mystery video game called Benton Cove, set in a fictional town within the Annapolis Valley.

Having lived in Dartmouth, Vitali had the chance to experience much of the province’s finest sights, including the valley, becoming a source of inspiration for his artistic endeavours. This isn’t his first stab at capturing Nova Scotia’s unique setting, either. 

In 2023, he released The Cooking Class through his studio Another Dev Company, a horror video game where the player would attempt to escape a Dartmouth home by picking up VHS tapes scattered around. Nods to Nova Scotia were strewn across the setting, but Benton Cove seeks to do more than just reference its location. It’s story-driven, semi-open world, and from screenshots and videos of the development so far, incredibly Nova Scotian.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer talks with Vitali about Benton Cove, his in-development horror-mystery game based within Nova Scotia.

🏛️ Nova Scotia’s longest legislative session in Tim Houston’s time as premier may be coming to an end as the government passes four pieces of legislation Tuesday night—one of the amendments passed allows the province to have final say over the hiring of the next Nova Scotia Community College’s president.

🇱🇧 Halifax’s Lebanese community has voiced anger and frustration over Israel’s continued bombardments in southern Lebanon—over 1.1 million people have been displaced since the start of the conflict.

⚖️ A 57-year-old accused of killing an elderly man is being released while he awaits his second-degree murder trial—Timothy James Jefferies is under conditions to wear an ankle monitor, reside with is surety, and be monitored while at home while avoiding drugs and alcohol.

🚙 Halifax, make questionable plans. Lyft will handle the ride home. Get 50% off your first five rides. Max $10/ride. Terms apply. Unlock your first rides.*

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👷‍♀️ While there are plenty of construction projects happening in Halifax, the provincial construction association is keen to solve a chronic construction worker shortage that could halt several projects—they say the province needs to grow its workforce by 10,600 by 2032 to keep up with demand.

⛴️ Cruise ship season has begun in Halifax and is expected to be a lucrative one as it expects 189 calls by 28 cruise lines until Nov. 5—the first cruise vessel docked in Halifax on Tuesday.

🔥 Halifax regional police are investigating a suspected arson in Bedford after responding to a vehicular fire on Broad Street on Sunday—police say they were told a man smashed a window and threw something inside the car before the fire started.

Deadlines pile up, inboxes fill, and the pressure doesn’t stay at work. Counselling offers a place to step back, talk it through, and get tools that actually help. At Your Counselling, it’s not about quick fixes, it’s about real conversations that help you feel clearer, more grounded, and in control.

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

🗓 Sadie Skinner Single Release: Multi-talented singer-songwriter Sadie Skinner plays at the Carleton with special guest His His, celebrating the debut of her new single “Electric Blue”. | April 9 | 7:30PM | $22.80 |

🗓 Better Times Comedy at Good Robot Brewing: This weekly comedy show features regulars like Clare Belford, Dan Hendricken, Travis Lindsay, Adam Myatt, and a rotating cast of local and visiting comics. | April 9 | 7:30PM | $15 |

🗓 Summerland @ The Pond Playhouse: Summerland tells the haunting story of William H. Mumler, a 19th-century spirit photographer whose images claimed to reveal the faces of the dead. | March 26-April 11 | 8PM | $15+ |

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

🚢 The Algoma Acadian tanker arrived in Halifax from Saint John at 4:20am.

🚢➡️ The Pilecki general cargo vessel arrives in Halifax from Ciwandan at 7:10am and departs for Belledune at 6pm.

🚢➡️ The Pictor container vessel arrives in Halifax from Portland (Maine) at 12:15pm and departs for Argentia at 6pm.

🚢 The Algoscotia tanker arrives in Halifax from Sydney (Cape Breton) at 2:15pm.

🍨 Churned has a special ice cream for all you breakfast cereal lovers out there: Fruity Cereal Ice Cream. Available now in scoops and pints, not gluten-free.

🥪 Larry’s Sandwiches has a new Sandwich of the Week: Mexican Chorizo. House-made chorizo with Vessel Meats ground pork, sautéed yellow potatoes, refried bean spread, provolone cheese, lime sour cream, and cabbage on a toasted bun.

🏛️ The Nova Scotia NDP are criticizing Premier Tim Houston for his continual absence from the legislature. Last month, the controversial provincial budget bill passed without Houston's attendance. During that time, he was in Texas for an oil and gas conference. Now, with the legislature continuing its spring session, Houston has once again taken off to Calgary to meet with major energy companies as the province moves toward offshore energy developments. The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer digs into Houston’s absence and what the opposition has to say about it.

🏢 The provincial government has purchased the former office of the Worker’s Compensation Board of Nova Scotia on South Street in Halifax, spending $19 million on the property—there are no current plans for the land.

💰 The federal government is contributing $28 million to the Windsor Street Exhange Redevelopment project, supporting Halifax Water’s work to increase capacity for wastewater collection—Mayor Andy Fillmore says the project is one of the most important in our region.

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