🗞️ Shout out with your vote out

Good morning Halifax,

It’s a refrain that is all too familiar: Women feel stuck in abusive relationships because they don't have access to the resources they need to get out.

A Nova Scotia woman says she wanted to end her abusive marriage for more than three years, but a lack of available child care left her with no way out, saying that it “kept her trapped.”

It’s a vicious cycle that is constantly repeating itself in our communities: She had her youngest baby, wasn’t able to find child-care, couldn’t go back to work full-time, and became even more financially dependent on her abuser—a man who was recently arrested and charged with physically and sexually assaulting her.

The woman said she had asked her husband for a divorce in the months leading up to his arrest, but because she didn't have the income to leave, she was forced to continue living with him—and as with most women who try to leave, the abuse got worse.

One of the greatest barriers preventing survivors of domestic violence from leaving abusive partners is the financial ability to support themselves and their children—specifically, affordable, flexible, and reliable child care, housing and transportation.

As a province in crisis, we need to implore the Houston government to do more to address the epidemic—including working closely with those in the gender-based violence space to create a safe and stable pathway for people leaving abusive relationships.

What we’re doing is simply not working.

Take care of yourselves and each other out there 💜

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: ☀️ 13°

Tomorrow: ☁️ 11°

Next Day: ☁️ 18°

7-day forecast

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

ELECTION NEWS

Preliminary results show voter turn-out in Nova Scotia higher than the national average

Nova Scotians—like Canadians across the country—showed up in droves to vote in Monday’s federal election. Preliminary results show that 72.25% of eligible voters in Nova Scotia voted—even higher than the national average.

Where did voters come out the most (and the least) in Nova Scotia? Read on.

🤔 Need To Know

🏥 Patients, health care workers and other visitors will no longer have to pay for parking at Nova Scotia’s hospitals as of May 1.

💬 Chris D’Entremont—the only Nova Scotia Conservative to win a seat in the federal election—says tariffs, Donald Trump and the collapse of the NDP vote led to losses for his party in his home province.

🎭 Little Shop of Horrors must close on May 11. You've only got one week left to catch a show that patrons are calling "the best thing I've ever seen" and "Neptune's strongest show yet."*

😂 Don’t miss out on a fun night of comedy at Ha!ifax Comedy Fest featuring emerging and established comedians sharing laughs rooted in the Canadian immigrant experience!*

*Sponsored Listing

SPONSORED BY GARRISON BREWING CO.

The best of then and now, brewed for summer

Time to manifest the Halifax summer we know and love. Garrison Brewing's new Beers of Summer Mix Pack brings together your favourite throwbacks and latest obsessions. Georgia Peach, Mango Dragonfruit, the iconic Raspberry Wheat, and NEW Hawaiian Crush with pineapple and lime.

Grab 'em at Garrison taprooms and your local liquor store.

MUSIC

The beauty behind Bologna Colorado

You may not know what a Bologna Colorado is, but you’ll want to after you experience one of their live shows.

The four-piece from Halifax is committed to bursting your eardrums with screeching guitar riffs, pounding drums and impassioned, raw vocals. All of this kinetic energy has been harnessed in the band’s latest single, “GET TO THE POINT!!!”, which dropped on April 26.

And in the most punk way imaginable, the band says the song, despite its name, is about absolutely nothing other than the music itself.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer caught up with the Halifax rock band about their newly released single and their upcoming tour across Eastern Canada.

🗞️ In Other News

🏗️ The developer responsible for Toronto’s vibrant Regent Park tried over 10 years ago to convince HRM that they should follow the same model for the Bloomfield school site—now they’re lamenting what “could have been.”

🚢 The Port of Halifax saw a steady flow of cargo in 2024—according to the Halifax Port Authority, 42 large vessels made 117 calls to the port last year.

👀 The Nova Scotia government has added Oren Edward Williams of East Preston to its list of unsolved homicides and is offering a reward of up to $150K for information that leads to the conviction of those responsible.

☔ Halifax is expanding the Sackville rivers floodplain and development restrictions that come with it—bringing applause from advocates but concerns from homeowners worried about property values.

SPONSORED BY HALIFAX REGIONAL FIRE & EMERGENCY

A special thank you

National Volunteer Week is April 27 - May 3. This year's theme is Volunteers Make Waves. Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency (HRFE) proudly recognizes the dedication and impact of our volunteer firefighters during National Volunteer Week 2025. With over 560 volunteer firefighters across the municipality, their dedication and service create ripples of change in every community they protect.

🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 Halifax Wanderers Home Game: Come cheer on the home team as they take on Forge FC at the Wanderers Grounds. | May 3 | 5pm | $26.45 |

🗓 Symphony Family Series - Tap Dancing Through Time: Hear delightful performances from the full orchestra combined with interactive learning opportunities in these engaging, high-spirited concerts at the Alderney Landing Theatre and Halifax Central Library. The concerts are  designed to be participatory, relaxed and informal. | May 3 and 4 | 2pm, 3pm and 4:30pm | Free |

🗓 LOAFIS Sourdough Beginners Workshop: Over the course of 2 hours, Nikki from Loafis will take the class through the art of sourdough bread-making, with tips and tricks to perfect your own sourdough game! | May 4 | 10am | $125 |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢 The CMA CGM Mexico arrives in Halifax from Colombo, Sri Lanka at 5:45am.

🚢 The Nolhan Ava container ship arrives in Halifax from St. Pierre, France at 8:15am.

🚢 The Jag Prachi oil tanker arrives in Halifax from Antwerp, Belgium at 12:15pm.

🚢 The Contship Cup container ship arrives in Halifax from New York at 3:50pm.

🚢 The Algoma Vision arrives in Halifax from Punta Catalina, Dominican Republic at 4:21pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🍩 Vandal Doughnuts has three new flavours this week: Key Lime Pie (lime curd, cookie rim, meringue, lime, zest), Earl Grey Rose London Fog (rose jam, Earl Grey syrup, whipped cream) and Cinnamon Bun (brown sugar cinnamon centre, cream cheese frosting). 

🍕 Don’t feel like cooking? Pizza can be for mid-week too! Grab The Spicy Italian from Rinaldo’s: New York pizza dough, mozzarella, tomato sauce, hot Genoa salami, mushrooms, grana padano, hot honey.

👀 In Case You Missed It

🍷 The annual Savour Food & Wine Festival encourages locals, visitors and foodies alike to celebrate the culinary scene in Nova Scotia. With over 80 exhibitors this year, the Halifax Convention Centre was buzzing with excitement as booths showcased some of the best of Nova Scotia’s taste sensations. Guests had the opportunity to cast a vote for their favourites in several categories providing results for the “Best of Show”. And without further ado, The Coast has all the winners.

🇨🇦 Canada's 45th general election has significantly shaken up the composition of the House of Commons—here are six key takeaways from Monday's election.

That’s it!

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