🗞️ The crying of the Lam

Good morning Halifax,

It’s story time! 

@megsiiepeg

What does this mean #booktok #book #favourite #catsoftiktok #reading #tbr #foryou #irish

When I was 17 months old, I was brought into the IWK’s emergency department unresponsive and with a temperature of 103 degrees. The team assessed me and came to the grave conclusion: Reye’s Syndrome or spinal meningitis. Reye’s Syndrome results in death, so they quickly began treating me for meningitis. 

When the results came in, my dad remembers that the nurses’ station erupted in applause. He still says he never thought he’d be so happy to hear his baby had meningitis. In retrospect, the doctors said that had my parents put me to bed instead of taking me to the IWK, I would have been dead in the morning.

The diagnosis was just the beginning of a long road to recovery; one that saw me quarantined in the hospital for close to a month. Fortunately, my family house was three blocks away from the IWK—allowing my mom to visit everyday with limited financial burden. 

But I understand that we were the exception, not the rule. 

Ronald McDonald House gives families the luxury of being there for their little ones, limiting the external stress in an already stressful situation, and allowing them to focus on what really matters. 

If you haven’t seen the new facility on South Street—directily across from the IWK—go check it out! Families will move into the new building on South Street next week—the charity is putting the finishing touches on the temporary homes for families whose children are receiving care at the IWK.

The new building—a larger, more modern facility—will allow the charity to serve an additional 600 families per year—and offer 6,570 more nights of comfort for families with sick children.

I love this for Halifax—and for all of the families that are going to benefit from the new facility 💗

– Julie

📷 @editorjulesl

🌡️ Traffic & Weather

Today: 🌤️ 12°

Tomorrow: 🌧️ 11°

Next Day: 🌧️ 7°

7-day forecast

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

ELECTION

Why are there no Halifax election polls? And other questions about the federal government.

There is only one poll that matters—especially at the local level.

As politicians and Canadians focus on polls to get a sense of who might win the next election, at the local level, the best gauge of the future is the past.

We answer Coast reader questions about election polls, tariffs, interprovincial trade, first-past-the-post, politician pay, and more.

🤔 Need To Know

🇨🇦 In the final days of the 2025 federal election, a new poll revealed that 72% of Canadians chose the cost of living as the biggest issue heading into the election, followed closely by Canada-U.S. relations.

💰 Halifax has received a barely passing grade on fiscal transparency from a Canadian think-tank, but the city's top bureaucrat says she doesn't put much value in the ranking—saying the grade of D- is not completely accurate.

🎸 Canadian rocker Bryan Adams is coming to Halifax this Fall—the “Roll with the Punches” tour will make a stop at Moncton’s Avenir Centre on Oct. 11 and then come to Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre on Oct. 12. 

💸 The new Bonfire restaurant in Halifax has become the first ever tip-free restaurant in Atlantic Canada—everyone employed at the restaurant is paid $20 an hour and offered profit shares.

🏛️ Join folklorist Emma Lang along the streets of downtown Halifax for three interactive Working Class Heritage Tours. Each tour takes a different path through labour history and culture.*

👗 The NSCAD Fashion show celebrates a brand new crop of emerging NSCAD fashion makers and jewellers. Sunday, April 27, 2025, Alderney Landing, 2 Ochterloney St. 7 p.m. Buy tickets now!*

⚽ Catch the wave! Join us for the Halifax Tides’ Inaugural Season opener this Saturday, April 26. Be part of history—electric energy, unforgettable moments!*

*Sponsored Post

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MUSIC

Braden Lam’s experience manifests in his full-length album, The Cloudmaker’s Cry

Braden Lam is exactly where he wants to be.

The indie-folk musician who has called Dartmouth home for nearly a decade is nearly two weeks in from releasing his first full-length album, The Cloudmaker’s Cry. It’s a place he never could have imagined himself when he finished university and couldn’t find work at the height of the pandemic.

Yet, three EPs and plenty of on-stage experience later, Lam has made music his full-time career, and it all shows on his newest record: a testament to everything he’s felt over his time in Nova Scotia, and a goal he’s happy to have achieved.

The Coast’s Brendyn Creamer caught up with the Dartmouth-based musician as he prepares to play at the Sanctuary Arts Centre on Saturday, April 26.

🗞️ In Other News

🩺 Nova Scotia’s opposition parties are skeptical of the province’s shrinking family doctor wait-list as they hear from constituents who’ve been removed from the list only to wait months for access to primary care.

🏒 Five former Canadian world junior hockey players have pleaded not guilty to sexual assault, as a jury is sworn in for the high profile trial that is expected to last approximately eight weeks.

🎣 Tensions between fishery officers in Nova Scotia and their federal employer got so bad that officers warned that—without proper protection—increased lawlessness in the region’s fishing industries “is gonna get someone killed”. 

⚖️ The Canadian Union of Public Employees is troubled that Nova Scotia’s government ended a long-standing contract with the agency that administers restorative justice in Halifax as labour talks with caseworkers were underway.

🐋 The group behind a project to build North America’s first coastal refuge for captive whales in Nova Scotia has renewed its bid to provide a seaside sanctuary to two killer whales living in a shuttered marine park in France.

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🗓️ Things To Do

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

🗓 NS Youth Orchestra - Myths & Legends: Symphony Nova Scotia chorus master Joel Tranquilla leads the Nova Scotia Youth Orchestra (NSYO) in a performance that invites Soundtrax, Resonance Youth Choir, and Annapolis Valley Honour Choir to sing in this exciting orchestral presentation of glorious myths and legends. | April 26 | 2pm | $30 |

🗓 The Halifax Health & Wellness Spring Show: Dive into an amazing array of opportunities to boost your health and well-being. Whether you are looking to enhance your self-care routine, improve your mental health, or explore the latest products and services in the health and wellness industry, this show has you covered. | April 26 | 10am | $8 |

🗓 Haligonian Vendor Market: Don’t miss the second annual spring market and support more than 35 local businesses. At the heart of this market is a passionate mission—to celebrate and empower small businesses. | April 27 | 11am | Free |

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

⚓️ What’s In The Harbour

🚢➡️ The MSC Rita V container ship arrives in Halifax from Sines, France at 5:20am and leaves for Montreal at 12pm.

🚢➡️ The Grande Sierra Leone vehicle carrier arrives in Halifax from Gioia Tauro, Italy at 8:25am and leaves for Baltimore at 5pm.

🚢 The MSC Anya container ship arrives in Halifax from Liverpool at 4:15pm.

🍴 Where To Eat & Drink

🥐 Big news! The Big Mac croissant is back at Two If By Sea: butter croissant loaded with seasoned ground beef, cheddar, onions, pickles and house-made Mac sauce. 

🧁 This week is all about spring flavours at Layers Cupcakes with three new flavours in the case: Lemon Bar (lemon cake with a graham cracker bottom filled with lemon curd), Flower Garden (chocolate cake topped with cookies and cream buttercream and piped with pretty flowers), Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake (vanilla blueberry crumble with baked blueberry cheesecake inside).

👀 In Case You Missed It

🖼️ As I walk around the show at Applehead Studios on Barrington Street with artist and creator of The Grief Project, Chanelle Jefferson, I can’t help but ask: isn’t it heavy? Carrying all of this sadness?” The Coast’s Julie Lawrence spent time with Jefferson and one of her participants to talk about the profound impact of turning deep grief into a thing of beauty.

🗳️ A record number of Canadians cast a ballot during four days of advance voting over the Easter long weekend. Elections Canada says an estimated 7.3 million people cast a ballot during advance polls April 18 to 21. The previous record for voters at advance polls was 5.8 million ballots cast during the 2021 federal election. In Nova Scotia, 135,644 people voted in advanced polling in this election—up from 113,484 in 2021. Check out how it all broke down by riding.

That’s it!

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