Caitlin Snow is a multi-award-winning news anchor and reporter who started in the radio business 20 years ago. Roles included working in a helicopter delivering up to date traffic and news in Alberta.
She is based in Halifax, reporting and broadcasting stories across Nova Scotia. Contact Caitlin at snowc@radioabl.ca.
Investments in aircraft, equipment and expertise helped with quick response time to reduce how much area burned during the 2026 wildfire season.
The province says there were 114 wildfires that crews responded to between March 15 and October 15, which burned 1,521 hectares.
In 2025, 148 wildfires burned 8,114 hectares.
July 15, the Mooseland Road wildfire broke out which forced 100 from their homes for a few days. It burned 1,444 hectares and was declared under control two weeks later and declared out in August.
In mid-July, Nova Scotia had recorded more than twice as many wildfires than the same time in 2025, however, more rain helped ease the season.
In the 2026/27 budget, the province announced $6.8 million for wildfire response. A $6.5 million aircraft contract included for water bombes and a Bird Dog.
The water bombers made 84 drops across four wildfires, including 68 at the Mooseland Road wildfire.
“When a wildfire threatens a community, Nova Scotians expect us to be ready,” says Premier Tim Houston in a news release. “Our investments gave crews more tools to respond quickly.”
Houston says while they were grateful when the weather gave us a break, it was the people who made a difference.
“On behalf of all Nova Scotians, I thank our aviation services team, pilots, wildfire staff, firefighters, conservation officers and partners for their skill, courage and commitment to keeping people and communities safe.”
Police are looking for answers after a heritage plaque was stolen from a monument in a rural area of Nova Scotia.
RCMP say they got the report October 2 about a brass plaque that was removed from a historic monument near Harry Elliott Road, Lower Onslow, on or around September 17.
The plaque is about 76 years old and originally created by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to commemorate the Ingonish-French River Portage route.
It is about 32 inches tall, 19 inches across, about 70 lbs and maintained by Parks Canada.
A monument in Lower Onslow. PHOTO: RCMP
Police say there is damage to the stone monument from removing the plaque.
If you have information you are asked to call RCMP at 902-893-6820 or Crime Stoppers.
A youth is dead after a crash involving a stolen vehicle near Brookfield.
Colchester County RCMP say it happened just before 6 a.m. October 20, on the 1600-block of Highway 2. The vehicle had left road and hit trees and a power pole.
The young person, from Brookfield, was the only one in the vehicle. They were pronounced dead on scene.
The vehicle, a blue Volkswagen Rabbit, was reported stolen from Stewiacke.
Mahone Bay was recognized on the national stage for achievements in environmental action and conserving heritage at the 2026 Communities in Bloom Awards in Quebec.
The Town says it earned 5 Blooms in the Atlantic Edition for population, environmental action, conserving heritage as well as a special mention for the Faerie Trail.
“The role of our Communities in Bloom working group has been to shine a light on what makes Mahone Bay so special. It has been an absolute joy to showcase the people, places and projects that make Mahone Bay a vibrant, thriving community,” says Councillor and Commitee Liaison Penny Carver in a news release.
After a tour around Town in July, the judges recognized Mahone Bay for its “unmistakable character” including the view of the three churches, green canopy, colourful homes and gardens and downtown shops and restaurants.
The Town says that this is in addition to the well-maintained municipal buildings as well as the work of the volunteers and staff who prepared for the committee’s visit.
The report highlights the Edgewater Projects and The Bay Way, the Solar Farm (including the sheep), the heritage homes, Talking Trees, Tree Inventory Map and the “delightfully charismatic Scarecrows.”
Mayor Suzanne Lohnes-Croft congratulates the volunteers.
“Mahone Bay’s Communities in Bloom volunteers dedicate an immense amount of time and energy to the program, bringing important projects into focus, preparing for visiting judges, sharing the community’s story and celebrating the people who make good things happen,” says Lohnes-Croft.
An Amherst man is dead after an electrocution over the summer, in an incident that police say is suspicious.
RCMP say in a Friday news release, it was August 2 when they responded to a call at a commercial property on Highway 321 in Oxford for a man who had injuries associated with an electrocution that happened July 29.
Two months later, on October 5, the 51-year-old man died in hospital from his injuries.
Police say it was not a workplace incident, and the cause of death is believed to be criminal in nature.
Officers are now working with the medical examiner to determine the cause of death.
Police say they want to talk to those who were with the man when the electrocution happened.
Anyone with dashcam footage or surveillance video of the area between July 29 and August 2 are asked to call police.
A massive data centre project, powered by artificial intelligence is planned for Point Tupper, Cape Breton and according to the province it is the largest privately funded development in Nova Scotia’s history.
EverWind Fuels says the $10 billion project is in an agreement with an AI company for a 20-year lease. The first $8 billion is to develop, construct and finance the centre, with the last $2 billion to go to wind energy projects.
Data centres house technology used to store, process, and manage digital data.
The first phase of the project would have a capacity of 95 megawatts in late 2027, with 325 megawatts in 2028 and up to 420 megawatts at full development.
“Point Tupper has supported industry in the Strait Region for more than 50 years,” says Ever Founder and CEO Trent Vichie in a news release. “Today’s announcement represents major new investment in Nova Scotia’s digital and energy infrastructure.”
There has been a lot of buzz about the possibility of the facility over the last several weeks, with community engagement sessions for those in the area to begin in late October or early November.
Houston changes stance
The project would still have to go through an industrial approval process.
In an announcement in Point Tupper this morning Premier Tim Houston says that will be ongoing.
“There’s a very stringent process for industrial entities that’s set up in the province,” explains Houston. “That doesn’t change.”
Premier Tim Houston speaks at announcement in Point Tupper. PHOTO: CHUCK BOUDREAU/ACADIA BROADCASTING
In June, Houston indicated the province would only consider data centres once major generation projects were operational.
Houston says the sentiment behind those earlier comments remains the same: protecting ratepayers.
Houston says any data-centre proposal would have to meet or exceed the requirements established federally and demonstrate that the project is “good for Nova Scotia”.
Water use
Data centres are known to use a significant amount of energy. This one will use 100,000 lites of water every day, similar to what a large shopping mall would use. That would increase to 500,000 litres after phase two.
The water use is for a closed-loop cooling system with water drawn from nearby Landrie Lake, which is in Richmond County and supplies the raw water used for Port Hawkesbury’s drinking-water system
EverWind says that amount of water is only 1 per cent of what the Lake can provide safely.
It will provide thousands of construction jobs with 215 permanent operating positions and will run in conjunction with EverWind’s green hydrogen and ammonia plant in the same area.
NDP raises concerns over power rates
In response, the Nova Scotia NDP is raising concerns about the potential impact data centres could have on electricity rates and water use.
Opposition Leader Claudia Chender says the Houston government should put protections in place before more projects move ahead.
“Nova Scotians have deep concerns about the impact of data centres, including on power rates and fresh water,” Chender said.
She criticized the province for supporting the Point Tupper project without introducing new legislation or regulations aimed at protecting ratepayers.
“People are worried. Bills keep rising, power is still unreliable, and the evidence shows that big data centres mean power rates go up even more,” Chender said.
The NDP is also pointing to Houston’s previous comments that data centres were not right for Nova Scotia, arguing the government has changed its position without giving Nova Scotians enough detail about how power costs will be handled.
After a number of school bus cancellations in recent weeks, the South Shore Regional Centre for Education (SRCE) says they are facing a shortage of bus drivers.
The issue has been causing a lot of frustration among parents and guardians.
In an email to families, Thursday afternoon, SSRCE says they recognize the impact cancelled routes have but it is due to reasons beyond their control.
“SSRCE has been experiencing a high number of absences this year,” explains the school board. “We lack sufficient drivers to cover those on leave or illness.”
To manage, they rotate the impact across different routes to avoid repeated cancellations for any single run.
“However, with fewer backup drivers available, these rotations have become more frequent, and some regular drivers are unable to return to work for an extended period.”
To mitigate the impact, SSRCE says they try things like asking drivers to double up, consolidating two bus runs into one, a rotating schedule and using drivers from other locations.
In addition to those efforts, the school board says they are ramping up recruitment efforts with compensation, flexible schedules and collaborating with organizations to find potential candidates.
SSRCE says they are optimistic things can improve.
Education Minister praises school board’s efforts
Education Minister Brendan Maguire says there are challenges every school year and buses are no different, but he understands the challenge when buses don’t show up.
“I’ve got three children” says Maguire. “It’s not easy when the buses are late and your kids are late for school. We’re doing the best we can.”
However, he says SSRCE reacted quickly to the situation.
“I will give credit to the South Regional Centre for Education,” says Maguire. “They’ve reacted to this. It really comes down to hiring people and getting those people well trained.”
A number of school support staff across the province could walk off the job in less than two weeks.
According to an email to parents Thursday afternoon from school boards in places like Halifax, the Tri Counties as well as the Strait Region, the Regional Centres for Education as well as the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial (CSAP) have reached an impasse with CUPE after several months of negotiations.
A report has been filed with the Minister of Labour and job action could begin as early as Monday, October 26.
Employee groups that will be affected vary throughout the province. They include positions such as library support specialists, educational program assistants and lead early childhood educator.
Teachers and EXCEL employees would not be affected. However, pre-primary programs would be paused.
A $100 million investment from the federal government to offshore wind in Nova Scotia for what the province calls one of the largest economic development opportunities in generations.
It will go toward research, data collection and analysis required to advance development.
“Nova Scotia is no longer at the end of the energy transmission line – we are at the starting point,” said the province in a statement.
According to the province, offshore wind in Nova Scotia is among the strongest in the world.
In an announcement on the Dartmouth waterfront Thursday morning, Houston said it’s a major milestone that will bring us one step closer to making our province a “global clean energy powerhouse”.
After a cabinet meeting, Thursday afternoon Houston said before the private sector invests in developments, they need to understand the information around wind energy.
“And hopefully leverage private investment in the tens of billions of dollars,” said Houston. “I think that’s a pretty good use of public money.”
The $100 million will go toward the Wind West project which is designed to harness offshore wind with the potential to generate enough electricity to cover roughly a quarter of Canada’s total needs.
Wind West has also been named part of the federal government’s major infrastructure projects.
Out of the investment announced, $5 million will be spent on floating light detection and buoys used to collect data on offshore wind, weather and ocean conditions.
Nearly $3 million will go to Net Zero Atlantic to expand modelling of offshore wind electricity transmission to markets outside of Nova Scotia.
In addition to that, the province said the funding will support Nova Scotia’s goal of licensing up to five gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.
The expansion project on the QEII Halifax Infirmary has reached another milestone.
The province says the Level 8 podium structure is now in place. It is the base of the 14-storey acute care tower.
It will have things like a new larger emergency department, surgical suites, hyperbaric medicine and treatment spaces for the ambulances. It will also be the structure for the tower above it.
“Since construction began, we’ve seen tremendous progress as the building takes shape and the podium is now complete,” says Minister Michelle Thompson. “Over the next year it will be exciting to watch the acute tower rise towards its full 14-storey height.”
The tower will have another 216 beds, 16 operating rooms and a 48-bed intensive care unit.
In 2027, mechanical and electrical equipment will be installed including heating and cooling systems, work on an elevator and interior spaces.
The project is on track to be completed in the fall of 2030 and turned over to Nova Scotia Health before opening in the fall of 2031.
