Alec Stratford

NS budget shortfalls force Tim Houston to eliminate ocean HALIFAX - After months of slashing provincial revenue, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston has announced that he has been forced to entirely cut the Atlantic Ocean from the province.

NS budget shortfalls force Tim Houston to eliminate ocean

N.S. premier says no changes planned for budget cuts | CBC News Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says he’s not changing course. A week after his government tabled a budget with $300 million in cuts that sparked multiple protests around the province, including two t...

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Thousands take to streets to protest cuts to N.S. arts grants | CBC News About 2,000 people gathered outside Province House in Halifax to let the Houston government know cuts to arts, tourism, culture and heritage sectors would cause irreparable harm to their industries.

"The reality is a $1.2-billion deficit last year, a $1.2-billion deficit this year—I mean, something has to give."

I saw we give Tim Houston back to Bermuda! #NSpoli #Novascotia #budget #timhouston www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Who Really Benefits from Nova Scotia’s Tax Cuts? - CCPA The Nova Scotia government says its 2026–27 budget will save the average family more than $1,400 per year through tax cuts. This sounds like strong support for families struggling with the cost of liv...

Tim Houston's reckless cuts stem from massive tax cuts favour the wealthy. In 2026, families earning $26K save just $194, while those earning $209K+ save $2,234—11x more. Communities are asked to suffer while the rich get richer. #NovaScotia #TaxCuts www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

‘Sounding the alarm’: Advocates express concern about austerity budget impacts on poverty and affordability in Nova Scotia  - Halifax Examiner CCPA-NS hosted Friday event called "Communities Respond: What the Budget Means for Nova Scotians: A public forum on poverty, affordability, and the road ahead"

I spoke at a forum Friday about fighting austerity. Now it’s time to act:

🛑 March 2, 12 PM: Shoulder to Shoulder Rally at NS Leg.

🎭 March 4, 12 PM: Rally to Stop Arts Cuts at Province House – Protect arts & culture.

www.halifaxexaminer.ca/dismantling-...

#FightAusterity #NovaScotia

The polar vortex lifts, but the chill of Dalhousie's $30M deal lingers. Over $24M in incentives prop up oil & gas oligarchs, risking academic integrity. Wealth flows offshore, while communities bear the cost. #Dalhousie #Accountability #ClimateAction #NSpoli

Nova Scotia Alternative Budget 2026: For the Many - CCPA NSAltBudget2026 (1)Download

Raising NS's participation rate (61%) to the national avg (65%) could add 40K workers & boost GDP by $2.4B—a 3.7% rise, far greater than any megaproject. Invest in labor. Uplift communities. Put people first. #NSpoli #EconomicJustice www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Nova Scotia Alternative Budget 2026: For the Many - CCPA NSAltBudget2026 (1)Download

CCPA economists analyzed Nova Scotia's 'largest tax break' and found:

-$57M went to the richest 20%
-Low-income earners got just $6 on average
-Bottom 50% saw $146, while the top 20% got $432

A $172M revenue loss—who really benefits? #TaxCuts #NovaScotia" www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Housing minister says Nova Scotia has more work to do to address rent prices | CBC News As Nova Scotia bucks a trend of declining rents, the province’s housing minister says it’s proof that his government needs to keep working.

The blind ideological faith that supply and demand alone drive housing costs is staggering. Affordable housing won’t simply “trickle down” by incentivizing high-end purpose-built rentals.
The reality? We’re ignoring the financialization of housing. #NSpoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Province won't explain how it determined there are 118 illegal cannabis dispensaries in N.S. | CBC News Amid backlash against increased enforcement on illegal cannabis dispensaries, the provincial government has struggled to explain how it assessed the number of those dispensaries. While the province st...

Houston's Conservatives can't govern: poor financial management, declining services, and an economic plan tied to oil & gas oligarchs exploiting Nova Scotia and its workers. This is a pitiful distraction with Houston using Indigenous sovereignty as a scapegoat #NSPoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Nova Scotia's fiscal update highlights misplaced priorities: $500M in tax cuts favouring high-income earners while housing & cost-of-living crises deepen. We need 4000 affordable units/year, not subsidies for private developers. Fiscal choices matter #NSPoli www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Boosted Liberals claim other Conservatives could defect, blame Poilievre's leadership  | CBC News Heartened after picking up another member in a surprise floor-crossing, Liberals claimed Friday there are other Conservative MPs increasingly disgruntled with Leader Pierre Poilievre who could soon be...

Champagne and MacKinnon brushed off questions about Ma's integrity. "What matters at the end of the day is that he made the choice to join the Liberal Party," said the finance minister. - so fits right into a party with no intregrity www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Minister says next N.S. budget will include money for child and youth advocate office | CBC News After years of promises, the Progressive Conservative government appears poised to put funding in place for the creation of a child and youth advocate office.

Not the strongest commitment from the Minister on fully funding the Child & Youth Advocate, but progress nonetheless. Let’s keep the pressure on, this office needs a $6.5M budget this spring to truly make an impact. #ChildAdvocacy #FundTheFuture #NSpoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Sipekne’katik First Nation bans Houston, cabinet ministers | CBC News Sipekne’katik First Nation is once again chastising the Houston government and says that the premier and two of his cabinet ministers are not welcome on reserve lands. The premier's office says it tak...

Tim Houston & co. roam unceded Mi’kmaq territory as if they hold the deed, ignoring the need for collaboration & partnership. This approach guarantees stalled progress for Nova Scotia. 🤔 #UncededLand #NovaScotia www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

A photo of the bridge on Wright Ave over the 118 highway. Three people are lowering a banner that reads "Ban Fixed Term Leases" over the side of the railing.

Yesterday #NSACORN was out on the bridge near Dartmouth Crossing, with a very simple demand: Ban fixed term leases.

FTLs fuel the housing crisis by allowing landlords to screw tenants & evade the rent cap. If the Houston gov wants to show up for tenants, they need to close this loophole. #Halisky

N.S. child-care system still struggling to meet targets in federal agreement, new report says | CBC News Families are still "desperate" for child-care spaces and some are still paying much more than the target of $10 a day laid out in the 2021 agreement with Ottawa.

The Premier says natural resources are our biggest economic opportunity but ignores our greatest resource: Our people. Childcare isn’t just social policy—it’s economic strategy. Every $1 invested returns $2. Families thrive, we all win. #NSPoli #Childcare #EconomicGrowth www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

More proof in today's strong Canadian jobs report that Trump's trade war is utterly backfiring for U.S. workers: manufacturing employment is falling there, but still (despite tariff chaos) higher in Canada year/year. This proves Trump is no friend of American workers. #canlab #cdnecon

Minimum wage workers in NS will be paid $17 an hour in 2026 | CBC News The increase will take place in two steps, with the first raising it to $16.75 an hour on April 1 and the second elevating it to $17 an hour on Oct. 1.

It's great that minimum wage will be tied to inflation next year, but the problem is this change comes 40 years too late. And even now, Nova Scotia's wage floor is still nearly $10/hour short of a living wage. #NSpoli #LivingWage #FairPay www.cbc.ca/news/canada/....

N.S. government has no plans to consider guaranteed basic income | CBC News The deputy minister for the Social Development Department said the potential cost and questions about federal support are the key reasons why the Nova Scotia government is not prepared to consider the...

It's shocking that the department says $2 billion is 'too much' to invest in eliminating poverty, when the estimated cost of letting poverty persist is also $2 billion, due to lost productivity and excess services. #NSpoli #EndPoverty #InvestInPeople #SocialJustice www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Health minister says committment to improve system stands, but how that happens could change | CBC News Almost three years since her government made a massive health-care infrastructure announcement anchored by a promise of more beds, Health Minister Michelle Thompson says there could be other ways to m...

Three years, no Cobequid update. Tim Houston broke healthcare promises, created a $1.2B deficit by giving tax cuts to the rich, and stacking profits for developers and corporations. The result: patients pay the price for electioneering. #NSPoli #HealthcareCrisis www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Impressive resilience from Canada's economy in 3Q: not just avoiding a recession with a 2.6% annualized bounce, but more than erasing the 2Q drop. Would have been even stronger but for reduction in fed govt current spending. Lesson: austerity is not helpful as we deal with Trump. #cdnecon

Report calls on N.S. to apologize to Mi’kmaw, Black communities for environmental racism | CBC News A report by a provincially legislated panel on environmental racism contains 14 recommendations — including a call for a formal apology by the Nova Scotia government — and suggests reparations should ...

Tim Houston’s resource development dreams are built on the foundation of environmental racism. Unresolved trauma creates instability, and investors will see no stability in such a climate. His inaction on environmental racism will cost all Nova Scotians. #justice #economy www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with land defenders. We Are All Treaty People Rally. We're opposing the Protecting Nova Scotians Act, a bill that stifles democracy & infringes on treaty rights. Honoured to join our voices with Mi’kmaw protectors
#WeAreAllTreatyPeople #ProtectOurForests #nspoli

N.S. government departments told to examine potential impact of 10% cut to program grants | CBC News In the face of a projected record deficit, Finance Minister John Lohr has asked provincial government officials to look at the potential impacts of a 10 per cent cut to discretionary spending and prog...

Let me get this straight: The government overspends on untendered contracts for their friends, hands out a $500M tax cut favouring the wealthy, and now considers cutting services for the vulnerable during a cost-of-living crisis? This is peak incompetence. #nspoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Cabot golf properties contribute $1.2M in taxes to Inverness County | CBC News A critic of the economic benefit claims by Cabot Cape Breton says golf course lands generate less than $150,000 in municipal taxes, but Inverness County records show that all told, the developer's res...

Cabot Cape Breton shows the flaw in our economic system. Companies can exploit natural resources for shareholder wealth, while their taxes barely fund the services they use. The result workers see there quality of life dissolve. It doesn't have to be this way #NSpoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Halifax Is Now More Expensive Than Vancouver—But We Can Turn Things Around How Nova Scotia can reclaim affordability and build a brighter future for all

Halifax's living wage is now higher than Vancouver's? With 50% of Nova Scotians earning less than what's needed to get by, the affordability crisis is real. But there are solutions.
Read more in our latest blog post.
#NSpoli #AffordabilityCrisis

open.substack.com/pub/alecstra...

Living Wage across Vancouver Island climbs, up to $27.40 in Victoria The living wage in B.C. continues to climb, including in six communities on Vancouver Island that were part of the annual report by Living Wage BC.

Under this PC government and their failed housing policy, Halifax’s living wage is $29—higher than Vancouver’s $27. Shockingly, 50% of Nova Scotians earn less than that. It doesn’t have to be this way. #FairWages #HousingCrisis"
cheknews.ca/living-wage-...

Check out Tim Houston’s too

Building Hope for Housing in Nova Scotia’s Future A Hopeful Path to Real and Lasting Housing Solutions

In Spryfield, Halifax, 39% of affordable single-person rentals disappeared in just a few years. This is the cost of a housing system built on profit. But with bold, policies, we can ensure every Nova Scotian has a safe home. 🏠✊#HousingIsAHumanRight #PeopleOverProfit open.substack.com/pub/alecstra...

Federal investigation probes grocery store competition in Halifax | CBC News Since last year, an investigation into the ability of new grocers to set up in the Halifax Regional Municipality has been quietly ticking along under Competition Bureau Canada.

Food costs are soaring because governments prioritize corporate interests over people. Nova Scotia could follow Manitoba's NDP in banning restrictive covenants, ensuring fair competition and affordable groceries. It's time to put people first. 🍎 #FoodSecurity #NSpoli www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...