News
Self-Paced Recreation Town Hall
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- Fewer accessible recreation opportunities for seniors
- Fewer options for arts and cultural programming
- Fewer youth sports programs
- Fewer community events
Stand Up for Recreation Before It's Too Late
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Communities across Nova Scotia are facing a moment that will shape the future of recreation, sport, arts, and culture in our province for years to come.
The provincial budget currently before the Legislature proposes deep reductions to funding within the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage. These cuts span 72 grant programs, some with partial cuts and others fully eliminated totalling an investment reduction of $14 million. Included in this is a 50% reduction (approx. $600,000) to the Active Communities Fund, a fund to support communities encourage movement, and a 20% reduction to provincial recreation and sport organizations’ core funding.
While these numbers may appear abstract on paper, their consequences are anything but. These reductions will be felt in communities across Nova Scotia — in fewer recreation programs, reduced opportunities for youth sports, diminished activities for seniors, and fewer community events that bring people together.
Community recreation programs are not luxuries. They are essential pieces of the social infrastructure that keep people healthy, connected, and engaged. Recreation opportunities help prevent chronic diseases, support mental health, reduce social isolation, and create spaces where people of all ages can participate in community life.
At a time when Nova Scotia’s health care system is already under significant strain, cutting programs that help people stay active and well is deeply concerning. Prevention is one of the most effective ways to reduce long-term pressure on hospitals and emergency rooms. When recreation opportunities disappear, the costs do not vanish — they shift downstream into our health care system.
These cuts will also hit rural communities especially hard. In many towns and villages, recreation programs exist because of a combination of volunteer dedication and modest provincial grants. Without those supports, many programs simply cannot continue.
Recreation programs for seniors, arts and cultural activities, seasonal camps for children and youth, community festivals and celebrations, and accessible recreation opportunities for families could all be affected.
For decades, Nova Scotia’s recreation sector of professionals and volunteers has worked with municipalities, volunteers, and community organizations to build spaces and programs that strengthen communities and improve quality of life. These programs represent one of the most effective and affordable investments government can make in public health and community wellbeing.
But right now, those programs and spaces are at real risk.
This is why communities across the province must speak up.
If recreation has made a difference in your life — if your children have played sports, if your parents have participated in senior fitness programs, if you’ve enjoyed walking your dog on the trail, if your community has come together through recreation events — now is the time to make your voice heard.
We encourage Nova Scotians to reach out to their elected representatives and share why recreation matters in their communities. Tell them how recreation programs support the health of your family, the vitality of your community, and the opportunities available to the next generation.
The decisions being made today will shape the strength and wellbeing of our communities tomorrow.
If we want vibrant, healthy, connected communities across Nova Scotia, we must stand up for recreation now — before it is too late.
Contact your MLA and tell them why recreation matters in your community. Find your MLA here and call or email using our document letter template here(15 KB) .
Virtual Recreation Town Hall
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We’re inviting recreation sector practitioners and partners to join us for a Virtual Town Hall on Thursday, March 5th, from 2:00-3:30pm to discuss implications for the sector from the 26-27 Provincial Government Budget. This session will provide an opportunity to check in with sector peers and share what we know so far. We’ll look to gain insight into impacts of proposed funding cuts to help guide next steps for the sector and for RNS.
Statement on Provincial Government Funding Cuts
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Recreation Nova Scotia has issued a statement regarding recent provincial budget decisions that include a reduction to our core funding and significant changes to grant programs that support communities across the province.
These decisions have implications for our organization and for the broader recreation sector. In the statement below, our President and Executive Director outline what we know at this time, the importance of investments in recreation to community wellbeing, and share how we are responding.
pdf Read our full statement here. (91 KB)
We are working with colleagues in Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage to understand the changes as information becomes available. At the same time, we’re engaging various partners to coordinate a strategic advocacy response. We thank our membership and the broader sector for their continued commitment as we navigate this issue and welcome your input moving forward.
RNS Award Winner Spotlight – William Roy, Warm your Bones Festival
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Are you looking for innovative ways to activate your neighbourhood and encourage your fellow community members to get outside and active for the winter months? Take some inspiration from this year’s Heart of Recreation Award winner, Will Roy, Board President and founder of the Sport and Social Club of Cape Breton, who introduced the ”Warm Your Bones Festival” in Sydney in February 2025.
Recognizing that many community members struggle to be socially and physically active during the winter months, the festival was designed to encourage people to get outside despite the cold weather and find ways to stay active and engaged with the community. The festival had three elements: cozy drink/food specials at local venues, a series of recreational activities, and a street party in downtown Sydney. Will spent many hours building partnerships with more than twenty local organizations, venues and facilitators. He also coordinated over a dozen special events, including arts programming (such as drawing, collage, crochet, and writing workshops), physical activities (like winter hiking), and cozy recreational fun (such as board games and a movie night).
The partnerships that Will built with local businesses, artists, and facilitators were keys to the festival’s success. These community members from a range of sectors not only facilitated the programming but also helped people discover new reasons to get out during winter and explore their community. Given the social nature of the events, the festival also fostered social connections between community members, creating the opportunity for participants to meet new people and socialize.
Warm Your Bones fest is the best thing about February. We saw lots of folks brave the weather to come get our Mac n Cheese special! It was fun and something to look forward to during the darkest part of the year.
- Selkies Neighbourhood Diner
Building on the success of last year’s event, the Warm Your Bones Festival 2026 will take place from February 12-22 and will once again feature hot drink and cozy food specials at local cafes and restaurants, crafty, fun activities like board games, crocheting, soap making and paint nights, and activities to get folks active in outdoor spaces. Find out more at www.warmyourbones.ca .
Looking to host your own fun winter events? Find resources to plan your own community events to take the roof off winter at https://www.recreationns.ns.ca/take-the-roof-off-winter.html.
Moments That Matter: African Heritage in Nova Scotia
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February marks African Heritage Month in Nova Scotia. It is a time to celebrate the achievements, resilience, and contributions of Black communities, past and present. We wanted to share some uncommon “Did You Know?” facts that highlight Black history and its spectrum in Nova Scotia. These stories reflect the important role recreation, sport, and community spaces have played in Black communities across the province, and beyond.
We invite you this month to learn, reflect, and celebrate with us.
Did you know?
Most Canadians know the music of Bob Marley. Fewer know that one of his most powerful songs, Redemption Song, traces its roots to a 1937 speech by Black rights activist Marcus Garvey in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Garvey’s call to “emancipate yourselves from mental slavery” directly inspired the song’s most famous lyric. In the early 20th century, ‘Garveyism’ had a strong presence in African Nova Scotian communities, with active Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) chapters in Halifax, Sydney, and other Black communities across the province. These communities were part of a global Black freedom movement rooted in self-determination, pride, and resistance. The same themes echoed in Redemption Song.
Learn more: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-african-nova-scotian-roots-of-bob-marleys-redemption-song
Did you know?
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has a special connection to recreation and sport that ties back to Canada, including Nova Scotia. His father and Black Loyalist descendent, Rocky Johnson, was born and raised in Amherst, Nova Scotia and became a legendary professional wrestler, later inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Dwayne not only followed in his dad’s footsteps into professional wrestling, but he also spent part of his early athletic career playing Canadian football with the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL, an experience he has called one of the defining periods of his life.
Did you know?
In 1970, Saint Mary’s University made Canadian university hockey history when Bob Dawson, Darrell Maxwell, and Percy Paris took the ice together as the first and only all-Black forward line in Canadian university hockey. Their presence also made Saint Mary’s the first Canadian university to roster three Black players on its hockey team. At a time when Black athletes faced widespread racism and exclusion, their achievement was groundbreaking, not just for the sport, but for representation, resilience, and history in African Canadian communities.
Learn more: https://www.smuhuskies.ca/general/2021-22/releases/20220203sbi7nz and https://www.smuhuskies.ca/sports/general/2015-16/Releases/First_all-black_line_in_Canadian_university_hockey_honoured