HALIFAX — Facing increasing pressure to do more to address intimate-partner violence in Nova Scotia, the provincial government on Friday announced $23.7 million for transition houses.
The money is destined for the province’s 10 transition houses, which last year provided temporary shelter and services for 3,500 women and children fleeing violence. Premier Tim Houston said the new funding is the direct result of a meeting he attended in January with a coalition of support groups that were pushing for more resources and direction from government.
“It was a frank discussion and it was a necessary discussion,” Houston told reporters Friday. “It made an impact on me personally but also on government.”
Since Oct. 18, seven women and one man have been killed in incidents of intimate-partner violence in Nova Scotia. In five of the seven homicides, the perpetrator then killed himself.
The bulk of the funding, which was not included in last month’s provincial budget, provides $17.9 million over four years to stabilize operations at transition houses. The remaining $5.8 million is existing money shifted from various government departments.
When the 2025-26 budget was tabled, government officials said it included $7 million more for transition houses and women's centres as part of more than $100 million in “continued support” that had been previously announced. Women's groups had criticized the budget for lacking "core" funding, which they describe as money for long-term operations.
On Friday, the premier said his government had recognized it needed to do more. “The need of the moment is significant so we are doing what we can to meet some of that need,” he said.
Anne de Ste. Croix, executive director of the Transition House Association of Nova Scotia, welcomed the new funding, saying that it would enable the organization to look at more longer-term solutions to prevent violence.
“I think this is a significant step in the right direction and the government has indicated to us as well that this relationship doesn’t end here, that we will continue to work with them and they will continue to assess our needs,” she said.
Susan Leblanc, the Opposition NDP critic on the status of women, said the money announced on Friday was a long time coming. “The funding has been requested for several years now by the organizations that are working on the ground to combat gender-based violence, and it’s good to finally see it,” Leblanc said.
Meanwhile, the New Democrats tabled legislation Friday to strengthen protections for domestic violence victims who rent their homes. The bill covers situations when a lease must be broken to protect a victim of domestic abuse. Landlords would be required to offer the victim a new lease on the same terms and change apartment locks. The bill would also extend provincial housing benefits to survivors who stay in their home after an abuser moves out.
“It would mean that people who are experiencing or fleeing domestic violence are able to remain stable in their housing,” Leblanc said of the proposed changes.
Service Nova Scotia Minister Jill Balser told the legislature that her department will consider the NDP bill. “Individuals who see themselves in an intimate-partner violence situation deserve safety and they deserve a place where they can start their lives and we want to ensure that."
In September, the Nova Scotia government adopted legislation declaring intimate-partner violence an “epidemic.” The declaration was one of the recommendations of the public inquiry into the April 2020 mass shooting that claimed the lives of 22 people.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2025.
Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press
