Halifax Mayor Talks Development, Councillor Relations In Year-end Interview

From disputes complete motorcycle lanes to improvement successful nan Halifax Regional Municipality and its narration pinch nan province, it has been a engaged twelvemonth for nan municipality.

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore says he’s learned a batch during his first twelvemonth successful nan role, but is appreciative of nan consequence he’s received from nan organization and municipal staff.

“It’s been great, nan reception from nan organization has been very strong, we activity pinch an unthinkable unit squad that are conscionable doing phenomenal activity to meet nan challenges of a quickly increasing city,” Fillmore said during a sit-down question and reply astatine Halifax City Hall.

“I myself person been successful a caller position for nan first clip successful a decade, truthful there’s been a batch of alteration and that takes immoderate getting utilized to, and I deliberation we’re really getting utilized to it now and I’m looking guardant to a really, really beardown 2026 pinch my council.”

He acknowledges that location was a steep learning curve associated pinch nan position, particularly fixed his 10-year tally arsenic MP for Halifax. He notes his domiciled arsenic politician is overmuch much successful statement pinch nan activity he did arsenic an municipality planner pinch nan metropolis earlier his occupation pinch nan national government.

“The issues now are very overmuch connected nan ground. So this is for illustration backmost to being a planner again,” he said. “We’ve sewage utmost unit to build housing, to build nan infrastructure that supports housing. And to make judge that each of our communities are connected pinch a transit and proscription strategy that really useful and delivers.”

Relationship pinch councillors

Over nan past year, Fillmore has faced a assortment of criticisms from his colleagues astir nan array astatine Halifax Regional Council, peculiarly pursuing his mobility brought guardant to assembly successful June to re-evaluate nan All Ages and Abilities (AAA) Bikeway Network and region building connected caller motorcycle lanes owed to concerns of costs and congestion.

During a agelong and heated chat connected nan mobility during nan June 11 assembly meeting, Fillmore’s mobility was voted down 12 to five.

What followed from that gathering of assembly was further chat astir whether Morris Street should beryllium turned into a one-way thoroughfare to accommodate a two-way motorcycle lane that would link Lower Water and South Park streets done nan motorcycle network.

In consequence to criticisms and concerns astir nan table, Fillmore says he feels his narration pinch councillors has now recovered its rhythm.

“Like immoderate caller committee aliases immoderate caller committee of governors, which is really what we are right? When you form, you tin spell done a predictable process of forming, storming, norming and performing is nan measurement that behavioural scientists would picture it. So we did our storming and now we’re norming. And I’m really looking guardant to 2026 being a twelvemonth of performing and I deliberation that’s what they’re what they are looking guardant to arsenic well,” he said.

Bike lanes, beardown mayors and provincial overreach

With nan agelong summertime chat and statement complete nan Morris Street motorcycle lane improvement besides came concerns astir nan strong politician powers and provincial overreach into municipal affairs. Strong politician powers springiness mayors nan powerfulness to veto bylaws, walk caller ones pinch conscionable one-third of assembly successful favour and prosecute aliases occurrence municipal section heads unilaterally.

Premier Tim Houston announced successful September that his authorities would not instrumentality “strong mayor” powers successful nan autumn sitting of nan legislature.

District 9 Coun. Shawn Cleary, astatine nan time, referred to Fillmore arsenic being seen arsenic ‘vacuous and controllable’ by Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston.

District 10 Coun. Kathryn Morse raised concerns astir what it could mean for populist if specified powers were to travel into place.

“It’s really an undemocratic development,” Morse said during a June 16 interview, “because galore of HRM’s plans were developed pinch nan public, astatine nationalist hearings aliases doing nationalist consultations. So, erstwhile nan state steps successful and overrules, they’re really overruling nan residents of HRM.”

On July 16, Houston issued a missive to nan municipality threatening to overrule Halifax Regional Council if it decides to spell up pinch turning Morris Street one-way to accommodate motorcycle lanes.

On Aug. 5, Halifax assembly voted successful favour of changing course.

Concerns of provincial overreach came to a caput again pinch nan Department of Municipal Affairs rejecting HRM’s projected location scheme successful August, and turning nan municipality into an interim readying area connected Oct. 3.

An amended location scheme was passed successful assembly connected Dec. 11.

Trending Now

When it comes to what galore councillors person deemed governmental overreach into municipal affairs, Fillmore said aft having conversations pinch Houston and members of his cabinet, he knows they don’t want to beryllium progressive successful municipal business. But he adds that he sees pros and cons to them being progressive currently.

“The province’s engagement has allowed america to abbreviate immoderate approvals to move done immoderate legislative activity much quickly that yet is delivering houses faster to people. So that’s nan shiny broadside of nan coin. The different broadside of nan coin that mightiness beryllium a small not truthful shiny for immoderate of my colleagues is nan metropolis enjoys their sovereignty and astir apt would for illustration not to person nan engagement of nan provincial government. I deliberation this is temporary. I deliberation we will get to a spot wherever nan provincial authorities withdraws and allows america to return to our halfway work,” he said.

Looking backmost connected nan summer, Fillmore says 1 of his biggest regrets was really nan chat and statement astir nan motorcycle lane web developed.

“It had been my volition to show nan organization that I americium committed to building retired nan motorcycle network, which I am, but that I was concerned pinch nan cost,” he said.

“The cards were connected nan array already past summertime pinch it erstwhile I brought that mobility that nan system is changing, that we’re entering a clip of loop tightening, that nan national and provincial governments are doing it, that households are doing and that we request to do it too,” he added, noting nan mobility District 6 Coun. Tony Mancini later brought forward, asking for a unit study to measure nan costs of nan motorcycle network, was much successful statement pinch his goals than really nan chat evolved.

“I deliberation arsenic a caller mayor, learning nan ropes and levers of this organization, being incapable to bring my assembly colleagues on successful that chat astatine that time,” he continued.

Looking up to 2026

Having campaigned connected improving affordability successful nan municipality, Fillmore says that remains 1 of his apical goals going into 2026 — highlighting his successes successful 2025 successful keeping nan spot taxation complaint level and pushing Halifax Water to trim its projected complaint hike.

“We are successful an affordability crisis. There’s nary question, and we can’t mince words astir that,” he said.

“They [his goals] stay focused connected keeping life affordable successful nan city. They stay focused connected building much homes faster astatine a costs that group tin afford. And they stay focused connected mobility and congestion successful transit. So it’s astir facing nan challenges of growth. That will proceed to beryllium my activity successful nan adjacent year. So I ever talk astir nan three: affordability, lodging and mobility. A 4th has emerged, and nan 4th is Halifax Water.”

Fillmore said he hopes to spot Halifax Water run much efficiently, amended infrastructure and present connected its projects overmuch faster successful nan caller year, acknowledging that nan inferior is basal for maturation and continued improvement successful nan municipality.