Schools closures and cancellations: Mon. Jan. 26, 2026

CITYnews halifax / By Dan Ahlstrand

For a second Monday in a row, Nova Scotians began to dig out after a strong winter storm moved through the region late Sunday.

This has prompted several cancellations or closures in many communities.

Schools

• Halifax Regional Centre for Education all schools closed.
• Chignecto-Central Regional Centre for Education
• Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education closed
• South Shore Regional Centre for Education school and worksites closed
• Tri County Regional Centre for Education closed
• Strait Regional Centre for Education schools closed
• CSAP North, South and Metro closed
• Dalhousie University Halifax and Truro campuses closed
• SMU campus closed
• MSVU campus is closed
• NSCAD closed
• All NSCC campuses are closed for the day
• Atlantic School of Theology (AST) campus and library, will be closed for the day Monday

Halifax Transit 

• Snow routes for Halifax Transit buses will be in effect on Jan. 26. Service disruptions will be announced as needed.

Halifax Stanfield International Airport

• Many delays and cancellations are reported at the airport. Officials there recommending passengers check with their airlines before heading out to the airport.

Solid Waste  

• Curbside collection of solid waste for Jan. 26, is rescheduled for Jan. 31. For Jan. 27 collection, residents are asked to not place waste curbside until that morning to allow for snow clearing operations.
• The Otter Lake Waste Facility, Materials Recycling Facility and Organics Management Facility will be closed. For the latest service disruptions, visit our website.

Municipal offices    

• All municipal offices, including in-person Planning & Development permit offices and 311 Customer Service Centres, are delaying opening until noon.  If there are additional delays or closures, the municipality will provide an update.
• Employees who can work from home are being asked to do so.
• All essential services, as well as 311, winter operations and Halifax Transit are maintaining operations.
• Safety is the municipality’s top priority. Delaying opening will help clearing efforts and facilitate a safer commute for our employees and residents.

Provincial Government

• Provincial government offices are closed due to weather conditions.
• Decisions regarding court operations are made on a case-by-case basis with the judiciary. People with matters before the court should check with their lawyer or contact the courthouse to confirm the status of their matter.
• Contact information for courthouses is available at: https://www.courts.ns.ca/locations

Executive Standing Committee meeting

• The Executive Standing Committee is cancelled.

Parks & Recreation 

• Municipally-owned and operated recreation facilities will be closed. A decision will be made later in the day regarding whether rentals, facilities and programming activities will continue as scheduled on Tuesday
• In addition, the Halifax Forum ice surfaces (the Forum Arena and the Civic Centre) will be closed for the morning. This is due to the potential for snow to accumulate on the building’s roof. Halifax Forum staff will monitor status and a decision will be made at noon if afternoon/evening programming will continue as planned.
• The Halifax Public Gardens will be closed.

Support for those experiencing homelessness   

Over the weekend, the municipality’s After-Hours Individualized Mobile Engagement team (AIM) engaged with those experiencing homelessness throughout the region to inform them of available shelter options, and where possible, help them with transportation to these shelters. The AIM team will continue to engage with people as needed in the coming days.

The Province of Nova Scotia funds the operation of emergency shelters in the municipality, which are run by various service providers:

• Halifax | 2029 North Park St.
• Halifax | Multi-Purpose Centre of the Halifax Forum | 6210 Young St.
• Halifax | St. Patrick’s Church | 2262 Brunswick St.
• Dartmouth | 197-199 Windmill Rd.
• Lower Sackville | Beacon House Shelter | 125 Metropolitan Ave.

Individuals experiencing homelessness who need emergency support, including overnight shelter beds, can call 211 to be connected with local services.

Business

• Day Shift will be DELAYED until 10 a.m. at all Irving Shipbuilding sites.