N.S. coastline tourism at risk from climate change

Nova Scotia has been named one of Travel + Leisure magazine’s 50 Best Places to Travel in 2025, celebrated for its proximity to the ocean.

The province, recognized alongside the Yukon as the two Canadian regions to make the list, Nova Scotia is featured under the category ‘For Moments on the Water’.

“Nova Scotia’s unique charm and scenic coastlines draw visitors from around the world,” Dave Ritcey, Minister of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage, said in a news release. “It’s great to see our province and tourism industry receiving recognition as a world-class vacation destination.”

Nova Scotia is home to over 13,300km of coastline meaning at any point, one is never more than 67km from the water. 

Between January and July, the province welcomed more than one million visitors; in 2023, Nova Scotia had 2.2 million visitors, many of whom came to experience the western Atlantic coastline.

But Nova Scotia is at risk of experiencing devastating impacts of climate change, many of which could alter these best-loved tourist activities.

Across the province, average annual temperature is projected to increase by 2.6 C by mid-century and 4.5 C by the end of the century, under a high level greenhouse gas emissions scenario. This temperature increase will spark warming oceans which increases the risk of tropical storms and a projected 10 per cent increase in precipitation. These events would contribute to higher flood risks, increased erosion and humidity.

But the province is also at risk of immense sea level rise. Research projects an increase of up to one metre of relative sea level rise across the province by the end of the century. Higher sea levels have the potential to damage coastal communities and infrastructure, infiltrate freshwater supplies and threaten sensitive species and ecosystems. They could also make certain parts of the year difficult to promote tourism and coastline experiences.

In February, the province unveiled its Coastal Protection Action Plan with the aim of minimizing the impacts of climate change and protecting people and their homes. The plan includes measures such as access to information about risks, but also promises to equitably access disaster-relief funds.

“The coast is an essential part of our shared identity as Nova Scotians,” Timothy Halman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, wrote in the opening message to the plan. “We have lived by our shores for generations. But we need to rethink how, and where, we live and build along our coast, especially as our province grows and as we face greater risks related to climate change.”

But after two years of promising to asses its viability, the Conservatives scrapped the Coastal Protection Act which passed with all party support in 2019.