Nova Scotians have been ordered to stay out of their own forests or face fines of up to $25,000.
Simply stepping into the woods, even on private land, is now banned by the provincial government, with similar penalties to breaching a fire ban. The announcement by Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston covered activities deemed “not necessary,” including hiking, camping, fishing and off-road vehicles during a dry spell with conditions that could spark wildfires.
Houston announced Tuesday that a ban on stepping into the woods is now in effect across the whole province, along with other fire restrictions.
“Effective 4 p.m. today, we’re telling Nova Scotians; stay out of the woods. We are restricting travel and activities that really aren’t necessary for most of us, hiking, camping, fishing and the use of vehicles in the woods are not permitted,” Houston said during a press conference Tuesday. “Trail systems through woods are off limits. Camping is allowed, but only in official campgrounds.”
According to Nova Scotia Forest Notes, about 75% of the province is covered in forest.
“If you’re a smoker, for God’s sakes, be mindful of where you’re butting your butt out. If you don’t and you cause a fire, we will hold you accountable,” he continued, “If you have a home or cottage, surrounded by a wooded area. We strongly encourage you to stay out of those woods, regardless of where they are. Please don’t do anything that could unnecessarily put you, your family or your neighbours at risk.”
The measures apply to both provincial Crown land and private land.
Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said the province had faced 100 wildfires this season.
“They’ve all been very small, but our crews have been able to manage them and extinguish them quickly. But that could change in a heartbeat,” Rushton said. “It’s incredibly dry out there right now, and the fires we’re seeing right now are burning deeper into the root system and going deep underground, and that kind of fire takes a long time to put out, which is exhausting our resources.”
He said “only a significant amount of rain” will change the conditions for Nova Scotia, enabling them to lift the measures.
“We’re actually looking at a prolonged two- to four-day period of rain, and as explained to me by the department staff, a good downpour that we saw two weeks ago in Cumberland County does not do any justice. It runs off,” he said. “We need, we need a few days of rain similar to what we saw in 2023.”
Rushton said the same travel restrictions and ban on entering forests were enforced by the province in 2023, which saw a similar dry spell. According to the Nova Scotian government website, the wildfire season saw 220 wildfires which burned a total of approximately 25,093 hectares across Nova Scotia, over four times the 5‑year average of ~5,900 ha.
“Across the country, there are over 700 fires burning,” Houston said. “As tinder dry conditions continue to persist from one end of the province to the other, the risk of wildfires increases, and the risk is very, very high right now…We can take steps while we’re in the middle of trying to fight fires, or we can be proactive and try to prevent them, and we have chosen to be proactive and try to prevent fires.”
Some civil liberties advocates are sounding the alarm, saying the move amounts to government overreach and echoes COVID lockdown-era measures.
“When safety becomes a weapon, everyone loses. Nova Scotia’s forest ban is overkill, and it’s deja vu. It’s happening now because the government got away with it last time,” Christine Van Geyn, a constitutional lawyer with the Canadian Constitution Foundation, said in a post on X.
“This is a classic example of safetyism: a mentality where risk becomes an excuse for control, not communication. Once the government sees that overreach is workable, it’s replayed, every few years.”
Josh Dehaas, who also works as counsel for the CCF, said the move amounts to “authoritarianism” and that it’s not the first time the province’s premier used such measures.