Nova Scotia Province House reopens to public, new rules in place for visitors

A man closes a gate to the Nova Scotia Legislature on March 25, 2026. The building is closed to the public for the remainder of the week. The decision was made after a protest broke out in the legislative gallery that disrupted a vote on the provincial budget. (Jesse Thomas/CTV Atlantic)

Nova Scotia Province House is now reopened to the public, but new rules are being applied to visitors.

Province House was closed on March 25, a day after protesters sang and yelled from the gallery to delay a vote related to the new budget.

The demonstration followed weeks of protests in front of the legislature over budget cuts for arts, culture and tourism, and for Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian communities.

On Thursday, the province said members of the public are now permitted in Province House including access to visitor galleries, but the second floor remains limited to those with a Province House pass.

The province says new rules will now be applied to visitors in the galleries. Those rules include:

• Anyone who was in the galleries on March 24 is restricted from entering the galleries until the end of the sitting or the conclusion of the investigation by the Sergeant-at-Arms into the identity of those who obstructed the House that day. People who disrupted the House or refused to remove themselves from the galleries when they were asked may be put on a short-term prohibition from entering legislative precincts.
• Use of cell phones, tablets and other electronic devices will be strictly prohibited in the gallery. Visitors can bring cell phones into the galleries as long as they stay unseen and unheard.
• Visitors may not sit in the front row of the east and west galleries due to multiple incidents of visitors leaning over the railings, posing a danger to themselves and those below them.
• Visitors may not read, write, sketch or speak during debates.
• A previous rule prohibiting wearing clothing displaying lettering or pictures that could be perceived as conveying a message to the house will be strictly enforced.

With files from the Canadian Press

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