Nova Scotia Bans Hiking and Other Forest Activities Due to Fire Risks
Meanwhile, the constitutionality of potential Alberta separation referendum question is set to be evaluated by a judge.
Canada has clearly lost its way.
We covered the debanking and punishment of Canadian citizen truckers protesting the government after then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau imposed draconian vaccine mandate policies.
The Medical Assistance in Dying rules have been a disturbing revelation on how progressive government will push suicide as the optimum option for long-term physical and mental health issues.
And because President Donald Trump said a few snarky things about Canada, Canadian voters allowed super-progressive globalist Mark Carney into the nation’s top leader spot. Carney then alienates the Americans by pressing for Palestinian statehood.
This week’s chapter in Canada’s continuing insanity features the province of Nova Scotia. As Legal Insurrection readers know, due to poor land management policies and annual lightning storms, Canada is having a spate of forest fires. Mainly, our coverage of them has focused on American air quality.
Nova Scotia has implemented a fascinating new rule in an attempt to prevent them: Ban hiking and other forest use activities until October 1st.
The Nova Scotia government has announced it’s banning hiking, camping, fishing and use of vehicles such as ATVs in the woods due to an elevated wildfire risk.
Camping in campgrounds is still permitted, but trail systems through woods are off-limits under the new rules.
The rules are in place for provincial Crown land until Oct. 15 or until weather conditions allow them to be lifted.
The fine for violating the ban is $25,000.
The public can still access beaches and parks, except for trail systems.
This move is particularly troubling for the Canadian tourism industry. As you could well imagine, summer is a big season in Nova Scotia, and businesses that cater to the summer crowds are panicked.
Lee Fraser of Live Life in Tents, an adventure company that offers an array of activities such as camping and hiking tours along the world-famous Cabot Trail in Cape Breton, said they were blindsided by the ban.
They were forced to cancel a four-day, three-night guided hike of the picturesque seawall trail that was booked one year ago.
“It’s the hiking trails that people come here to do,” said Fraser. “It’s hard to tell people that come here who are excited to go hiking that, yeah, the woods are cancelled.”
Fraser said they have been in “crisis mode” since the announcement on Tuesday, fielding cancellations and explaining to their customers that camping and activities on the nearby Margaree River are still on.
As with much that the Canadian elite push onto their citizens, the new rules generated a wealth…of mocking on social media.
Nova Scotia has banned hiking in the woods. In this video, I show how easily a fire can start… even with a pair of shoes. For demonstration purposes only — don’t try this yourself. pic.twitter.com/gfWpjpUQOU
— BertaProudDad (@BertaProudDad) August 10, 2025
Canadians are befuddled.
Nova Scotia just made it illegal to be in the woods, like a $25k fine for HIKING!!! And the people are like “yep seems reasonable”
lmao I live in Canada and still can’t believe this is a real country
pic.twitter.com/PKmzJhv1Om— Tiffany Gillis (@tiffanyrg9) August 6, 2025
And the rules apparently have more draconian options than a $25,000 fine.
The Nova Scotia source legislation for the new “don’t take a hike” proclamation, is actually more draconian than the gov is letting on: a one-week hiking trip could in theory lead to $3.5M in fines ($500k per day), & 3.5 years in jail (6 months for each hiking day).
Oh Canada 😢 pic.twitter.com/1zElyyzGzH— Lion Advocacy (@LionAdvocacy) August 7, 2025
This story caught my eye, as I am heading to Banff National Park in Alberta at the beginning of September. Legal Insurrection readers may recall that there is a move by Alberta activists to become independent. This movement took off when Carney proposed a carbon tax, which would impact the province.
Now a potential referendum question on Alberta separating from Canada has been referred to a judge, who will assess if the plans for separation align with its Constitution. However, the move angered the region’s leaders.
The move prompted rebukes from Alberta’s premier and justice minister on Tuesday, who asked the province’s chief electoral officer to withdraw his court reference.
“The recently passed amendments to the Citizen Initiative Act are intended to be broadly permissive and to allow Albertans the opportunity to launch a referendum petition without needless bureaucratic red tape or court applications slowing the process,” Justice Minister Mickey Amery posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“As it is the Government of Alberta that ultimately decides how or if to implement any referendum result, those government decisions will ultimately be subject to constitutional scrutiny.”
Amery’s press secretary said the minister was unavailable for an interview on Tuesday.
If the movement goes forward, Trump has the chance to do the funniest thing…
🇨🇦 If Mark Carney can recognize Palestine as an independent country…
🇺🇸 President Trump can recognize Alberta as well. pic.twitter.com/NMDxepAAw1
— mistersunshinebaby (@mrsunshinebaby) August 2, 2025
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Comments
What about golf course in Nova Scotia that wind through wooded areas? If you are walking aren’t you hiking? This kind of insanity is why I won’t be going to Canada anytime soon. We do a lot of hiking in the Rockies, the Sierras and Blue Ridge mountains. Heavily forested and subject to fires. Yet we aren’t burning like Canada has been for the last few years. That would be an interesting scientific inquiry as to why that is. We suspect we know, but I don’t believe anything coming from the Canadian government.
Canada’s authorities are likely under the influence of the same nut-case groups influencing California forest management.
The British Commonwealth countries particularly the Anglo-majority countries, are proving to be just as contemptuous of individual liberty as the UK is. Canada, Australia & New Zealand do not share our values when it comes to the first principles of a free society that were so important to our Founders. Freedom of expression & movement and the right of self-defense are all seen as very conditional things in the Commonwealth. However they choose to describe themselves today, the Commonwealth people really are subjects, not citizens. What Madison et al. created for this Nation really is remarkable, even 250-years later.
The workaround is to dance throughout the woods. Just strap a ghetto blaster to your back and prance through the forest to ABBA’s Dancing Queen.
81% of fires are officially attributed to lightening.
Maybe Canada should ban people from going outside at all?
And most of the rest are homeless or arsonists. Which they have zero interest in addressing.
After watching how they behaved during the Covid lockdown and against political protests the last several years, what you describe clearly isn’t out of the realm of possibility. Canadians had an opportunity to eschew oppressive government in favor of individual liberty and instead, they decided to ‘get Tump.’
They get what they get.
Proof that Canada is now, officially, beyond parody:
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2FTablesalt13%2Fstatus%2F1955026795901628592&data=05%7C02%7C%7C54d0de3972374b003ef008ddd9cafb02%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638906187992585935%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=8UsZW7DtTDZcIWqlnssRIuGUpjxK%2BU4vHQJmUFqjXFw%3D&reserved=0
TL;DR: “If you break you leg in the woods or capsize your boat, the government that literally has no legal responsibility to help you, double-plus won’t be around to help you.”
Actually, most forest fires are caused by humans but lightning is responsible for most naturally occurring fires. The average day hiker isn’t starting fires. It’s the campers that are more likely to walk away from a fire that’s improperly extinguished. And out of all human cause fires, arsonists are at the top of the list.
Alberta, our 51st state.
Luv it. ☺️
Though it is always useful to keep in mind that acquiring the most conservative province in Canada would at best be like acquiring another… Pennsylvania.
If people believe that wearing a disposable mask and following arrows on a floor keep an airborne virus away from you, then it’s not too much of a stretch to accept that hiking boots start forest fires.
Why don’t Nova Scotians just wear masks on their boots and stay six feet away from all trees?
And oh by the way, an actual Canadian ARSONIST charged and convicted of setting 30+ fires…. was given probation and community service.
But sure, recreational hikers are the ones responsible.
Why manys the time I’ve been just casually strolling through the woods and they spontaneously combust behind me.
Leave the X-Men t-shirt home, dude.
The Medical Assistance in Dying rules have been a disturbing revelation on how progressive government will push suicide as the optimum option for long-term physical and mental health issues.
……as form to save money from their welfare system having to pay for those services of mental health
Abortion… then euthanasia…
Pushing suicide is just the next step in a logical sequence.
And they mocked and raged at pro-lifers whenever they brought up the slippery slope argument….
leftists destroy
capitalism invents and prospers
Illegal to hike – legal to kill yourself. Ain’t Canada grand
Canada is looking at what is causing the fires in California. The difference is that in California there is massive amounts of illegals and homeless in the forests that cause fires, but not in Canada. Certain Canadian leaders have a mentality to run complete control over their people but it is not working well for the country.
Tell me you are no longer a real country and just a woke progressive failure, without telling me you are no longer a real country and just a woke progressive failure.
I’ll be in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland next week.
A few days ago I got an email from Marine Atlantic that said the cost of my pre-paid $600 ferry ticket was cut in half by the order of the Canadian government.
That tells me that NS and NF are in a world of hurt as far as tourism. The nice thing about being in an RV, if Nova Scotia goes full blown lock down, we can simply drive out of the province and spend our money elsewhere.
Canada’s parks are closed.
The moose out front should have told you.