Despite court ruling, N.S. premier says he would ban people from entering woods again

HALIFAX – The premier of Nova Scotia says if there were a repeat of last year’s damaging wildfire season, he would consider banning access to the woods again — despite a court decision saying his government’s restriction last year was unreasonable.

In a ruling last week, Justice Jamie Campbell with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court said the ban imposed Aug. 5, 2025, did not meet the standard for reasonableness because the province failed to consider the impact on Charter rights.

Tim Houston told reporters Thursday his government had banned people from entering the woods to protect life and the province’s firefighting resources while consecutive fires burned and forced hundreds from their homes for several weeks.

“I certainly did what I thought was necessary as premier to support our firefighters, to keep people safe, to keep properties safe, and that was the woods ban. That was completely appropriate in those circumstances, in that moment, based on the information that I had,” the premier said.

By the time the travel ban was imposed, all areas of the province were facing a high, very high or extreme risk of wildfire, with no rain in the forecast for 10 days.

The Long Lake wildfire in western Nova Scotia, which burned for one month, was finally brought under control in September after it destroyed 20 homes and burned 84 square kilometres of land. Then the Lake George wildfire broke out Sept. 28 and raged out of control for two weeks, forcing the evacuation of 350 civic addresses near Aylesford, N.S.

“Now, months and months later, almost … a world away in the wintertime, a judge has decided that maybe something different should have been done,” Houston said.

The premier said he respects the judge’s decision and has no plans to appeal it, but government officials did what they thought was best during an emergency. 

“We will do that again if necessary,” he said. 

In Campbell’s decision, released April 17, he said the ban substantially affected peoples’ lives. “It was not a fleeting or insignificant restriction.”

The ban prohibited “entry into the woods for the purposes of travelling, camping, fishing or picnicking or any other purpose, without a valid travel permit in all counties in Nova Scotia.”

The ruling stems from a constitutional challenge filed by lawyers representing Nova Scotia resident Jeffrey Evely, who was fined more than $28,000 for deliberately violating the ban by walking into the woods near Sydney, N.S., and then posting a video on social media.

Campbell’s judicial review found the travel ban limited the right of citizens to move freely within Canada — a right protected under Section 6 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“The record shows no consideration having been given to that issue,” Campbell wrote. “The issue here is not the balancing of community safety and individual rights. It is about the decision-making process.”

The judge’s decision did not strike down the ban because it is no longer in effect.

Last summer, Houston’s government was under intense pressure to limit the damage caused by wildfires.

In 2023, the province experienced its worst wildfire season on record, losing more than 200 homes to fires that also forced 22,000 people to flee their homes and businesses. A total of 220 wildfires scorched about 25,000 hectares of land that year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026. 

— With files from Michael MacDonald.