HALIFAX — Nova Scotia RCMP say the recent death of a 60-year-old woman is the latest case of intimate partner violence in the province, making her the fifth woman to be killed by a male partner in less than three months.
In a news release Thursday, investigators said police found the victim Sunday near the body of her 75-year-old husband at their home in Mahone Bay, about 70 kilometres southwest of Halifax.
The medical examiner’s office and police have determined the woman was killed by her husband, who then took his own life. The Mounties did not release the name of the victim or her partner.
The killing came less than one week after the New Year's Eve deaths in Halifax of 40-year-old Cora-Lee Smith and her 73-year-old father Bradford Downey from gunshots allegedly fired by her 39-year-old boyfriend Matthew Costain, who killed himself shortly after.
Since Oct. 18, there have been five murder-suicides involving couples reported by police in Nova Scotia, and in each case a man killed his female partner before taking his own life. Including Downey, the number of people killed has risen to six since the provincial legislature in September declared intimate partner violence in Nova Scotia to be an epidemic.
Groups that assist families and women seeking shelter and aid have praised the province's Progressive Conservative government for declaring the epidemic but are urging it to also devote more resources to the problem. In a recent news release, housing group Adsum for Women and Children said the province's declaration has proven to be "not nearly enough."
Citing recommendations from the public inquiry into the April 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that took 22 lives, Adsum has called for core funding — rather than grants for fixed time periods — for programs that protect and house women and children. Core funding, it added, should also be made available to agencies that offer treatment for male perpetrators of violence.
Recently appointed Attorney General Becky Druhan said in an interview, "We know this is an urgent issue and these incidents are a stark reminder of the critical need to work with all of our partners to address intimate partner violence."
Druhan said that as part of its response to the recommendations from the mass shooting inquiry, her government announced an additional $7.1 million in annual core funding to transition houses and women’s centres — bringing their budgets up to a total of $16.9 million annually.
"It's incredibly important that we do support these organizations that provide front-line support. I will be meeting with representatives from a number of those organizations in the near future to see what more we can do to support them in their work," said Druhan.
The minister also said she's concerned that many Nova Scotians remain unaware of supports that are currently available, and as a result her department is increasing its public awareness campaign.
"Whether you're the victim, whether you're worried about becoming a perpetrator or you are someone who knows of a family experiencing this (domestic violence), it's important we address and have supports for all of those situations," she said.
Druhan is urging the public to call 211 or visit nsdomesticviolence.ca to seek help. "Just this week we started to increase information being shared publicly to make sure that awareness is out there and people know where to go when they need help," she said.
However, Meghan Hansford, program manager at Adsum for Women and Children, said in an interview Thursday it’s frustrating to observe how the public discussion around domestic abuse tends to fade between the eruptions of violence.
Hansford said she doesn’t see the need for further, extensive rounds of consultations. “We know this has been an issue for years … we have the infrastructure and expertise to move forward but what’s missing is the full support and critical funding to organizations and groups working in communities to actually take action,” she said.
“The families involved recently would argue that we didn’t have the luxury of time.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2025.
Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press
