Halifax councillors have voted to stop using the social media platform X for municipal communications.
Councillors said company owner Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration south of the border means the site is no longer aligned with Halifax Regional Municipality’s values and that plans are underway to take its online communications elsewhere.
During a regional council meeting Tuesday, councillors voted 16-1 in favour of ending its presence on X, formerly known as Twitter.
‘The owner of X has stated that Canada isn’t a real country and he’s working with the orange guy down south to literally destroy our economy. How would — why would — we support that?” Coun. Shawn Cleary said.
The motion was brought forth by Coun. Laura White in February. She said the app has become “toxic” since Musk’s takeover in 2022, pointing to the billionaire’s role in Trump’s administration.
A staff report was completed to find alternatives and a timeline of when the municipality would exit the platform.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
“It’s really just the official channels through which the municipality chooses to use X to communicate, of which there are only eight currently. Those would be discontinued and ultimately replaced with Bluesky,” Coun. Jean St. Amand said.
Mayor Andy Fillmore said he was worried that taking Halifax off the platform would impact its ability to inform people during emergencies.
His position changed once councillors and staff brought up other channels the municipality already uses, and Fillmore eventually voted in favour of the motion.
“Whatever the channel is, at the end of the day, what’s important is residents can get the information that they need,” he said.
Coun. David Hendsbee was the only one to vote against the motion.
“I just felt that it’d be more of a political, philosophical protest to exclude ourselves. I think that X or Twitter is still broadly used by the citizens in our municipality and we should still be using it to get our messages out,” he said.
Aside from the main HRM account, other accounts on X such as Halifax fire and Halifax Transit will be impacted.
The decision does not include Halifax Regional Police, Halifax Public Libraries or Halifax Water since those branches are not overseen by the municipality’s corporate communications.
The municipality is scheduled to leave X by July 15.
Other jurisdictions in the country and high-profile users have opted to leave X. The list includes Saint John, N.B., and St. John’s, N.L.
Last week, Halifax Regional Centre for Education announced it too was no longer posting updates on X — asking students and families to turn to Instagram, email and text for information.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
DJ Kamal Mustafa
I’m DJ Kamal Mustafa, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of EMEA Tribune, a digital news platform that focuses on critical stories from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan. With a deep passion for investigative journalism, I’ve built a reputation for delivering exclusive, thought-provoking reports that highlight the region’s most pressing issues.
I’ve been a journalist for over 10 years, and I’m currently associated with EMEA Tribune, ARY News, Daily Times, Samaa TV, Minute Mirror, and many other media outlets. Throughout my career, I’ve remained committed to uncovering the truth and providing valuable insights that inform and engage the public.
