Halifax liquor store closing after 160 per cent theft increase: NSLC

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation is closing its Scotia Square store, citing safety and security concerns.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Cooperation (NSLC) says their location inside Halifax’s Scotia Square Mall will permanently shut down on Friday.

In a statement to CTV News, NSLC’s senior communications advisor Terah McKinnon, says the closure was part of a regular review of their retail network.

McKinnon says the Scotia Square location “faced ongoing challenges, including limited accessibility, low sales, as well as safety and security concerns, including increased theft.”

Between April 1, 2025, and Jan. 31. 2026, NSLC saw a 15 per cent increase in the number of theft incidents across their stores provincewide.

In that same period, they reported a 160 per cent increase in the number of thefts at the Scotia Square location.

“As with other retailers across the country, increasing theft continues to be an issue for the NSLC – something we deal with in our locations provincewide. That being said, theft incidents are definitely more prevalent in some stores than others, which has been the case with our Scotia Square store,” says Mckinnon.

Both NSLC and Square Square say safety is their top priority.

“The safety of our tenants, employees, and visitors is always our top priority, and we continuously review our security procedures and technologies to look for ways to help proactively manage site safety and security,” Stefanie Knight, the marketing coordinator for Crombie REIT, who manages Scotia Square, told CTV News in a statement Thursday.

Paul MacKinnon, the CEO of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, says the closure is disheartening but not surprising, given the nationwide increase in theft.

“We’re hearing this from a lot of our businesses. We’re seeing this in police stats. Shoplifting continues to be on the rise,” he says.

MacKinnon believes it’s a problem all levels of government needs to address.

“We’re hoping that there’s some new legislation that’s coming in from the federal government and that police will be more empowered to deal with repeat offenders.”

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page