HALIFAX — A bomb threat in downtown Halifax prompted police to evacuate several streets near a waterfront office complex on Monday.

Halifax Regional Police issued an emergency alert that went out to phones in the area, asking people to leave office buildings and other businesses along several busy downtown streets.

“Bomb threat in the area of Upper Water Street and connecting streets,” the force said in the alert. “Suspicious vehicle contained in parkade at 1969 Upper Water Street. Immediate area has been evacuated.”

The parking garage is next to two office towers at Purdy’s Wharf and near Casino Nova Scotia and the United States Consulate in Halifax.

Halifax police first said they were responding to threats just before 9 a.m. local time, in a news release. They said police had asked people to leave the parkade, as officers searched a suspicious vehicle because of threats made by a male suspect.

Officers took the man into custody on Thomas Raddall Drive, near the Canada Games Centre, about seven kilometres west of the parking garage, the release said.

Roughly 90 minutes later, police expanded the evacuation order to a larger area around the parking garage.

In a news release, the force asked people to flee several busy downtown streets and office buildings, including parts of Barrington Street and Upper Water Street.

Police said that pedestrians and vehicles should stay away from the area until the investigation is complete.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 10, 2026.