‘Heated Rivalry’ author Rachel Reid gives $300,000 to keep Nova Scotia libraries open

HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia author whose romance books inspired the wildly popular “Heated Rivalry” TV series has donated $300,000 to financially challenged libraries in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley.

Rachel Reid issued a statement Monday saying libraries provide one of the most important services available. She also said supporting them should be a government priority.

“I credit my local library for being a huge part of the reason I’m a published author today,” Reid’s statement said. “As essential community cornerstones, libraries provide free resources, information, assistance and safe spaces to their residents.”

The bestselling author said the Nova Scotia government should ensure these branches remain open for their communities.

The Annapolis Valley Regional Library board has said it would have to close five of its 11 branches by October unless the province increased its annual budget, which didn’t happen. Board CEO Julia Merritt said core funding for libraries had risen only 10 per cent since 2009 and has remained stagnant since 2020.

The non-profit board noted that it had eliminated 25 per cent of its permanent staff positions over the past 10 years and cut more than half of its programs, including a mobile book service, to keep the branches operating.

In June, the organization said the eight municipalities it serves had all committed additional money, but it would not be enough to cover the lack of funding increases from the province.

At the time, Merritt said it was hard to know how much additional funding the board needed to keep the branches open, but she said the deficit for 2026-27 was $625,000 on a $2.7-million budget.

In response, a government spokesperson said in June that the province provides $16.5 million annually to cover 70 per cent of all provincial libraries’ operating costs. But there was no commitment to provide any annual increases.

Rob Maguire, a spokesman for Nova Scotia’s Culture Department, said Tuesday the government was grateful for Reid’s donation, noting that the government had contributed $500,000 in supplementary funds to libraries across this province this year.

“Library boards fundraise a portion of their budget under our shared funding formula, and gifts like this support that work,” Maguire said in an emailed statement, adding that the $16.5 million in total annual funding had been protected from budget cuts.

“Together, this funding will give us the time we need to work with (the library board) and our municipal partners on a sustainable operating model that reflects the province’s financial realities.”

Nova Scotia’s Council of Regional Libraries, which represents the province’s nine library systems, wrote to Culture Minister Dave Ritcey on June 3 to confirm their libraries were facing an estimated funding gap of almost $12.8 million.

When the Annapolis Valley board learned about Reid’s donation on Monday, Merritt said the money would be used to support priority library services.

“The donation represents one of the most significant private gifts in the (board’s) history and will strengthen library services across the Annapolis Valley in the months ahead,” Merritt said in an online statement.

“This is an incredibly generous gift, and we are profoundly grateful to Rachel for choosing to invest in libraries, the Annapolis Valley and the people our libraries serve.”

Still, the chief executive said the donation will not meet the board’s need for an increase in stable, annual funding over the long term.

“(The board) remains committed to working with its government partners to ensure communities across the region continue to have access to strong, vibrant public libraries,” the board’s statement said.

Meanwhile, Premier Tim Houston’s Progressive Conservative government has faced intense public criticism for its tight-fisted approach to arts and culture. In the Annapolis Valley, rallies that featured small children carrying protest placards have been held outside some of the libraries expected to close.

And in the spring, the legislative session was marked by weeks of protests over budget cuts, some of which were directly aimed at arts and culture groups.

To cope with slowing population growth and a ballooning budget deficit, the government tabled a budget in February that called for more than $300 million in cuts, including a rollback of $130 million in funding for arts and culture, Mi’kmaq and African Nova Scotian programming and services for people with disabilities.

To be sure, Houston rolled back $54 million in cutbacks as the protests persisted, but most cuts to arts and culture remained.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026.

Michael MacDonald, The Canadian Press