The mayor of a tourist hot spot on Nova Scotia’s southwestern coast has been banned from using a taxi service in the community for allegedly being involved in a drunken, late-night confrontation with a driver.
The Town of Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the famous Bluenose II racing schooner, has confirmed it’s investigating allegations against Mayor Jamie Myra. The RCMP said they responded to a dispute between a cab driver and a client in the town core around 2 a.m. Saturday, but no charges were laid.
Simon Gordon, owner of SaltWind Transportation, said he received numerous calls and texts from the mayor Friday night asking for a ride across town for him and a small group of people after 1 a.m. The taxi owner said Myra and his group were inebriated when he arrived. The mayor “chucked” a $50 bill at him and urged him to allow more passengers than there were seatbelts, Gordon said.
“His party was larger than he had indicated on the phone, and there was a lot of pressure from (Myra) … and his response was: ‘no, no, it’s OK. Do you need more money?’ So that’s what started the escalation,” Gordon said in an interview Tuesday.
When the taxi owner refused, a woman from Myra’s party started “screaming and yelling,” and the mayor would not get out of the car despite repeated requests, Gordon said.
“One individual was seemingly being held back by someone, he was making very aggressive threats towards me physically. That’s when I decided, and said to (Myra), I’m going to call 911 if you don’t leave the car,” he said.
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The cab owner said the mayor did not leave the vehicle until Gordon called the police over the taxi speakerphone and Myra’s wife “dragged him” from the car. The incident lasted about 15 minutes in total, he said.
Gordon said the mayor called him four times and left him two voicemails and two texts apologizing Saturday for the group’s behaviour.
When the pair spoke on the phone, the mayor suggested he would support the taxi owner’s efforts to bring a transit system to the town, Gordon said, and “would be willing to work with me on anything related to my business and he would like to sit down next week to discuss.”
The mayor also allegedly warned Gordon that his friends and family would “come after” him and his business on social media if the events of early Saturday morning were made public.
A spokesperson with the Town of Lunenburg said the mayor will not be commenting on the incident beyond a statement he made Monday on social media saying he’s aware of the allegations against him.
“I have a much different version of the events than they do, I will say this, and that’s it. I support and congratulate (Gordon) on his new business venture as it’s certainly needed in our community,” reads the mayor’s Facebook post.
“I won’t be engaging further on social media or any other media channels,” reads the post.
Prior to the weekend confrontation, Gordon said he had been working with the town’s chief administrative officer on plans to set up a fixed-route bus or shuttle service that would offer transit to residents of the coastal community and the area’s many visitors.
Gordon’s company obtained a taxi licence from Lunenburg in April, and since then has been operating cab service in the rural community with few transit options. The company has one vehicle and a few part-time drivers, Gordon said, adding that he hopes to expand.
“Lunenburg has about 400,000 tourists that descend upon the town every year, that’s a big transportation need,” he said.
The historic fishing village was laid out by British army engineers in 1753 and later recognized by the United Nations for being one of the world’s best-preserved examples of a British settlement.
Gordon said he had planned to continue offering late-night rides to summer tourists and residents on Fridays and Saturdays, but he’s scaling back in light of this weekend’s events. Going forward, service will stop at 10 p.m. seven days a week. Gordon said any threats of violence or requests to break transportation laws will result in refusal of service and a ban.
“Safety is paramount. When someone starts to escalate things the way that this party was, while intoxicated, it creates a level of unpredictability that I would not want to put another employee in front of … so that’s why we had to make these changes,” he said.
Gordon said prior to this past weekend he’d been thinking about running for town council, and he’s feeling more inclined to put his name forward after the events of this past weekend.
For now, he said, the mayor won’t be getting back into his cab.
“Mr. Myra, his family and several other members of his group have been permanently banned from SaltWind Transportation Services.”
© 2026 The Canadian Press
