KENTVILLE, N.S. — Mayor Andrew Zebian is facing renewed criticism from some residents over his handling of homelessness and social services in Kentville, the latest controversy in what has become a sometimes turbulent year at Town Hall.
The most recent debate centres on Open Arms Resource Centre and the growing pressures associated with homelessness, addictions and public safety in the town.
Zebian has argued that Kentville is carrying a disproportionate share of the Annapolis Valley’s homelessness crisis and has publicly called for changes to the way services are delivered.
Recent reporting indicates the Open Arms shelter has been operating at approximately 98 per cent capacity, with 40 beds. According to figures cited in recent coverage, police calls in Kentville increased about 25 per cent between 2023 and 2025, while 2026 was on pace for an even larger increase. Criminal Code charges were also reported to have risen substantially compared with the previous year.
Town records provide additional context. A March 2026 police report presented to council said 28 per cent of the police service’s total call volume was associated with the downtown core. Downtown calls increased from 543 in 2024 to 713 in 2025, while calls associated with the Open Arms shelter increased from 107 to 201.
Those numbers have become part of Zebian’s argument that the current system is not working.
But it is the mayor’s public messaging — rather than simply his concerns about public safety — that has drawn some of the sharpest criticism.
Questions over Open Arms funding
A social-media post attributed to Zebian in late September questioned government funding received by Open Arms.
In the post, reproduced in a discussion on the Kentville subreddit, Zebian cited publicly available charity filings showing more than $4.2 million in provincial or territorial government funding over two fiscal years and questioned why homelessness, addiction and related problems remained so visible despite that level of spending.
The financial figures require context.
Open Arms is a substantial service provider rather than simply a small donation-funded charity. Its 2024 charity filing shows approximately $1.8 million in total expenditures, with about $1.3 million going toward compensation for its staff. Government funding represented the large majority of its revenue that year.
The organization provides shelter, food and outreach services to people experiencing or at risk of homelessness across the Annapolis Valley.
Reaction to the mayor’s comments has been divided.
Some residents have defended the mayor’s right to question how millions of dollars in public funding are being spent, particularly while problems remain visible in Kentville.
Others argue that questioning a service provider’s finances in that manner risks oversimplifying a much larger problem involving housing availability, health care, mental-health and addictions treatment, poverty and policing.
A recent discussion on the Kentville subreddit included particularly harsh criticism of Zebian’s approach and communication style, although comments on a social-media forum cannot be considered a scientific measure of public opinion. The same discussion also included people defending his questions about Open Arms’ funding.
Open Arms calls for collaboration
Open Arms itself has acknowledged concerns from residents and businesses.
In an August community update, the organization said concerns about safety and disruptive behaviour deserve to be taken seriously.
However, Open Arms also stressed that people experiencing homelessness are members of the community who deserve dignity and access to support.
The organization argued that homelessness cannot be attributed to a single organization, noting its connection to housing, health care, mental-health and addictions services, policing, poverty and public spaces.
Open Arms said it remains committed to working with the Town, province, police, health-care providers and community organizations, adding that it believes collaboration rather than division is the way forward.
Zebian has also maintained that his position is not opposition to helping people experiencing homelessness.
In a Town statement issued in November 2025, he said Kentville was “100% in favor” of helping people who are struggling but argued that provincial decisions involving housing and support services were being made without enough municipal consultation or resources. (The Town of Kentville)
That distinction is important: the available evidence does not establish that Zebian opposes homelessness services. His stated position is that the current model is placing too much pressure on Kentville while failing to adequately address the underlying problems.
Downtown dispute added to tensions
The Open Arms controversy is not the first time Zebian has faced significant criticism this year.
Earlier in 2026, a long-running downtown business organization shut down after the Town changed the way economic-development funding would be distributed.
The Kentville Development Corporation Limited, which operated the Downtown Kentville organization, had previously received roughly $141,680 through the Town’s economic-development levy.
The proposed replacement model would have generated considerably less money from downtown commercial properties, and the organization said it could not continue operating with the reduction. (Yahoo News Malaysia)
Zebian defended the change on the basis of fairness, arguing businesses outside downtown had been contributing through the previous funding structure without receiving comparable direct benefits.
Former corporation president Paul Dixon disputed parts of the Town’s account and criticized communication with council, questioning why more discussion had not taken place before the relationship ended. (Yahoo News Malaysia)
The Town formally announced in March that it would not enter into a new contract with the corporation, while saying money could instead be directed toward initiatives benefiting businesses throughout Kentville. (The Town of Kentville)
That episode generated another round of criticism of council and the mayor, particularly among supporters of the downtown organization.
A complicated political picture
The controversies do not tell the entire story of Zebian’s term.
When the Annapolis Valley Regional Library announced plans this summer to close five branches, including Kentville’s, Zebian became one of the most vocal opponents of the decision.
He pushed for a special board meeting, argued that municipalities should be given additional time to find funding and moved to use reserve money to temporarily prevent the closures.
The five branches ultimately received a temporary reprieve following the July special meeting.
That makes the political picture surrounding Kentville’s mayor more complicated than simply describing him as popular or unpopular.
What can be documented is an increasingly contentious atmosphere surrounding Town Hall.
Zebian has taken outspoken positions on downtown economic development, homelessness, public safety and regional services. Supporters see a mayor willing to publicly challenge organizations and other levels of government when he believes Kentville is not being treated fairly.
Critics increasingly appear to be questioning not only his decisions, but the confrontational and highly public way some of those concerns are being communicated.
The latest dispute involving Open Arms brings those two views directly into conflict.
There is broad evidence that Kentville is dealing with genuine pressures involving homelessness, addiction and public safety. Police statistics support the argument that demands on the downtown core have increased.
The disagreement is increasingly over what — and who — is responsible for those problems, what should be done about them, and whether public confrontations between the mayor and organizations providing frontline services are helping Kentville find a solution.
For a town already wrestling with some difficult social and economic questions, that debate appears unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
