The number of drivers in N.S. is rising, and wait times for licence tests are long

This story is part of an ongoing CBC Nova Scotia series examining how the province is managing its record-setting population boom after decades of limited growth.

After months of practice, Nyasha Sadlow was ready to take the Nova Scotia driver's licence exam.

The 25-year-old student from Trinidad and Tobago called Access Nova Scotia to book the test this summer after finishing driving school, only to find out it would be nearly five months before she could take the exam. 

"It was shocking," Sadlow said. 

As Nova Scotia's population surges, the number of motorists in the province over the last decade has increased by tens of thousands.

There were approximately 69,000 more Class 5 driver's licences at the end of 2022 than at the same time in 2012, according to records obtained by CBC News.

In all, there are more than 700,000 Class 5 driver's licences in the province. They are the most common licence in Nova Scotia and are issued to drivers of cars, pickup trucks, SUVs and vans with a seating capacity of less than 24.

A new driver must have their learner's licence for 12 months before taking a road test. The wait is reduced to nine months if they complete a registered driving school course. 

But the wait times for the exam are so long that attending a school isn't worth it, Sadlow said.

"Aside from learning the proper rules of the road, it didn't make any sense," she said. 

'We have to turn people away'

Driving schools in the Halifax area are in such high demand some have trouble keeping up.

"We have to turn people away," said Zach Collett, manager of McKenna's Driving School. 

He and other driving instructors have noted how as the number of new drivers increases, students are facing longer wait times to take their licence exams.

In a statement, the province said wait times for driving exams are typically longer in the summer. 

Wait times in the Halifax area are two weeks longer than normal and staff are working on weekends to reduce the backlog, the province says. 

Collett said he noticed a drastic increase in driver's education requests when COVID-19 restrictions were completely lifted. He said instructors were training approximately 130 students a month. 

"The main source of the increase is the immigrants who've come to our province," said Stephen Pitman, who has been a driving instructor in the Halifax area for 17 years.

"Which is wonderful," he said. "It gives us lots of business." 

Pitman, who runs Inclusive Driving School, said demand for lessons goes up every year, and government planning and road infrastructure haven't kept up with the mass influx of drivers in recent years.

"It's like they're pretending that all these people are going to come to this country and they're not going to be driving. Of course they are. That's all part of the Canadian life." 

'A lot more opportunities'

Sadlow, who has been splitting her time between Dartmouth, N.S., and Pictou, N.S., said it's not easy getting around Nova Scotia without being able to drive. Having a licence would give her more independence. 

"It opens up a lot more opportunities," she said. "Not just for you to be able to go from place to place to visit who you need to visit, go where you need to go, but even job opportunities."

Sadlow was so determined to get her licence she called Access Nova Scotia every day for almost two months to see if someone else cancelled their exam appointment and she could get in earlier.

"I called back and called back and called back," Sadlow said. "I felt really bad for the employees there. I'm pretty sure they even recognized my accent."

It worked, though. Sadlow said she has an exam scheduled for next week — it's 45 minutes away in Windsor, N.S.