Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. – John Lewis
Waye Mason is a part-time troublemaker, full-time strategic planner, and long-time community builder based in Halifax. An entrepreneur, educator, and former municipal councillor, Waye brings over 30 years of leadership experience in business, economic development, and the arts and culture sector. If there’s a complicated challenge to unravel—or a policy to poke—he’ll be first in line.
Waye is well known for crafting and executing strategic plans that drive real, positive change, earning a reputation for his proactive, innovative approach to strategic options and feasibility analysis. He’s led member organizations, grown businesses, and made an impact across Nova Scotia and beyond, especially in economic development and cultural industries.
Waye’s fingerprints can be found on successful strategic planning projects spanning a wide range of sectors and communities. As a councillor for the Halifax Regional Municipality, he helped develop and roll out landmark projects like the Halifax Common Master Plan, Cogswell redevelopment, and the Centre Plan. During his twelve years on council, he became a trusted provincial and national leader, serving as Deputy Mayor, President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities, and as a council member for the Green Municipal Fund Council, a $2.5 billion national body. He also served as Indigenous Community Liaison, sat on the Halifax Public Library, Board of Police Commissioners, Halifax Harbour Bridges, and Halifax Partnership boards, and rolled up his sleeves on nearly every accountability and engagement committee in view. In 2024, after three elections as Councillor, he ran for mayor and came in second (he’ll tell you all about that over coffee).
As a consultant, Waye has guided clients through business planning, market analysis, and stakeholder engagement for corporations, arts venues, economic revitalization, and sustainability initiatives. His commitment to clear communication, inclusive leadership, and practical, lasting solutions is matched only by his love of tackling knotty legislative and bureaucratic hurdles. He’s collaborated with Indigenous communities and championed local and national sustainability since before it was cool.
Waye’s earlier career includes founding and running the Halifax Pop Explosion Association (helping put Halifax’s music scene on the international map), teaching Music Business at NSCC, and leading or serving on boards from the Gottingen Street Merchants Association to Right to Know Coalition of Nova Scotia and Music Nova Scotia, where as President he helped steer the organization to secure major provincial investment, further solidifying his knack for making things happen.
Waye currently serves as Executive Vice President at ATN Strategies, a strategic planning and applied research firm in Halifax. He holds an MBA from Saint Mary’s University, a BA from Dalhousie, and a faculty diploma from NSCC in adult education.
PLEASE contact shorter bios for reading, and bigger photos for printing, for conferences or whatever. This bio is too long to read!
About This Site
Founded in 2005, wayemason.ca & halifaxpolitics.ca have been a home to my political and elected official website, and a blog for political discussion, investigations and resources that shine a light on the political scene in Halifax Regional Municipality. It also hosts a copy of my very first personal website from 1998, preserved for LOLs. I started the site as a personal blog and online journal, and by 2007, it had evolved into a political blog site. The site became wayemason.ca when I got elected to Halifax Council in 2012. Halifaxpolitics.ca still forwards here, and I kept the historic posts here so it would all be in one place.