A significant technical failure at internet infrastructure giant Cloudflare caused a widespread outage on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, crippling access to numerous Nova Scotia government websites and hundreds of other major online platforms.
What Happened During the Outage?
The disruption began in the afternoon, with the Nova Scotia government's official web portals becoming inaccessible to the public. The outage, which was tracked by monitoring services, impacted thousands of websites globally that rely on Cloudflare's content delivery and security services.
Beyond provincial services, the technical failure also affected popular online platforms, including the AI chatbot ChatGPT and the social media platform X, highlighting the company's vast reach across the modern internet.
Resolution and Service Restoration
Cloudflare's engineering team worked to identify and resolve the issue. The company confirmed that the outage has been fully resolved and all services have been restored to normal operation.
While the exact technical cause was not immediately detailed in the initial report, the incident underscores the critical role third-party infrastructure providers play in maintaining public and private sector digital services.
Broader Implications for Digital Reliance
This event serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of interconnected web services. When a central player like Cloudflare experiences problems, the ripple effects are felt by millions of users and essential services, from provincial governments to global communication tools.
For Nova Scotians, the temporary blackout of government websites meant a halt to accessing important information and digital services, emphasizing the need for robust contingency plans in an increasingly digital world.
