"At 9 a.M police received information about a potential threat to the Mic Mac Mall in Dartmouth," Halifax police Constable Pierre Bourdages told AFP.
He said a "heavy police presence" was dispatched to the mall as a precaution, while the mall itself was closed for the day as the investigation turned to a residential neighbourhood a short distance from the complex.
The scare comes after security officials last month warned shoppers in Canada and the United States to be on their guard after an Islamic militant group posted a video calling for attacks on western malls.
Also last month an American woman and a Canadian man were arrested and charged with plotting a Valentine's Day massacre at another mall in Halifax.
A third suspect in that case was found dead at his parents' home.