Halifax Regional Municipality is the capital of the
province of
Nova Scotia,
Canada. The municipality is commonly called
HRM or informally,
Halifax ().
The population in 2006 was 372,679; the
urban area of HRM had a population of 282,924,
giving the municipality the largest urban area in
Atlantic Canada and largest population centre in Canada east of
Quebec City. According to
Statistics Canada the
census metropolitan area of Halifax reached 394,600 in 2008
HRM's urban area is a major economic centre in eastern Canada with a large concentration of government services and private sector companies. Major employers and economic generators include the
Department of National Defence, various levels of government, and the
Port of Halifax. Agriculture, fishing, mining, forestry and natural gas extraction are major resource industries found in the rural areas of HRM.
History
The area comprising present day
Halifax County was settled for thousands of years by the
Mi'kmaq. Those who settled on
Halifax Harbour called it Jipugtug (anglicised as "Chebucto"), meaning Great Harbour. The first permanent European settlement in the area was the establishment of the
Town of Halifax in 1749 when the colonial capital was transferred from
Annapolis Royal; other towns and villages were established throughout adjacent areas of what would become Halifax County in the decades that followed.
In 1996 the provincial government
amalgamated all municipal governments within Halifax County to create HRM, a regional municipality comprising approximately 200 individual
communities or placenames for civic addressing grouped into 18 planning areas for zoning purposes.
Geography
The Halifax Regional Municipality occupies an area of 5,577 square kilometres (2,353
sq mi), (approximately 10% of Nova Scotia) comparative to the province of
Prince Edward Island, and measures approximately 165 kilometres (102.5 mi) in length between its eastern and western-most extremities.
The
coastline is heavily indented, accounting for its length of approximately 400 kilometres (250 mi), with the northern boundary usually being between 50-60 kilometres (30-37 mi) inland. The coast is mostly rock with small isolated sand beaches in sheltered bays. The largest bays include
St. Margarets Bay,
Halifax Harbour/
Bedford Basin,
Cole Harbour,
Musquodoboit Harbour, Jeddore Harbour, Ship Harbour,
Sheet Harbour, and
Ecum Secum Harbour. The municipality's topography spans from lush
farmland in the
Musquodoboit Valley to rocky and heavily forested rolling hills.
Urban-rural characteristics
thumb|left|Urban, Suburban, Rural divisions of HRM as defined by HRM Planning Department http://www.halifax.ca/regionalplanning/Images/HRMmaplg.jpgthumb|right|The flag used by the former [[City of Halifax from
July 1,
1992 until its dissolution and merger on
April 1,
1996.]]
The municipality is large in physical area, centred on the urban core and surrounded by areas of decreasing density the farther the community is from the core.
Unlike most municipalities with a sizable census
metropolitan area, Halifax Regional Municipality's suburbs are completely incorporated into the entire municipality, with the urban area including the urban core, suburban communities and a rural commuter shed that encompasses almost half the municipality's landmass.
The urban area of HRM (2006 pop: 282,924)
is located in the western end of the municipality, fronting on
Halifax Harbour. The dense urban core is centred on the
Halifax Peninsula and the area of
Dartmouth inside of the
Circumferential Highway. The suburban area stretches beyond
Mainland Halifax to the west,
Cole Harbour to the east, and
Bedford,
Lower Sackville and Windsor Junction areas to the north.
This urban area constitutes the most populous urban area on Canada's Atlantic
coast, and the second largest coastal population centre in the country, after
Vancouver,
British Columbia. HRM currently accounts for 40% of Nova Scotia's population, and 15% of that of the
Atlantic provinces.
The north eastern area centred on Sheet Harbour and the
Musquodoboit Valley is completely rural, with more in common with adjacent rural areas of neighbouring counties.
HRM's boundary includes all of Halifax County except for several First Nation reserves.
Statistics Canada identifies HRM as a
census subdivision while Halifax County is listed as a
census division, despite the fact that both geographic areas differ by only several dozen
hectares. Statistics Canada also lists the dissolved municipalities of Bedford, Dartmouth and Halifax, describing them as "Dissolved (municipalities) having undergone an amalgamation/dissolution)."
Neighbourhoods and communities
thumb|200px|left|Detail of HRM Community Planning AreasThe Halifax Regional Municipality is an
amalgamation of four
municipal governments in the urban and rural areas, therefore its composition of neighbourhoods and communities is unlike other municipalities such as a city.
There are over 200 official
rural and
urban communities within Halifax County that have maintained their original geographic names (including the dissolved cities of Halifax and Dartmouth and the town of Bedford). These community names are used on survey and
mapping documents, for
9-1-1 service, municipal planning, and postal service.
HRM is divided into eighteen community planning areas which are further divided into neighbourhoods or villages. Several communities or neighbourhoods that were amalgamated by the former constituent municipalities in previous decades are starting to see their names gain increased use. The regional municipality has taken steps to reduce duplicate street names for its 9-1-1 emergency dispatch services; at the time of amalgamation, some street names were duplicated several times throughout HRM.
The
urban core of HRM is a term used to roughly describe the urban concentration surrounding
Halifax Harbour in the western part of the municipality, and includes the Halifax Metropolitan Area, the Dartmouth Metropolitan Area, and the Bedford-Sackville areas. Rural areas lie to the east, west and north of this urban core. Certain rural communities on the urban fringe function as suburban or exurban areas, with the majority of those residents working in the urban core. Farther away, rural communities in HRM function much as any resource-based area in Nova Scotia, being sparsely populated, with their local economies developing around four major resource industries:
agriculture,
fishing,
mining and
forestry. It should be noted that the
tourism industry is beginning to change how some rural communities in HRM function, particularly in coastal areas such as
Hubbards,
Peggys Cove and
Lawrencetown.
Climate
HRM's climate is heavily influenced by its location on Nova Scotia's
Atlantic coast. The
weather is usually milder or cooler than that of
central Canada, with the temperature remaining (with occasional notable exceptions) between about -15°
C and 35°C (5°F to 95°F) inland, coastal sections have even less range due to strong maritime influence. Precipitation is high year-round, snow, rain and ice mixes are common in the winter, sometimes it is mild and rainy. Halifax often receives tropical storms mostly between August and October. They are very rarely in Hurricane form when they make landfall, the most recent exception was when
Hurricane Juan, a Category 2 storm hit in September 2003. Atlantic sea surface temperatures off the coast of Nova Scotia were warmer than normal that year and the accelerated storm track did not allow for the usual weakening that usually occurs with hurricanes moving over the colder waters of the Nova Scotia coast after passing the
Gulfstream.
Temperatures
Economy
The urban area of Halifax Regional Municipality is a major economic centre in eastern Canada with a large concentration of government services and private sector companies. Halifax serves as the business, banking, government and cultural centre for the Maritime region.
thumb|left|Community of [[West Chezzetcook, Nova Scotia|West Chezzetcook]]Major employers and economic generators include the
Department of National Defence, as well as the
Port of Halifax. The municipality has a growing concentration of manufacturing industries and is becoming a major multi-modal transportation hub through growth at the port, the
Halifax Stanfield International Airport, and improving rail and highway connections. A real estate boom in recent years has led to numerous new property developments, including the
gentrification of some former working-class areas.
thumb|right|Community of [[Prospect, Nova Scotia|Prospect]]
Agriculture, fishing, mining, forestry and natural gas extraction are major resource industries found in the rural areas of HRM. HRM's largest agricultural district is in the
Musquodoboit Valley; the total number of farms in HRM is 150, of which 110 are family-owned. Fishing harbours are located along all coastal areas with some having an independent harbour authority, and others being managed as small craft harbours under the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
Other resource industries in HRM include the natural gas fields off the coast of Sable Island, as well as clay, shale, gold, limestone, and gypsum extraction in rural areas of the mainland portion of the municipality.
Government
left|thumb|Halifax skyline at night.The Halifax Regional Municipality is governed by a
mayor (elected at large) and a twenty-three person
council, who are elected by geographic district; municipal elections occur every four years. HRM has established
community councils where three or more councillors agree to form these councils to deal primarily with local development issues. Most community council decisions are subject to final approval by regional council. The current Mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality is
Peter J. Kelly.
The
Halifax Regional Council is responsible for all facets of
municipal government, including the
Halifax Regional Police,
Halifax Public Libraries,
Halifax Fire and Emergency,
Halifax Regional Water Commission, parks and recreation, civic addressing, public works, waste management, and planning and development.
Education
left|thumb|Halifax's Historic Properties.The Halifax Regional Municipality has a well-developed network of public and private schools, providing instruction from primary to grade
12; one hundred and thirty seven public schools are administered by the
Halifax Regional School Board, as well as three public schools administered by the
Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial, whereas the fourteen private schools are operated independently.
The municipality is also home to the following
post-secondary educational institutions:
Dalhousie University,
Saint Mary's University,
Mount Saint Vincent University, the Halifax campus of
Université Sainte-Anne,
University of King's College,
Atlantic School of Theology,
NSCAD University, the Centre for Arts and Technology, and the
Nova Scotia Community College. The presence of so many university and college students contributes to a vibrant youth culture in the region, as well as making it a major centre for university education in eastern Canada.
Culture
right|thumb|[[Downtown Halifax|City Centre of Halifax at night.]]
The urban area of Halifax Regional Municipality is a major cultural centre within the
Atlantic provinces. The municipality's urban core also benefits from a large population of post-secondary students who strongly influence the local cultural scene. HRM has a number of art galleries, theatres and museums, as well as most of the region's national-quality sports and entertainment facilities. The municipality is home to many performance venues, namely the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, the Neptune Theatre, and The Music Room. HRM also is the home to many of the regions major cultural attractions, such as Symphony Nova Scotia, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia,
The Khyber ICA, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and the Neptune Theatre. On special occasions, the city will put on a fireworks display which is best viewed from a boat. The region is noted for the strength of its music scene and nightlife, especially in the central urban core. See
List of musical groups from Halifax, Nova Scotia for a partial list.
HRM plays host to a wide variety of festivals that take place throughout the year, including: The Atlantic Film Festival, The
Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, The Halifax Busker Festival, Greekfest, The Atlantic Jazz Festival, The Multicultural Festival, periodic Tall Ship events, and Shakespeare by the Sea, to name a few. Many of these celebrations have become world renowned over the past several years.
HRM has also become a significant film-production centre, with many American and Canadian filmmakers using the streetscapes, often to stand in for other cities that are more expensive to work in. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has its Atlantic Canada production centres (radio and television) based in Halifax, and quite a number of radio and television programs are made in the region for national broadcast.
HRM is considered by many to be the cultural centre of the Maritimes. The municipality has been able to maintain many of its maritime and military traditions, while opening itself to a growing multicultural population.
Sport
left|thumb|[[city of Halifax|Halifax from the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge.]]
The Halifax Regional Municipality is home to a number of outdoor recreational opportunities, including numerous ocean and lake beaches, as well as rural and urban parks. The municipality has a host of organised community intramural sports, as well as varsity and intramural sports offered by public schools and post-secondary institutions and has extensive facilities.
The region is home to several professional and semi-professional sport franchises, such as the
Halifax Mooseheads of the
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (see also
Sports teams in the Halifax Regional Municipality).
The region has also hosted several major sporting events, including the 2003
World Junior Hockey Championship,
2003 Nokia Brier, the
2004 Women's World Ice Hockey Championships, and 2007
World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. From 1984 to 2007, the region had been home to the
CIS Men's Basketball Championship, however the tournament was moved to
Ottawa,
Ontario starting in 2008. The 72nd
Ice Hockey World Championship was held between May 2 and May 18, 2008 in Halifax, Nova Scotia and Quebec City, Canada.
Halifax was selected as Canada's bid for the
2014 Commonwealth Games in 2006 but withdrew from the international competition in advance of the
November 9,
2007 selection date on
March 8.
In February 2007, the municipality was selected as the host community for the 2011
Canada Winter Games.
Media
right|thumb|Argyle Street, for many years home to the Halifax HeraldHRM is the Maritimes' centre for broadcast and print media.
CBC,
CTV and
Global Television all have regional television hubs in the municipality.
CBC Radio has a major regional studio and there are also regional hubs for Rogers Radio and various private broadcast franchises, as well as a regional bureau for
The Canadian Press/
Broadcast News.
HRM's print media is centred on its single daily newspaper, the broadsheet
The Chronicle-Herald as well as two free newspapers, the daily commuter-oriented edition of
Metro and the free alternative arts weekly
The Coast.
Frank Magazine provides HRM with a bi-weekly satirical and gossip magazine.
From 1974-2008, HRM had a second daily newspaper, the tabloid
The Daily News which still publishes several neighbourhood weekly papers such as
The Bedford-Sackville Weekly News,
The Halifax West-Clayton Park Weekly News and the
Dartmouth-Cole Harbour Weekly News. These weekly papers compete with The Chronicle-Herald's weekly Community Heralds
HRM West,
HRM East, and
HRM North.
Transportation
thumb|right|Metro Transit ferry docked in Dartmouth
Halifax Harbour is a major port used by numerous shipping lines, administered by the
Halifax Port Authority. The
navy and
coast guard have major installations along prominent sections of coastline in both Halifax and Dartmouth. The harbour is also home to a public ferry service connecting downtown Halifax to two locations in Dartmouth. Sheet Harbour is the other major port in the municipality and serves industrial shippers on the
Eastern Shore.
The
Halifax Port Authority's various shipping terminals constitute the eastern terminus of
Canadian National Railway's transcontinental network.
VIA Rail Canada provides overnight passenger rail service six days a week to
Montreal with the
Ocean, a train equipped with sleeper cars that stops in major centres along the way, such as Moncton.
Halifax Stanfield International Airport serves HRM and most of the province, providing scheduled flights to domestic and international destinations.
CFB Shearwater, an air force base, is located on the eastern side of Halifax Harbour.
The municipality's urban core is linked by the
Angus L. Macdonald and
A. Murray MacKay suspension bridges, as well as the network of
100-series highways which function as expressways. The
Armdale traffic circle is an infamous choke point for vehicle movement in the western part of the urban core, especially at rush hour.
The urban core of HRM is served by
Metro Transit, which operates standard bus routes, bus-rapid transit routes, as well as the pedestrian-only harbour ferries. Established in 1752 , the municipality's ferry service is the oldest continuously running
salt water ferry service in North America.
Buildings and structures
thumb|left|Office buildings in Downtown HalifaxHRM's urban core is home to a number of regional landmark buildings and retains some significant historic buildings. The downtown's mid level office towers are overlooked by the fortress of
Citadel Hill with its iconic
Halifax Town Clock.
The architecture of Halifax's
South End is renowned for its grand Victorian houses while the
West End and
North End, Halifax have many blocks of well preserved wooden residential houses with notable features such as the "Halifax Porch".
Dalhousie University's campus is often featured in films and documentaries. Dartmouth also has its share of historic neighbourhoods.
The urban core is home to several blocks of typical North American high-rise office buildings, however segments of the downtown is governed by height restrictions which prevent buildings from obstructing certain sightlines between
Citadel Hill and
Halifax Harbour. This has resulted in some modern high rises being built at unusual angles or locations.
In recent decades there has been a good deal of conflict between those in favour of modern development and heritage preservationists. The former has been occasionally seen as threatening the historic character of certain areas of the city, while the latter has been accused of stifling growth in the city and contributing to the economic stagnation of certain districts. Much municipal consultation in recent years, such as the HRM by Design project, has focussed on how to allow modernization and development to encourage repatriation and renewed community diversification, while preserving the remaining heritage structures and character.
Demographics
right|thumb|Halifax as seen from the Dartmouth waterfrontPopulation trendMother tongue language (2006)The Halifax Regional Municipality comprise 372,679 residents (2006 census). Approximately 18% of the population is under the age of 14, while 11% are 65 and older.
Ethnic origins
thumb|150px|Sambro Island Lighthouse, built in 1758, the oldest surviving lighthouse in North America
Religious belief
thumb|right|Downtown Halifax at night- 12.90% no religious affiliation declared
- 00.10% other Eastern religions
Sister cities
- border|25px Campeche Mexico (1999). Campeche was chosen because, like Halifax, it is "a capital of a state" and is "a city of similar size to Halifax on or near the coast having rich historical tradition".
- border|25px Norfolk, Virginia (2006). Norfolk was chosen because, like Halifax, its economy "depends heavily on the presence of the Armed Forces, and both cities are very proud of their military history".
Major parks
thumb|right|Point Pleasant Park, a popular forested seaside park on peninsular Halifax.
Notable Haligonians
- Sloan - alternative pop/rock quartet
See also
