Halifax Regional Municipality
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Halifax Regional Municipality (2006 pop.: 372,679[2]), commonly referred to as HRM, is a Canadian regional municipality. It is the capital of Nova Scotia and the largest urban population centre in the Atlantic Provinces.
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[edit] History
- See also: History of Halifax, Nova Scotia
The Halifax Regional Municipality is one of the newest municipalities in the province, in terms of date of incorporation, therefore most of its history relates to the issues relating to municipal amalgamation.
HRM was formed on April 1, 1996 by dissolving and amalgamating the following municipal goverments into one:
All municipal services and most of the staff were merged into the new municipal unit. The long name of the municipality was quickly shortened by media, residents and politicians to the acronym "HRM," which is commonly heard.
There are 188 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. Several communities or neighborhoods 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.[3]
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)." [4]
[edit] Geography and climate
The Halifax Regional Municipality occupies an area of 5,577 square kilometres (2,353 sq mi) [5],(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. Margaret's 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.
The urban core area of HRM is located in the western end of the municipality, fronting on Halifax Harbour in the Halifax - Dartmouth and Bedford area and 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 western and eastern parts of the municipality are rural.
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 -5°C (23°F) and 28°C (80°F) inland but the coast can be milder in the winter and cooler in the summer with the maritime influence.
[edit] Education
The Halifax Regional Municipality has a well-developed network of public and private schools, providing instruction from primary to grade 12; 150 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, University of King's College, Atlantic School of Theology, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, Mount Saint Vincent University, and the Nova Scotia Community College.
[edit] Economy
The Halifax Regional Municipality 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 Defense, 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 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.
[edit] Culture
The Halifax Regional Municipality's urban core is the largest population centre in Atlantic Canada and is the major cultural centre within the region. 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 region is noted for the strength of its music scene. 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.
Halifax is a sister city of Halifax, England, Hakodate, Japan (1982), and Norfolk, Virginia (April 27, 2006).
[edit] Sport
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 organized 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, as well as a newly-announced Halifax Rainmen of the American Basketball Association (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 the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. Since 1984, the region has been home to the CIS Men's Basketball Championship.
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.
The municipality was selected as the host community for the 2011 Canada Winter Games in February 2007.
[edit] Media
HRM is the Maritimes' centre for broadcast and print media. CBC, CTV and Global Television all have regional television hubs in the Halifax area. There are also regional hubs for CBC Radio, Rogers Radio and various private broadcast franchises, as well as a regional bureau for the Canadian Press/Broadcast News. Several newspapers publish in the HRM, including the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, the Halifax Daily News, and The Coast.
[edit] Government
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 leap year. HRM has established community councils where three or more councilors 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 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, public works, waste management, and planning and development.
[edit] Transportation
The Halifax Regional Municipality is well-served by all modes of transportation.
Halifax Harbour is a major Canadian port used by numerous shipping lines, as well as the navy and coast guard and hosts a public ferry service connecting the urban core. The Halifax Port Authority's various shipping terminals constitute the eastern terminus of Canadian National Railway's transcontinental network. VIA Rail Canada also provides overnight passenger rail service six days a week to Montreal with its train the Ocean.
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 in the urban core on the eastern side of Halifax Harbour but is presently being decommissioned for fixed-wing aircraft.
The municipality's urban core is linked by the Angus L. Macdonald and A. Murray MacKay suspension bridges, as well as an extensive network of 100-series highways which function as expressways. The Armdale traffic circle is a notorious choke point for vehicle movement in the western part of the urban core, usually 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 city's ferry service is the oldest continuously running salt water ferry service in North America. [6]
[edit] Buildings and structures
HRM's urban core has a higher proportion of historic buildings compared with other municipalities in Canada. Preservationists and heritage advocacy organizations have attempted to prevent their demolition by developers in recent decades. Such groups have been criticized for stunting the centralization of urban growth and for stopping buildings from being built on empty land containing little to no historic value.
The urban core is home to several modern office buildings, however the waterfront of the Halifax Peninsula is governed by height restrictions which prevent buildings from obstructing the sight line between Citadel Hill and Halifax Harbour and Georges Island. This has resulted in modern high rises being built in unusual locations.
[edit] Demographics
The Halifax Regional Municipality is comprised of 372,679 residents (2006 census). Approximately 18% of the population is under the age of 14, while 11% are 65 and older.
[edit] Ethnic origins
| Ethnic origin | Population | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian | 160,005 | 44.95 |
| English | 109,665 | 30.81 |
| Scottish | 96,305 | 27.06 |
| Irish | 79,835 | 22.43 |
| French | 58,965 | 16.57 |
| German | 37,865 | 10.64 |
| Dutch (Netherlands) | 13,295 | 3.74 |
| Black/African | 13,080 | 3.64 |
| North American Indian | 9,495 | 2.67 |
| Welsh | 6,135 | 1.72 |
| Italian | 4,890 | 1.37 |
| Polish | 4,005 | 1.13 |
| Lebanese | 3,995 | 1.12 |
| Ukrainian | 3,580 | 1.01 |
| Acadian | 3,560 | 1.00 |
The information regarding ethnicities at the right is from the 2001 Canadian Census. The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 3,000 responses are included.
[edit] Religious belief
- 45.38% Protestant
- 37.23% Catholic
- 01.40% other Christian
- 00.86% Muslim
- 00.79% Christian Orthodox
- 00.44% Jewish
- 00.42% Buddhist
- 00.27% Hindu
- 00.05% Sikh
- 00.10% other Eastern religions
- 00.17% other religions
- 12.90% no religious affiliation declared
[edit] Neighbourhoods and communities
The Halifax Regional Municipality is an amalgamation of four municipal governments in the urban and rural areas, therefore its composition of neighborhoods and communities is unlike other municipalities such as a city.
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
[edit] Major parks
- Dartmouth Commons
- Halifax Citadel National Historic Site
- Halifax Commons
- Point Pleasant Park
- Public Gardens
- Shubie Park
- Sir Sandford Fleming Park
- York Redoubt National Historic Site
- Long Lake Provincial Park
[edit] Consular representation in Halifax
- Austria, Michael Novac
- Barbados, Barbara Miller-Manning, Arthur R. Donahoe
- Belgium, Patrick Philips
- Brazil, Jose Carlos Pena Vila
- Denmark, Harry Isaac Mathers
- Finland, Frank Metcalf
- France, Dominique Henry, Theresa Goora
- Germany, Anthony L. Chapman
- Iceland, John Risely
- Italy, Rodolfo Meloni
- Japan, Mark J. Surrette
- Lebanon, Wadih M. Fares
- Lesotho, David J. Bright
- Mexico, Galo Carrera
- Netherlands, Peter L. McCreath
- Norway, Steiner J. Engeset
- Portugal, Victor de Carvahlo
- Saint Kitts and Nevis, Vincent Patrick Audain
- Spain, Louis Holmes
- Sweden, George Cooper
- Switzerland, Ruedi Meier
- Trinidad and Tobago, Guy Osberg
- United Kingdom, Alfred Smithers
- United States Of America, Leonard Hill (Consul-General)
[edit] Notables
- Further information: List of notable people from the Halifax Regional Municipality
[edit] See also
- Halifax Harbour
- Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency
- Halifax Regional Police
- Halifax Regional Water Commission
[edit] External links
- Halifax Backpackers Hostel
- Halifax Regional Municipality
- Tourism Nova Scotia
- halifaxinfo.com Tourism
- Tourism Halifax
- Halifax Travel Guide
- Halifax Online Community
- Guide to Halifax
- Photos of Halifax in the summer
- Photos of Halifax in the winter
- Halifax Daily News
- Halifax Herald
- The Coast, Halifax's Weekly
- International Busker festival
- Q104
- Live Webcam of Halifax Harbour
- Things to do in Halifax
- Visitor Information
- Halifax Landing Page
- Experience Halifax - Leisure Travel Information
- Destination Halifax - Convention, Business and Leisure Travel Information
- CBC Webcam
- Photographs of historic monuments in Halifax Regional Municipality
 Subdivisons of Nova Scotia |
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|---|---|
| Counties | Annapolis · Antigonish · Cape Breton · Colchester · Cumberland · Digby · Guysborough · Halifax · Hants · Inverness · Kings · Lunenburg · Pictou · Queens · Richmond · Shelburne · Victoria · Yarmouth |
| Regional Municipalities | Cape Breton · Halifax · Queens |
| Municipal Districts | Argyle · Barrington · Chester · Clare · Digby · East Hants · Guysborough · Lunenburg · Shelburne · St. Mary's · West Hants · Yarmouth |
| Towns | Amherst · Annapolis Royal · Antigonish · Berwick · Bridgetown · Bridgewater · Canso · Clark's Harbour · Digby · Hantsport · Kentville · Lockeport · Lunenburg · Mahone Bay · Middleton · Mulgrave · New Glasgow · Oxford · Parrsboro · Pictou · Port Hawkesbury · Shelburne · Springhill · Stellarton · Stewiacke · Trenton · Truro · Westville · Windsor · Wolfville · Yarmouth |
| Incorporated Villages | Aylesford · Baddeck · Bible Hill · Canning · Chester · Cornwallis Square · Dover · Freeport · Greenwood · Havre Boucher · Hebbville · Kingston · Lawrencetown · New Minas · Port Williams · Pugwash · River Hebert · St. Peter's · Tatamagouche · Tiverton · Westport · Weymouth |
Toronto, ON · Montréal, QC · Vancouver, BC · Ottawa–Gatineau, ON/QC · Calgary, AB · Edmonton, AB · Quebec City, QC · Winnipeg, MB · Hamilton, ON · London, ON · Kitchener, ON · St. Catharines-Niagara, ON · Halifax, NS · Oshawa, ON · Victoria, BC · Windsor, ON · Saskatoon, SK · Regina, SK · Sherbrooke, QC · St. John's, NL · Barrie, ON · Kelowna, BC · Abbotsford, BC · Greater Sudbury, ON · Kingston, ON · Saguenay, QC · Trois-Rivières, QC · Guelph, ON · Moncton, NB · Brantford, ON · Thunder Bay, ON · Saint John, NB · Peterborough, ON ·
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Largest and smallest census divisions of Canada
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| Province / Territory | Area (km²) | Population (2001) | ||||||||||
| Largest | Smallest | Largest | Smallest | |||||||||
| Alberta | Division No. 17 | 192,055.15 | Division No. 8 | 9,908.36 | Div. No. 6 (Calgary) | 1,021,060 | Division No. 4 | 11,300 | ||||
| British Columbia | Stikine Region | 132,496.21 | Nanaimo | 2,034.94 | Gtr. Vancouver | 1,986,965 | Stikine Region | 1,316 | ||||
| Manitoba | Division No. 23 | 242,016.21 | Division No. 11 | 572.12 | Division No. 11 | 621,451 | Division No. 23 | 8,989 | ||||
| New Brunswick | North'land Cnty. | 12,112.44 | St. John Cnty. | 1,462.43 | Westmorland Cnty. | 124,688 | Queens County | 11,862 | ||||
| Newf'land & Labrador | Division No. 10 | 269,073.30 | Division No. 2 | 6,099.04 | Division No. 1 | 242,875 | Division No. 3 | 19,370 | ||||
| Northwest Territories | Fort Smith Rgn. | 618,360.38 | Inuvik Region | 522,747.99 | Fort Smith Rgn. | 28,824 | Inuvik Region | 8,536 | ||||
| Nova Scotia | Halifax Reg. Mun. | 5,495.54 | Richmond Cnty. | 1,244.28 | Halifax Reg. Mun. | 359,183 | Victoria County | 7,962 | ||||
| Nunavut | Baffin Region | 1,023,570.49 | Keewatin Rgn. | 444,680.40 | Baffin Region | 14,372 | Kitikmeot Rgn. | 4,816 | ||||
| Ontario | Kenora District | 407,167.33 | Toronto Div. | 629.91 | Toronto Div. | 2,481,494 | Manitoulin Dist. | 12,679 | ||||
| Prince Edward Island | Queens County | 2,020.17 | Kings County | 1,684.35 | Queens County | 71,619 | Kings County | 19,180 | ||||
| Quebec | Nord-du-Québec | 747,719.86 | Laval | 247.07 | Montreal | 1,812,723 | L'Île-d'Orléans | 6,779 | ||||
| Saskatchewan | Division No. 18 | 268,498.80 | Division No. 10 | 12,223.73 | Division No. 11 | 237,629 | Division No. 4 | 11,714 | ||||
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Largest and smallest areas and populations in italics. |
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