Halifax is the provincial capital city for Nova Scotia, Canada’s fourth-most sparsely populated province trailing only Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland/Labrador and New Brunswick.

Nicknames for Halifax include City of Trees, Haligonia, Halifornia or simply Hali.

Halifax hosts many national historic sites such as fortress Citadel Hill (also called Fort George) which includes the iconic Halifax Town Clock overlooking the port city’s downtown buildings. Nearby Peggy Cove is a famous tourist attraction.

Running since 1752, Halifax’s ferry is North America’s oldest continuous salt-water ferry service.

The Halifax Common is Canada’s oldest public park, first open to general use in 1763.

Research website numbeo ranks Halifax in the top 34% compared to the 250 cities evaluated on its overall quality of life index at June 2020. Halifax scored well on index factors such as pollution (cleanest 10%), traffic commute time (fastest 24%), cost of living (least expensive 31%) and property price to income ratio (lowest 34%). On the negative side, Halifax rates relatively poorly for climate (bottom 15%).

One reason for Halifax’s mediocre climate score is the fact that Nova Scotia’s eastern coast including Halifax is susceptible to hurricanes, particularly since Atlantic Ocean surface temperatures have risen in recent years.

Guinness World Records points to Halifax as being the finishing point for the fastest cycling trip across Canada traversing 3,751 miles (6,037 kilometers) in 13 days, 6 hours and 13 minutes. Canadian Arvid Loewen achieved this record from July 1 to 14, 2011.

Halifax was the site of another world record on August 9, 2015, when Canadian Greg Austin Doucette deadlifted 20,128 pounds (9,130 kilograms) in one minute.

Halifax serves as headquarters for three of Canada’s 500 largest corporations by revenue: Bell Aliant Regional Communications, energy and services company Emera Incorporated and the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission.

From an international trade perspective, Nova Scotia shipped C$6.1 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2019. Its most valuable exports include seafood including lobsters (35.8% of Nova Scotia’s global total), rubber materials and items (21.6%), wood including woodpulp (10.5%), machinery (4.6%), iron or steel materials and items (2.3%), chemicals-related products (1.9%), automobiles (1.8%), and textile materials and items (1.5%) according to the Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database.

Halifax’s unemployment rate was 9.1% at February 2020.

Capital Facts for Halifax, Canada: Quick Reference

 
Haligonians celebrate Canada Day as a national holiday each July 1.

The Halifax Regional Municipality occupies 2,119.84 square miles (5,490.35 square kilometers). The provincial capital city’s population was 412,674 people at September 16, 2020.

At the provincial level, Nova Scotia covers a land area measuring 20,441 square miles (52,942 square kilometers), home to a population of 978,274 dwellers in June 2020.

Halifax’s population density is more concentrated averaging 195 residents per square mile (75 per square kilometer).

Zooming out to Nova Scotia’s provincial land boundaries, population density dilutes to an average 48 inhabitants per square mile (18 per square kilometer).