Halifax

Halifax

Halifax, in full Halifax Regional Municipality, city and capital of Nova Scotia, Canada. A major amalgamation and incorporation as Halifax Regional Municipality (referred to as HRM) occurred in 1996 and united the City of Halifax, the City of Dartmouth, the Town of Bedford, and Halifax County Municipality within boundaries that include the original Halifax county (with the exception of First Nations [Native American] reserves). Halifax is a navy creation. It owes its existence largely to its location on one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harbours in the world, which, over time, made Halifax one of the most important Canadian commercial ports on the Atlantic seaboard. At latitude 44° N, it is nearly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole, giving Halifax a relatively mild winter climate. The original city occupied a rocky peninsula 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long and 2 miles (3.2 km) wide that protrudes into the inlet and divides the harbour into an inner (Bedford) and outer basin. Inc. 1841. Pop. (2011) 390,096; (2021) 439,819.