Halifax | 3
There is a common refrain among Halifax
residents that they cannot decide whether
they live in a small big city or a big small city.
Statistically, Halifax - home to just under
400,000 residents – is relatively small for a
provincial capital; and its population grows
at the relatively slow rate of 1% per year, on
average. When these numbers are set against
the population explosion in Western prov-
inces, such as Alberta (which, according to
the 2011 census, boasted increases of 12.6
and 12.1% in Calgary and Edmonton, re-
spectively), Halifax’s rate of growth could
appear to be lackluster. The truth of the mat-
ter, though, is that Halifax’s government
sponsored, industrial, and private develop-
ment indicates a seismic change for the bet-
ter in the way port, and in fact all, cities could
grow.
Situated on a clear channel to the Atlan-
tic, Halifax has always been an invaluably
located city. Its natural harbor, the second
largest in the world, operates currently as
the east coast port of the Canadian Navy
