Halifax

Halifax, city, Canada

Halifax, city (1991 pop. 114,455), provincial capital, S central N.S., Canada, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest city in the Maritime Provinces and is one of Canada's principal ice-free Atlantic ports. Halifax is the eastern terminus of Canada's two great railroad systems and of its transcontinental highway. Its many industries include commercial fishing, fish processing, shipbuilding, oil refining, and the manufacture of automobiles, electronics, clothing, and furniture. It is the home port of the Canadian Atlantic fleet and the headquarters of its eastern army. Halifax was founded in 1749 as Chebucto and was then renamed for the earl of Halifax, then president of the Board of Trade and Plantations. It was intended originally to be a British naval stronghold comparable to that of France at Louisburg. It served as a naval base for the expedition against Louisburg in 1758, against the American colonies in the American Revolution, and against the United States in the War of 1812. The first transatlantic steamship service, from Halifax to Great Britain, began in 1840. During both world wars the port was an important naval and air base, convoy terminal, and embarkation center. In 1917 a French munitions vessel carrying explosives was rammed in the harbor by a Belgian relief vessel, causing an explosion that killed about 1,800 people, injured about 9,000 more (one-fifth of the population), and destroyed the northern part of the city. Places of interest include the Citadel fortress (1856); Province House (1818); St. Paul's Church, the oldest (1750) Anglican church in Canada; the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic; and Point Pleasant Park. The Halifax Gazette, founded in 1752 and the first newspaper in Canada, is no longer published. Educational institutions include Dalhousie Univ. (1818), the Univ. of Kings College, Mount St. Vincent Univ., St. Mary's Univ., and technical and art schools.

Bibliography

See S. H. Prince, Catastrophe and Social Change (1920, repr. 1968); T. H. Raddall, Halifax: Warden of the North (rev. ed. 1971); J. Payzant, Halifax: Cornerstone of Canada (1985).

---

Halifax, urban area, England

Halifax, urban area (1991 pop. 87,488), Calderdale metropolitan district, central England, on the Hebble, a small tributary of the Calder River. Halifax is an industrial town centered around the production of woolen goods, carpets, and machine tools. Other industries include the manufacture of cotton, silk and synthetics, and iron and steel. Noteworthy are the Bankfield Museum, the 18th-century Piece Hall, the 15th-century parish church of St. John the Baptist, the Renaissance town hall designed by Sir Charles Barry, and Heath Grammar School (1585). Halifax carried on an important wool trade in the Middle Ages.

---

Halifax

The Old Town Clock on Citadel Hill, Halifax, Nova Scotia

(credit: John de Visser)

City (pop., 2001: 119,292), capital of Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on Halifax Harbour, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, it was settled by the British in 1749 as a counterbalance to French holdings at Cape Breton. It served as a British army and navy base until its defenses were taken over by the Canadian government in 1906. The city suffered from a munitions-ship explosion in 1917 that killed nearly 2,000 people. During World Wars I and II, Halifax was Canada's most important naval base. The city is Nova Scotia's leading commercial and industrial centre, and its port is one of the busiest in Canada. Its educational institutions include Dalhousie University (1818); historic buildings include St. Paul's Church (1750), Canada's oldest Protestant church. In 1996 Halifax amalgamated with several surrounding communities to form Halifax Regional Municipality (pop., 2001: 359,183).