History of the Halifax Regional Municipality

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History of
Halifax, Nova Scotia
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The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) was formed in 1996 by an amalgamation of the former City of Halifax, the City of Dartmouth, the Town of Bedford, and the separate Halifax County Municipality. Hence, the History of the Halifax Regional Municipality encompasses the following:

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Urban Community in Nova Scotia, Canada

Dartmouth is a former city and community located in the Halifax Regional Municipality of Nova Scotia, Canada. Dartmouth is located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour. Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes, after the large number of lakes located within its boundaries.

Bedford, Nova Scotia Urban Community in Nova Scotia, Canada

Bedford is a suburban community of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was an independent town from 1980 to 1996. Bedford is on the northwestern end of Bedford Basin, an extension of the Halifax Harbour, which ends just before Nova Scotia Highway 102 and the Bedford Bypass, next to Lower Sackville. Bedford is at the junctions of Trunks 1, 2, and 7.

Halifax's history began when it was first established by Edward Cornwallis who arrived in Halifax with 13 transports on June 21, 1749. [1] Fortifications were built in 1749.
Began with the construction of a road and Fort Sackville in 1749. Became a town in 1980 and was incorporated into HRM in 1996.
Began with the construction of a road and a fort in 1750.
Halifax County, Nova Scotia County in Nova Scotia, Canada

Halifax County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The Municipality of the County of Halifax was the municipal government of Halifax County, apart from the separately incorporated towns and cities therein. The Municipality was dissolved in 1996, together with those town and city governments, in their amalgamation into Halifax Regional Municipality.

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Halifax, Nova Scotia Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada

Halifax, formally known as the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), is the capital of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It had a population of 403,131 in 2016, with 316,701 in the urban area centred on Halifax Harbour. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County.

Mainland Halifax Community in Nova Scotia, Canada

Mainland Halifax is a community and planning area in central Nova Scotia, Canada that refers to the central-eastern part of the Chebucto Peninsula in the Halifax Regional Municipality. It contrasts with Halifax Peninsula, which lies across the Northwest Arm.

Halifax Peninsula Community in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Halifax Peninsula is a community and planning area located in the urban core of municipal Halifax, Nova Scotia. Halifax Peninsula is home to Downtown Halifax, the financial and economic heart of the municipality, which was also the site of the original settlement and town of Halifax. The town of Halifax was founded by the British government under the direction of the Board of Trade and Plantations under the command of Governor Edward Cornwallis in 1749. Geographically, the Halifax Peninsula is a Canadian peninsula in central Nova Scotia.

Halifax Regional Council

Halifax Regional Council is the governing body of Halifax, formally known as the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). Halifax is governed by a mayor-council system, where councillors are elected from sixteen geographic districts though a first past the post system and the Mayor is elected via a municipality wide first past the post vote. Halifax Regional Council was formed in 1996 and consisted of twenty-three councillors and one mayor. It was reduced in size to sixteen councillors and the mayor in 2012. The council meets at Halifax City Hall.

Halifax Regional Police

The Halifax Regional Police (HRP) is one of a number of law enforcement agencies operating in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia; the other primaries being the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Forces Military Police. The city also is home to a small detachment of the Canadian National Railway Police.

History of Halifax (former city) Urban Community in Nova Scotia, Canada

Halifax, Nova Scotia was originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq. The first European settlers to arrive in the future Halifax region were French, in the early 1600s, establishing the colony of Acadia. The British settled Halifax in 1749, which sparked Father Le Loutre's War. To guard against Mi'kmaq, Acadian, and French attacks on the new Protestant settlements, British fortifications were erected in Halifax (1749), Bedford (1749), Dartmouth (1750), and Lawrencetown (1754). St. Margaret's Bay was first settled by French-speaking Foreign Protestants at French Village, Nova Scotia who migrated from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia during the American Revolution. All of these regions were amalgamated into the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in 1996. While all of the regions of HRM developed separately over the last 250 years, their histories have also been intertwined.

West Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia

West Lawrencetown is a residential community within the Halifax Regional Municipality Nova Scotia on the Eastern Shore on Route 207 along the scenic route Marine Drive.

Transportation in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a major multi-modal transportation centre for freight and passengers in Atlantic Canada.

Government in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax, formally known as Halifax Regional Municipality, is located in Nova Scotia, Canada. The municipality is governed by a mayor and a sixteen-person Regional Council, who are elected by geographic district; municipal elections occur every leap year.

Communities in the Halifax Regional Municipality human settlement in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia is composed of more than 200 communities and neighbourhoods.

Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a Metropolitan Area and former city in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Services provides fire protection, rescue and first responder assistance throughout Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Lawrencetown, Halifax County, Nova Scotia

Lawrencetown is a Canadian rural community in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Route 207. The settlement was established during the eve of Father Le Loutre's War and at the beginning of the French and Indian War.

Timeline of Halifax, Nova Scotia history

This timeline of the History of the Halifax Regional Municipality documents all events that had happened in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, including historical events in the former city of Dartmouth, the Town of Bedford and Halifax County. Events date back to the early-18th century and continue until the present in chronological order.

Raid on Dartmouth (1751)

The Raid on Dartmouth occurred during Father Le Loutre's War on May 13, 1751 when a Mi'kmaq and Acadian militia from Chignecto, under the command of Acadian Joseph Broussard, raided Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, destroying the town and killing twenty British villagers and wounding British regulars. The town was protected by a blockhouse on Blockhouse Hill with William Clapham's Rangers and British regulars from the 45th Regiment of Foot. This raid was one of seven the Natives and Acadians would conduct against the town during the war.

Fort Sackville (Nova Scotia)

Fort Sackville was a British fort located in present-day Bedford, Nova Scotia that was built during Father Le Loutre's War. The British built the fort adjacent to present-day Scott Manor House, on a hill overlooking the Sackville River to help prevent French, Acadian and Mi'kmaq attacks on Halifax. The fort consisted of a blockhouse, a guard house, a barracks which housed 50 soldiers, and outbuildings, all encompassed by a palisade. Not far from the fort was a rifle range. The fort was named after George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville.

Amalgamation of the Halifax Regional Municipality

The amalgamation of four municipalities on April 1, 1996, was the creation of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. It resulted in the regional municipality's current boundaries.

References

  1. Grenier, John. The Far Reaches of Empire. War in Nova Scotia, 1710-1760. Norman: U of Oklahoma P, 2008; Thomas Beamish Akins. History of Halifax, Brookhouse Press. 1895. (2002 edition). p 7