User:RFBailey/Halifax2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Halifax (pronounced /ˈhælɨfæks/) is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. With a population in the urban area of 282,924 in 2006), it is the most populous urban area in Atlantic Canada.
Halifax, Nova Scotia | |
---|---|
Metropolitan area | |
Nickname: Warden of the North | |
Coordinates: 44°38′55″N 63°34′31″W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | Nova Scotia |
Municipality | Halifax Regional Municipality |
Founded | 1749 |
Incorporated City | 1842 |
Disincorporated to Community of the Halifax Regional Municipality | April 1,1996 |
Area | |
• Metropolitan area | 97.23 km2 (37.54 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 119 m (390 ft) |
Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
Population (2006) | |
• Metro | 282,924 |
Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (ADT) |
Canadian Postal code | B3H to B3S |
Area code | 902 |
GNBC Code | CAPHL |
The first permanent European settlement in the area was the establishment of the Town of Halifax in 1749, founded by the British government under the direction of the Board of Trade and Plantations under the command of Governor Edward Cornwallis in 1749. Other towns and villages were settled throughout the region in the decades that followed. After a protracted struggle between residents and the Governor, the City of Halifax was incorporated in 1841.
In 1996 the provincial government amalgamated all municipal governments within Halifax County to create the Halifax Regional Municipality, a regional municipality comprising approximately 200 individual neighbourhoods and communities (place-names) for civic addressing grouped into 18 planning areas for zoning purposes. The former City of Halifax now forms the communities of Halifax Peninsula and Mainland Halifax. As a consequence, the term "Halifax" is used in a number of different ways. Usually, it refers to the former city or to the broader Halifax urban area, but is also sometimes used to describe the whole Halifax Regional Municipality.
Halifax is a major economic centre in eastern Canada with a large concentration of government services and private sector companies. Major employers and economic generators include the Department of National Defence, various levels of government, and the Port of Halifax. Halifax's urban area grew considerably during and after the World War II era and more recently since the discovery of oil and gas of Nova Scotia's Atlantic Coast in the late 1970s.
Unlike most capital cities, Halifax's status as the capital of Nova Scotia, and thus the seat of the provincial Crown, has never been granted or confirmed officially, by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention and usage, making its position as de facto capital a part of Nova Scotia's unwritten conventions of common law.
Residents of Halifax are referred to as 'Haligonians'.