Government in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Halifax Regional Municipality
Abbreviation	HRM
Named after	George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax
Merged into	1996
Formation	April 1, 1996;27 years ago
Merger of	City of Halifax ; City of Dartmouth ; Town of Bedford ; County of Halifax ;
Type	Municipal government
Purpose	Municipal Government
Headquarters	Halifax City Hall
Location	1841 Argyle Street; PO Box 1749 ; Halifax, Nova Scotia ; B3J 3A5;
Mayor	Michael Savage
Deputy Mayor	Steven Craig
Chief Administrative Officer	Jacque Dube
Auditor General	Evangeline Colman-Sadd
Subsidiaries	Halifax Regional Police ; Halifax Public Libraries ; Halifax Water ;
Revenue (2016/17)	$872,838,100
Website	halifax.ca

Last updated August 16, 2023

Halifax Regional Municipality, formally known as Halifax is located in Nova Scotia, Canada. The municipality is governed by a mayor (elected at large) and a sixteen-person Regional Council, who are elected by geographic district; municipal elections occur every leap year.^[1]

The Halifax Regional Council has also established smaller "community councils" wherein three or more councilors from a geographic area agree to form these councils to deal primarily with local development issues. Most community council decisions are subject to final approval by regional council.^[2]

The Halifax Regional Council has responsibility for the Halifax Regional Police, Halifax Public Libraries, Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency, Halifax Regional Water Commission, Halifax Transit, parks and recreation, public works and waste management.^[3]

Emergency services

Two areas of contention during the post-amalgamation years have been in the areas of police and fire services.

Police services

Halifax Regional Police is an amalgamation of the municipal forces from the City of Halifax, City of Dartmouth, and Town of Bedford. Areas that were formerly part of the Municipality of the County of Halifax were policed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) under a provincial policing contract.

Since amalgamation, HRP has been restricted to patrolling the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, the Sambro loop and the town of Bedford, while the RCMP provide rural policing services as well as highway traffic enforcement. Jurisdictional boundaries have been relaxed in recent years, allowing more integration between both forces to allow for better coverage and response.

Fire services

Unlike policing services, Halifax Fire and Emergency (HRFE) is an amalgamation of all fire departments in Halifax County. This created some controversy in rural areas where predominantly volunteer fire companies were being stripped of equipment and trucks which local communities had fund-raised for during the pre-amalgamation period; this equipment was being relocated to service the urban core. This has since been halted, although there is still some tension between the professional paid HRFE members in the urban core and their volunteer rural counterparts.

Municipal budget

Since its creation, rapid property value increases and new construction have resulted in HRM's budget growing to $589 million in 2005/06, up from $439 million in 1996. This has allowed HRM to proceed with major capital projects such as an extension of municipally-supplied water to Fall River, breaking ground on the new sewage treatment system (Harbour Solutions), and establishment of Metrolink, a bus rapid transit system.

Federal representation

The Halifax Regional Municipality is represented by the following federal ridings:

Halifax Metropolitan Area

Dartmouth Metropolitan Area

Dartmouth—Cole Harbour

Bedford

Halifax West

Rest of the municipality

Halifax West
Sackville—Eastern Shore
Central Nova
Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley
South Shore—St. Margaret's

Provincial representation

In the last three provincial elections over 50% of the population of HRM who voted, has voted for the provincial New Democratic Party (NDP), placing the region's voters outside the mainstream of provincial politics in outlying more rural areas which are split between a Liberal/Conservative voting pattern. It can be argued that HRM's recent voting pattern has actually placed the provincial (and federal) NDP or social democratic politics in general, into the political mainstream for the province. That being said, a majority of the people voted for the Liberals this past election.

Related Research Articles

Dartmouth is a built-up community of Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has 72,139 residents as of 2021.

Michael John Savage is a Northern Ireland-born Canadian politician, who was elected Mayor of the Halifax Regional Municipality on October 20, 2012. He previously served as a Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament for the riding of Dartmouth—Cole Harbour from 2004 to 2011.

Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. Halifax is one of Canada's fastest growing municipalities, and as of 2022, it is estimated that the CMA population of Halifax was 480,582, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County.

Preston is a provincial electoral district in the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia, Canada. It has existed from 1993 to 2013 and since 2021 and elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.

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The Halifax Regional Police (HRP) is one of a number of law enforcement agencies operating in the Halifax, 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.

The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in Nova Scotia, Canada has a widely varied geography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Halifax, Nova Scotia</span> Aspect of history

The community of Halifax, Nova Scotia was created on 1 April 1996, when the City of Dartmouth, the City of Halifax, the Town of Bedford, and the County of Halifax amalgamated and formed the Halifax Regional Municipality. The former City of Halifax was dissolved, and transformed into the Community of Halifax within the municipality.

Middle Musquodoboit is a rural community in the Musquodoboit Valley region of Nova Scotia, Canada within the Halifax Regional Municipality, along the Musquodoboit River at the junction of Route 357 with Route 224, 78 kilometres (48 mi) from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The community's name comes from the First Nations' word Mooskoduboogwek, which means to suddenly widen out after a narrow entrance at a mouth. For a time after 1883, Middle Musquodoboit was called Laytonville, but at some point reverted to its former name.

Musquodoboit Harbour is a rural community located in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Halifax Regional Municipality. The community is situated on the Eastern Shore at the mouth of the Musquodoboit River. The community lies 45 kilometres east of downtown Halifax. With a hospital, RCMP detachment, postal outlet, schools, recreational center, library, municipal office and other services, Musquodoboit Harbour is a serve centre for many of the surrounding communities.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, with the largest urban population in Atlantic Canada, is a major sporting centre.

Halifax Regional Municipality has a multi-modal transportation network.

The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) is a major generator of economic activity in Atlantic Canada.

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

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.

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.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nova Scotia:

References

↑ "Regional Council". Halifax Regional Municipality. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
↑ "Community Councils". Halifax Regional Municipality. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
↑ "Halifax Regional Municipality Charter" (PDF). Province of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

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[1] "Regional Council". Halifax Regional Municipality. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

[2] "Community Councils". Halifax Regional Municipality. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

[3] "Halifax Regional Municipality Charter" (PDF). Province of Nova Scotia. Retrieved 28 May 2015.

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