Halifax
Regional Municipality

Phone : (902) 490-4210
Fax : (902) 490-4208
E-Mail : Click Here to E-Mail us
Your Host(s) : Municipal Administration

Halifax, NS (Nearby: Dartmouth, Shearwater, Bedford, Lakeside, Waverley)

1841 Argyle Street. ,PO Box 1749
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 3A5


Nova Scotia Tourism Region : Halifax Metro

Description From Owner:
  • The port is ice-free year-round and to the N beyond the Narrows is the completely sheltered and deep Bedford Basin. Mi'kmaq called the place Chebookt for ‘great long harbour’, and it was known as Chebucto until 1749.
  • When Champlain came here in 1607 he described it as “a very safe bay seven or eight leagues in circumference.” Gov. Edward Cornwallis founded Halifax in 1749 with about 2,500 English settlers, many of whom had served in the Austrian War.
  • The town was named for George Montague Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (1716-1771), then president of the Board of Trade and in 1761 Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
  • It is said that Lord Halifax, having no family and wishing to immortalize his name, sent Cornwallis as governor of Nova Scotia.
  • The probable meaning of the word Halifax is ‘holy hair,' the name being accounted for by the fact that the head of a virgin who had been murdered was suspended from a tree in the neighbourhood of the English city Halifax.
  • Halifax was designated the capital of Nova Scotia in 1749 in place of Annapolis Royal and incorporated as a city in 1841.
  • In December of 1917 a disaster of staggering proportions imprinted the name Halifax on the world when two ships, one loaded with munitions, collided in the harbour. The resultant explosion killed 1,600 people,
  • injured thousands more and levelled the north end of Halifax and part of Dartmouth across the harbour.
  • In early days the N end of Halifax was known as Dutchtown and the S suburbs as Irishtown. Halifax is the home of University of Kings College (1789);
  • Dalhousie University (1818); St. Mary's University (1841); Mount St. Vincent University (1873); and the Technical University of Nova Scotia (1907). Halifax is one of Canada's five 'smart cities.' In Halifax there are seven degree-granting universities.
  • The first justices of the peace for the Township of Halifax were commissioned in 1749 and sworn into office. Abuses slowly crept into the system of Quarter Sessions and there were criticisms of its operation in Halifax.
  • In 1835 a letter signed the people,” but written by George Thompson, charging the magistrate of Halifax with misconduct, was published by Joseph Howe in the Novascotian.
  • Howe was prosecuted for criminal libel but defended himself in a famous trial and was acquitted, thus establishing the freedom of the press and bringing about reform in local government.
  • In 1996 the city became part of Halifax Reg. Mun., an amalgamation of Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, Lower and Middle Sackville and Halifax County, the largest metropolitan area in Atlantic Canada.
  • Canada's Oldest House Of Government: Province House in Halifax is the longest-serving legislative building in Canada and Canada's oldest house of government.
  • It was built between 1811-19 and the Nova Scotia House of Assembly has met in it annually since 1819. It is considered one of the finest examples of Palladium architecture in North America.
  • It is the original home of Britain's first overseas self-government and Charles Dickens called the building 'a gem of Georgian architecture.' He described the 1842 opening of legislature as 'looking at Westminster through the wrong end of the telescope'
  • With permission from 'Nova Scotia Place Names' David E. Scott 2015


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  • St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica
  • St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in Halifax is believed to have the tallest granite spire in North America. It is 57.6 m (189 ft.) tall. The facade and spire are of local granite and the design is said to have been inspired by Saint Martin in the Fields in London, England. Construction began in 1820 and the church was consecrated in 1899. In 1950 Pope Pius XII made the historic site a basilica.
  • Maritime Museum Of The Atlantic

  • Maritime Museum Of The Atlantic

    This is the largest and oldest maritime museum in Canada. It opened in 1948 and after many locations and misadventures reopened on an historic site in 1982 at 1675 Lower Water St., Halifax.

    Artifacts and displays chronicle Nova Scotia's marine history from the age of steamships through the Royal Canadian and Merchant Navies, Second World War convoys, and the Battle of the Atlantic.

    Also told is the story of the Halifax explosion and the role of Halifax in the Titanic disaster. The latest permanent exhibit is Shipwreck Treasures of Nova Scotia with 450 artifacts of recovered treasure.

    The 56-metre (184-ft) hydrographic survey vessel CSS Acadia is permanently berthed at the museum wharf and is open to the public in summer.

    In summer there are workshops, interpretive programs, illustrated talks and performances.

    Open year-round; check opening days and times. Admission includes HMCS Sackville, Second World War Flower Class Corvette.

    The Nova Scotia Museum is more than 140 years old and is the most decentralized museum in Canada.

    It has 27 museums across the province and more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels and over one million artifacts and specimens.

  • Nova Scotia's Black Cultural Centre

  • Nova Scotia's Black Cultural Centre

    Between 1782–85, 3,500 Black people fled the United States after the American Revolution and settled in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

    And after the War of 1812 another 2,000 came to the Maritimes. In the 1920s, hundreds of blacks from Caribbean countries came to Cape Breton Island to work in the coal mines.

    Their stories and many others are told at the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia at 10 Cherry Brook Road, Halifax.

    The centre, which opened in 1983, has an extensive library, an auditorium and exhibit rooms have themes dating back to the 1600s in the areas of community life, migration, military service, and religious life.

  • Neptune Theatre

  • Neptune Theatre at 1593 Argyle St. in Halifax is one of the oldest professional regional theatre companies in Canada and offers musicals, comedy and drama year-round with evening and matinee performances.

  • Atlantic Playland

  • Atlantic Playland off Hwy. 213 at Hammond Plains, 8 km from Bedford offers bumper cars, ferris wheels, water slides, mini golf, go carts, batting cages, bumper boats, a wax museum, wading pool, carousel and arcade games.

  • Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

  • Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

    The citadel was built 1828–56 as a key British Empire naval station and is a star-shaped masonry structure with defensive ditch, earth ramparts, and all the accoutrements of an early fortress.

    It is from here the noon gun has been fired daily (except for Christmas Day) since at least 1856.

    Audiovisual programs and guided tours take in the soldiers' barracks, the tailor shop, guard room, engineer store, orderly room, school room, expense magazine, south magazine, signal mast, defence casements, garrison cells and gift shop.

    The fort is open May 7Oct. 31. The Army Museum in the Cavalier Building displays firearms, military decorations, uniforms, and an extensive collection of militaria. The grounds of the Citadel are open year-round.

  • Halifax Historic Properties

  • Halifax Historic Properties

    In the first restoration of its kind in Canada, three city blocks of Canada's oldest surviving group of waterfront warehouses on Upper Water St. have been restored, now housing a board walk, specialty shops and restaurants.

    The area includes 10 of the city's oldest buildings, seven of which have been designated National Historic Sites.

    Privateer's Warehouse is one of those buildings; it was built to support the activities of sea captains who plundered enemy ships for the Crown. Each of the historic sites has been completely restored to its original condition.

  • Africville Heritage Trust Museum

  • The Sorry Story Of Africville

    For almost two centuries Africville was a part of Halifax and home to many of the city's Black people.

    Africville was also where the city located things that other areas of Halifax didn't want: a prison, slaughterhouse and sewage dumping station.

    In 1967 residents were evicted from their homes, which were demolished so developers could capitalize on this area of prime real estate.

    Most residents had no deeds to properties where they had lived for generations and had no way to fight city hall.

    In 2002 Africville was named a National Heritage site. In 2010 Mayor Peter Kelly apologized to the people of Africville and provided land and $3 million for the construction of a replica of the church that had been the geographic and emotional heart of Africville.

    Today the replica Seaview United Baptist Church is the Africville Heritage Trust Museum in which panels and audio-visual kiosks tell the story.

  • Citadel Tower Clock

  • The Citadel Tower Clock

    The Citadel Tower Clock or Old Town Clock is one of Halifax's treasured icons and one of the most recognizable landmarks in the historic city core.

    Prince Edward, Duke of Kent arranged for a turret clock to be built before his return to England in 1800 in order to resolve the tardiness of the British Army and Royal Navy garrison.

    The three-tiered irregular octagon tower was built atop a one storey clapboard building in 1903 with clock faces on four sides.

    The clock was built by the Royal Clockmakers House of Vulliamy in London and is driven by three weights, gears and a 13-foot pendulum. A bell strikes hourly and quarterly.

    The property is now in the care of Parks Canada.

  • Canadian Museum of Immigration

  • Canadian Museum of Immigration

    at 1055 Marginal Rd., Halifax, has multimedia presentations and interactive exhibits chronicling our nation building through immigration.

    This was the gateway for more than 1.5 million immigrants, war brides, evacuee children, displaced people and Canadian military personnel between 1928 and 1971.

    Guided tours, a gallery, restaurant and gift shop.

  • Museum Of Natural History

  • Museum Of Natural History

    The museum is at 1747 Summer St., Halifax, and shows off the wonders of Nova Scotia with live displays of a bee colony, butterfly house, and nature centre housing a variety of indigenous critters.

    The displays include marine life, botany, mammals, geology, birds, and fossils.

    There are Mi'kmaw artifacts, whale skeletons, frogs and snakes...and visitors can also meet Gus, an ancient tortoise.

    There are changing displays from numerous sources worldwide. There's a gift shop, picnic tables and the museum is wheelchair accessible. Open year-round.

    The Nova Scotia Museum is more than 140 years old and is the most decentralized museum in Canada.

    It has 27 museums across the province and more than 200 historic buildings, living history sites, vessels and over one million artifacts and specimens.

  • Prince Of Wales Tower

  • Prince Of Wales Tower

    This Martello tower was built between 1796 and 1797 and was the first of its kind in North America.

    Edward, Duke of Kent, ordered the tower built on high ground behind Point Pleasant to defend batteries on Pleasant Point at Halifax, located to prevent enemy ships from entering the harbour.

    The tower, named for Edward's older brother, is round, built of stone and is almost three times as wide as it is tall.

    There were six mounted guns on the roof and four on the second storey. It is now a National Historic Site of Canada and visitors may walk about the site and visit the inside rooms.


  • St. Paul's Church

  • Mystery Of The Flying Man Silhouette

    St. Paul's Church, built in 1750, is the oldest Protestant church in Canada still standing. (The first Anglican Church in Canada was built in Newfoundland some time before 1698.)

    For many years this was the only place of worship in Halifax, and it was used for services by many other religious denominations.

    Although the Halifax church was designed by a pupil of Sir Christopher Wren, it is basically a simple wooden box with a peaked roof and a steeple at one end.

    The church miraculously survived the Halifax explosion of 1917, but the story goes that during it, a man was blown through the Argyle Street window of the church.

    His silhouette was etched into the glass, but every time the window is replaced the silhouette of the flying man appears again.

  • HMCS Sackville

  • HMCS Sackville

    Canada's naval memorial is a Second World War Flower class corvette berthed at Sackville Landing Wharf next to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic at 1675 Lower Water Street, Halifax.

    The ship is both a museum and a memorial to honour those who died defending Canada and remembering those who continue to serve in Canada's Navy.

    Gift shop. Admission charge is included with admission to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

  • York Redoubt National Historic Site of Canada

  • York Redoubt National Historic Site of Canada

    on Purcells Cove Rd., 301 York Redoubt Cres. A 200-year-old fortification on a high bluff overlooking the entrance to Halifax Harbour established in 1793.

    There are tunnels, muzzleloading guns and a great panoramic view of Halifax Harbour. Open year-round.

  • Maritime Command Museum

  • Maritime Command Museum

    The museum fills 30 rooms in a stately Georgian mansion built in the early 1800s overlooking the Halifax dockyards.

    The library houses more than 50,000 volumes. Each of the 30 rooms represents a specific facet of the Canadian military and showcases medals, badges, model ships, armaments, ships' bells, uniforms and other items of naval life.

    The exhibits focus mainly on the history of the Canadian Navy since its formation in 1910 and the Royal Navy's influence on the Halifax area since 1759.

  • The Halifax Public Gardens

  • The Halifax Public Gardens

    The gardens were started by the Nova Scotia Horticultural Society in 1836 and have expanded to 17 acres as one of the finest examples of Victorian gardens in North America.

    The statues, wrought iron gates, bandstand and fountains all honour a milestone in the reign of Queen Victoria.

    The Horticultural Hall was built in 1847. There are trees, shrubs and flowers throughout the park, many of them exotic and semi-tropical species.

    The Gardens were declared a National Historic Site in 1984. The main entrance to the park is at the corner of Spring Garden Road and South Park Street. Free admission.

  • Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk

  • Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk

    The visitor to Halifax can get a good (and free) feel for the city by strolling the 3.8-km-long Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk which runs between Pier 21 to Casino Nova Scotia.

    Walking time is 20-25 minutes, but strollers can pause on benches and there are washrooms.

    There are also many sights to take in: Purdy's Wharf, the Historic Properties, Water Street Ferry Terminal, Cable Wharf, CSS Acadia, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Sackville Landing, HMCS Sackville, Tug wharves and the Foundation Franklin monument, Bishop's Landing, Samuel Cunard monument, Halifax Farmers' Market, Pier 21 and Garrison Brewery.

    There are many access points to the boardwalk.

  • Oldest Dockyard On The Continent

  • Oldest Dockyard On The Continent

    North America's oldest naval dockyard was built in Halifax in 1759 and is still in use.
    The Halifax Yard was the main year-round base of the Royal Navy's North American Station when it was started during the Seven Years War.

    Facilities for refitting ships were added the next year and a graving dock, coaling facilities and a torpedo boat slip were added later.

    The Halifax yard did not have a dry dock until 1887. The station closed in 1905 and two years later was sold to Canada, becoming Her Majesty's Canadian Dockyard, a function it serves to this day.

  • Point Pleasant Park

  • There is no admission fee to Point Pleasant Park at 5718 Point Pleasant Drive in Halifax.

    The 186-acre park contains walking paths, the ruins of several forts and a martello tower. From June 1 to Oct. 1 there's a canteen and in summer supervised swimming.

    Halifax has a 999-year lease on the park from the British Government and pays an annual fee of one shilling

  • The Old Burying Ground & Welsford-Parker Monument

  • The Old Burying Ground and Welsford-Parker Monument

    is opposite Government House at 1460 Barrington St. in Halifax. It was the first burial ground in Halifax and the earliest grave marker is 1752.

    The Welsford-Parker Monument was erected in 1860 to honour two Nova Scotia heroes who fought in the Crimean War. The cemetery is a National Historic Site.

  • The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo


  • The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo

    It's billed as "The World's Largest Annual Indoor Show" and has a cast of several thousand performers from many countries around the world.

    It is held at Halifax's Scotiabank Centre during the first week of July every year. It is a fast-paced 24-hour family show with each scene lasting only 3-6 minutes.

    The Tattoo has everything from Highland dancers to military displays, from modern music to acrobatic acts, trampoline routines and bagpipes.

    On July 1, Canada Day, a parade including the entire cast makes its way through downtown Halifax During the Tattoo there are free noon-time performances, parades and concerts at various locations through the city.



  • The Nova Scotia tartan is the oldest in Canada. It was approved in 1956 by the Royal Registry in Scotland.

    The blue and white colours represent the seas; the greens represent the forests; the red represents the Royal Lion and the gold represents the Nova Scotia Royal Charter.



  • Mary Teresa Sullivan
  • In 1936, Mary Teresa Sullivan was sworn in as a member of Halifax city council, the first female alderperson in Canada. (need confirmation) Mary Theresa King - first female Councillor, County of Halifax, District 27; Canada's first female councillor in a rural municipality, 1938-1949
  • Alexa McDonough

  • Alexa McDonough

    Led provincial New Democratic Party for 14 years She was born in Ottawa but raised in Nova Scotia and became the second woman to lead a major federal political party in Canada, which she did from 1995-2003, taking over from Audrey Marlene McLaughlin who resigned after NDP support waned dramatically.

    Alexa McDonough (1944-), a social worker, was elected leader of the Nova Scotia NDP in 1980 and remained leader for 14 years. She was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1981 and to the House of Commons in 1997, being re-elected until she retired in 2006.

  • Thomas Wilby and Jack Haney

  • The First Car To Cross Canada

    It was a publicity gimmick that made Canadian history. In 1912, Thomas Wilby and Jack Haney drove a Reo automobile from Halifax to Port Alberni, B.C.

    The trip took 52 days and at points required the use of ferries or trains since there were no roads in some sections.

    It was not until 1946 that motorists could drive from coast to coast without some of that distance being along railroad tracks.

  • Ashpan Annie

  • Explosion Survivor 'Ashpan Annie' Dies

    Likely the best-known and possibly the last of the Halifax explosion survivors died July 19, 2010, at the age of 95.

    Annie Liggins was 23 months old when the 1917 explosion levelled her home, killing her mother and brother.

    Annie was blown into the ashpan under the stove and heat from the stove and the ashes kept her from freezing during the blizzard which followed the disaster.

    Twenty-six hours later a soldier heard her cries and rescued her. At the time of the explosion Annie's father was serving in the war in France.

    The press nicknamed her Ashpan Annie. She married a man named Welsh, raised a family and had grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

  • Oswald Avery

  • Unrecognized scientific genius Unfortunately he's best known as the greatest scientist of his century not to have received the Nobel Prize.

    Oswald Avery (1877–1955) was born in Halifax but spent most of his life in the United States, becoming a citizen there in 1918.

    While trying to find a treatment for pneumonia, he discovered that human DNA transmits heredity, thus providing an historic platform for DNA research.

    Avery, nicknamed 'The Professor,' spent most of his working life on the faculty of the Rockefeller Institute and never married. The lunar crater Avery is named for him.

  • Joseph Howe

  • Joseph Howe

    Publisher fought for freedom of the press One biographer has said of Joseph Howe (1804-73), "His name ranks as perhaps the greatest in Canadian journalism."

    At the age of 24 Howe bought the Nova Scotian, a Halifax newspaper, and was its editor for 13 years, turning it into the most influential in the province.

    He personally reported the legislative assembly debates and also published travel stories about his journeys into every corner of the province.

    In 1835 the Nova Scotian published an anonymous letter accusing Halifax politicians and police of pocketing £30,000 over a 30-year period. Outraged politicians had Howe charged with seditious libel, a very serious offence against which truth was not then a defence. The prosecution had only to prove Howe had published the letter. Acting as his own lawyer, Howe addressed the jury for more than six hours, citing case after case of civic corruption, urging jurors to "Leave an unshackled press as a legacy to your children."

    Chief Justice Brenton Halliburton instructed the jury to find Howe guilty, but within ten minutes they returned a verdict of "not guilty," a major advance in the slow evolution of freedom of the press in Canada. After the verdict six magistrates promptly resigned in disgrace.

    Howe held many important government posts and was Nova Scotia's fifth premier from 1860-63.

    In 1840, Halifax newspaper publisher Joseph Howe was challenged to a duel by John Halliburton. Howe, considered one of the country's greatest journalists and a fighter for freedom of the press, had written articles in his Nova Scotian that enraged Halliburton.

    Five years earlier Howe had been on trial for seditious libel and Chief Justice Brenton Halliburton, John's father, had instructed Howe's jury to find Howe guilty. Within ten minutes the jury returned a verdict of "not guilty."

    The duel took place on March 14 at Point Pleasant. Halliburton missed his first shot and Howe immediately 'deloped, (deliberately missed his shot) by firing into the air.

  • Canada's First 'Separatists'

  • Canada's First 'Separatists'

    Canada's first "separatists" were Nova Scotians and New Brunswickers. The country was only a few months old when Nova Scotians overwhelmingly elected an Anti-Confederation Party to power.

    The "Anti-Confederates" were led by Joseph Howe and sought to reverse the colony's decision to join Confederation.

    In the 1867 election the Anti-Confederation Party won 36 out of the 38 seats and formed a government under William Annand (1808-1887) who became the third premier of Nova Scotia. The Anti-Confederation Party soon became the Nova Scotia Liberal Party. Annand was considered a weak and mediocre leader and resigned in 1875.

  • Victor Hugo's Wacky Daughter In Halifax

  • Victor Hugo's Wacky Daughter In Halifax

    The youngest daughter of famous author Victor-Marie Hugo (1802-85) spent two years of bizarre behaviour in Halifax from 1863-66.

    Adèle Hugo (1830-1915), described as beautiful and musically talented, had fallen in love with a young English ensign while she was living in exile in England's Channel Islands.

    Ensign Albert Andrew Pinson was described as an ill-tempered, debt-ridden womanizer Pinson was sent to Halifax but kept in touch with Adèle by letter.

    When he was promoted to lieutenant in 1861 she told her mortified father that she and Pinson were to be married.

    A year later Adèle escaped her family and came to Halifax under the assumed name Miss Lewly.

    She told her family she was married, but spent the next two years spying on Pinson all over Halifax, usually disguised in men's clothes.

    All the while she was chronicling her activities in a journal. In 1866 Pinson was transferred to Barbados and Adèle followed.

    Eventually she was befriended by a Madame Céline Alvarez Baa, who returned her to her father in Paris...where Adèle spent the rest of her life in a comfortable institution.

  • Mark Tillmann...Traffic Stop Netted $1 Million


  • Routine Traffic Stop Netted $1 Million

    When Halifax police pulled over John Mark Tillmann's car on a routine traffic stop in 2012, an officer noticed an historic letter from British General James Wolfe and a cheque for $1,500 were also in the car.

    They did a bit more checking and by the time they were finished, discovered Tillman had a massive hoard of more than 1,600 artifacts stolen from galleries, universities, museums and antique stores across Atlantic Canada.

    Tillmann pleaded guilty to 40 charges of theft, fraud and possession and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

    Police seized all his assets, valued at $1 million, the proceeds of which may help to satisfy claims from theft victims. The Wolfe letter was valued at $15,000.

  • Major-General Robert Ross

  • Major-General Robert Ross

    He burned the American White House "The man who burned the American White House" was Major-General Robert Ross (1766-1814), and his body is buried in Halifax.

    Ross was born in Ireland and before being sent to North America had seen action in Spain, Italy, Egypt and the Netherlands, had been wounded three times and been awarded three gold medals, a Sword of Honour and the thanks of the British Parliament.

    Ross was ordered to Washington to humiliate the Americans for their attack on York (now Toronto). Ross and his men entered the city carrying a white flag of truce, planning to offer terms.

    But his horse was shot out from under him and snipers fired on his men. So they set about systematically destroying the small city.

    They destroyed the Senate house, President's Palace, a large dockyard, barracks for 3,000 men, large storehouses of naval and military stores including 20,000 rifles.

    At the White House they paused to scarf up a magnificent banquet that had been laid for 40 people and then torched it. The building was gutted but a heavy rain preserved the outer shell.

    When rebuilt it was painted white to cover the scorch marks. Three weeks later, when Ross and his men were riding to attack Baltimore, he was shot through the right arm into the chest and died.

    Two American snipers, Dan Wells, 19, and Henry G. McComas, 18, were credited as the snipers who killed Ross. Both of them were killed later in the engagement.

    Ross's body was preserved in a barrel of 129 gallons of Jamaican rum until it could be returned to his home in Ireland, but because of impending operations in New Orleans it was transferred to HMS Royal Oak and taken to Halifax, where he was buried, Sept. 29, 1814, with full military honours, at St. Paul's Church.

  • James Boyle Uniacke

  • James Boyle Uniacke

    First premier under Responsible Government James Boyle Uniacke (c. 1799-1858), born in Halifax, was the son of Richard John Uniacke and as such enjoyed favoured status in Nova Scotia politics and society.

    He became a lawyer and then entered the Assembly, representing Cape Breton County from 1832-48; Halifax Township from 1848-51 and Richmond County 1851-54, initially as a Conservative but after 1840 as a Reformer (Liberal).

    He was appointed to the Executive Council in 1838 and served during the struggle for Responsible Government.

    When that was achieved in 1848, Uniacke served as attorney general and then premier, the first in the British Empire to serve under a responsible government. He retired in 1854 to become commissioner of Crown lands and surveyor general.

  • Sarah Ann McLachlan

  • Sarah Ann McLachlan

    Singer, song writer, musician, recording star As a child in Halifax she took voice lessons and studied classical piano and guitar and at the age of 17 founded a rock band.

    Her high school yearbook predicted she was "destined to become a famous rock star" and Sarah Ann McLachlan (1968-) didn't fail that prognostication.

    In 1997 she married her drummer, Ashwin Sood, and had two daughters before her divorce in 2008. She founded the Lilith Fair tour to showcase female musicians.

    Tours took place from 1997-99 and resumed in the summer of 2010. She has been nominated for 26 Juno awards and won nine; in 1998 she won Female Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Single of the Year.

    She has won two Grammy Awards and a host of other honours.


  • Prime Minister John Thompson

  • Prime Minister John Thompson

    Died during lunch with Queen Victoria Prime Minister John Thompson (1845-94) of Halifax died on his 50th birthday, Nov. 10, 1894, from a sudden stroke during lunch at Windsor Castle, after being knighted that morning by Queen Victoria.

    Royal protocol was staggered by this event. After holding a requiem mass for him at the castle, the Queen insisted his body be shipped back to Canada with proper pomp and ceremony.

    The HMS Blenheim was painted black for the journey to Halifax, where a state funeral took place Jan 3, 1895.

    He was the first premier to become Canadian prime minister, serving from 1892-94, and the first Roman Catholic to hold that position.

    His major contribution was the Criminal Code of Canada, in 1892.

  • Dr. Daurene Lewis

  • Dr. Daurene Lewis

    North America's first black woman mayor Dr. Daurene Lewis (1943–2013) of Halifax, a 7th-generation descendant of slaves who settled in Annapolis Royal in 1783, became the first Black woman mayor in North America when elected mayor of Annapolis Royal in 1984.

    She was also the first Black woman in Nova Scotia to run (unsuccessfully) in a provincial election in 1988. She received numerous awards for her community service including the Order of Canada and was principal of the Halifax campuses and sites of the Nova Scotia Community College.

  • Enos Collins Seaman, Financier, Merchant, Banker

  • Enos Collins

    Wealthiest man in British North America

    He was a seaman, financier, merchant, legislator...and during the War of 1812 illegally captured American vessels in the New England area, selling their cargoes at a handsome profit.

    During the war Collins was part owner of three privateers, including the Liverpool Packet, the most feared Nova Scotian vessels then plying the waters of New England.

    Enos Collins (1774–1871) made his first big score during the Peninsular War by breaking the Spanish blockade with three ships to replenish British troops at Cadiz.

    Collins was the second son of a Liverpool justice of the peace who had 26 children by three wives.

    Enos had little formal education and went to sea at an early age as cabin boy on one of his father's trading or fishing vessels.

    In 1825 he and seven others formed the Halifax Banking Company. When Collins died at age 97 his estate was estimated at $6 million,

  • Austin Willis Actor

  • Austin Willis

    Actor hosted This Is The Law Halifax-born actor Austin Willis (1917-2004) is perhaps best known for hosting the popular CBC television show This Is The Law,

    but he also appeared in 24 films, some of them major movies, like Goldfinger, The Boston Strangler with Tony Curtis and The Mouse That Roared with Peter Sellers.

    This Is The Law ran from 1972-76 and showed in short skits actor Paul Soles breaking some Canadian law. Viewers had to guess which law was being broken.

    With his first wife, actress Kate Reid, Willis had two children.

  • Ian Millar Equestrian Multiple Winner

  • Ian Millar

    Grand Prix equestrian multiple winner Halifax-born Ian Millar (1947-) is the most successful competitor ever in Canadian show jumping.

    He has twice finished first at the World Cup finals and has won the Canadian Show Jumping Championships eight times.

    With 130 Grand Prix and Derby wins, he is one of the world's most successful riders.

    Riding the legendary gelding Big Ben, Millar won more than 40 Grand Prix jumping events and collected more than $1.5 million in prize money. He has ridden in 10 Olympics and in 2014 won $1.5 million at Calgary's Spruce Meadows Masters, bringing his total earnings to more than $3.5 million.

    Millar now lives in Perth, ON.

  • Joseph Howe Established Freedom Of The Press

  • Howe Established Freedom Of The Press

    The first justices of the peace for the Township of Halifax were commissioned in 1749 and sworn into office.

    Abuses slowly crept into the system of Quarter Sessions and there were criticisms of its operation in Halifax.

    In 1835 a letter signed the people," but written by George Thompson, charging the magistrate of Halifax with misconduct, was published by Joseph Howe in the Novascotian.

    Howe was prosecuted for criminal libel but defended himself in a famous trial and was acquitted, thus establishing the freedom of the press and bringing about reform in local government.

  • Norman Byron “Dutch” Mason

  • Norman Byron “Dutch” Mason

    Prime Minister of the Blues
    He was one of the original inductees to the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame and, in 2005, Norman Byron "Dutch" Mason (1938-2006) became a member of the Order of Canada.

    Mason was born in Lunenburg and raised in Kentville. He was a singer, guitarist and pianist who toured Nova Scotia in the 1950s as drummer in a jazz band, and then in a rock 'n' roll band.

    By the 1970s he was performing across Canada in blues bands. His Dutch Mason Trio, with Ronnie Miller on bass and Ken Clattenburg on drums, built a strong following among blues lovers and earned Mason the sobriquet, "Prime Minister of the Blues."

  • Budge Marjorie Archibald Wilson Author

  • Budge Marjorie Archibald Wilson

    Author won numerous awards Budge Wilson (1927–) of Halifax published her first book in 1984 when she was 56.

    Since then she has published 33 more books which have been sold in 13 countries and translated into 14 languages.

    For 33 years she lived with her Trent University professor husband, Alan, in Peterborough, ON, and when he retired in 1989 returned to Nova Scotia's South Shore.

    She is a member of the Order of Canada and among many other awards has 21 Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice awards.

  • Nancy Garapick - Swimmer

  • Nancy Garapick

    Youngest Female Athlete of the Year In 2008, Nancy Garapick (1961–) became the 18th Nova Scotian to be inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.

    At the age of 13 she established a world record in the 200-metre backstroke and at 14 became the youngest individual ever to be named Female Athlete of the Year.

    At the age of seven she began competitive swimming at Halifax and in 1974 won her first National Championship medal, set 12 national age group records and 79 provincial records.

    At the 1976 Montreal Olympics she set a record in the 100-metre backstroke and was the only Canadian to win two medals, both bronzes, in backstroke events.

    Between 1975 and 1981 she won 38 Canadian championship medals, 17 national titles and 60 medals for Canada in international competition.

  • Paul MacEwan - Four-Party Politician

  • Paul MacEwan

    Four-party politician set political records It must be some kind of Canadian record: Paul MacEwan (1943-) has served as a Member of the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly for four different political parties.

    He was born in Charlottetown, PEI, and educated in Nova Scotia where he became a teacher.

    In the 1970 provincial election he was elected in Cape Breton Nova as one of Nova Scotia's first two NDP members. He was expelled from the party in 1980 after criticizing as "Trotskyite" an article written by party executive member Dennis Theman.

    He founded the Labour Party of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia and was the only candidate of 14 to be elected in the 1984 election, but following the election the party ran out of money and folded.

    He was reelected as an independent in 1988 and after the election won the Liberal nomination in Cape Breton Nova.

    He entered the Liberal caucus in 1990 and after reelection in 1993 was elected Speaker of the House until 1996.

    He served in a number of other capacities until retiring in 2003, having won nine elections in a row and having served the Nova Scotia Legislature continuously for 33 years, the longest record of continuous service ever provided by a MLA.

  • Wayne Adams First Black prov. cabinet minister

  • Wayne Adams

    First Black provincial cabinet minister Wayne Adams (1943-) of Halifax was the first Black Canadian member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and cabinet minister.

    He was first elected to Halifax Municipal Council in 1979 and re-elected five times.

    In 1993 he won the riding of Preston for the provincial Liberals and was made Minister of the Environment, responsible for the Emergency Measures Act and the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority in the government of Russell MacLellan.
    Six years later he was defeated by the NDP candidate, Yvonne Atwell.

  • Portia White - Internationally renowned singer

  • Portia White

    Internationally renowned singer She suffered the double whammy of being born Black and female in 1911, but Portia White (1911-68), who never publicly recorded a note, is still internationally renowned for her magnificent voice.

    As a child she walked 16 km (10 m.) each week for music lessons. She sang for Queen Elizabeth II and toured Europe, North and South America.

    She was a classical contralto and one of the greatest vocalists in Canadian history, whose song and style has frequently been compared to that of Marian Anderson (1897-1993).

    She was born in Halifax. Her father, William, had been the first Black graduate of Acadia University, in 1906.



  • The Unique Snakes Of Halifax Harbour

    A rare breed of snake is found only on two small islands in Halifax Harbour.

    Wildlife experts have determined that the unusual looking black snakes are ordinary garter snakes and that their black pigmentation is a genetic aberration caused in part by inbreeding.



  • Ruby Keeler

    Star entertainer was born in Halifax Singer and dancer Ruby Keeler was born Ethel Hilda Keeler in Halifax in 1909.

    At the age of 13 she was performing in two or three nightclubs a night, earning a minimum of $150 a week to help support the family because her father, an iceman, had costly medical problems.

    She became a chorus girl in New York City and club manager, the notorious gangster 'Dutch' Schultz kept a fatherly eye on her.

    When 40-year-old singer Al Jolson met her she was a naïve 16-year old. He waited two years to marry her and Schultz warned Jolson if he ever mistreated the girl he would pay for it with his life.

    Jolson gave Ruby a dowry of $1 million when they married.

    They were unable to have children so they adopted one, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1939.

    Two years later Ruby married John Homer Lowe and they had four children. Ruby died of cancer in California in 1993.


  • During the Second World War ships from all over the world assembled in Halifax Harbour to carry troops and supplies to Europe. A total of 17,593 ships left Halifax in convoy from 1939-45. In the Battle of the Atlantic, Halifax shipyards repaired 7,000 ships that had been damaged by submarines.
  • The Halifax Riot Of 1944

  • The Halifax Riot Of 1944

    When servicemen stationed in Halifax learned in 1944 that the Second World War was officially over, they rioted, causing $1 million worth of damage.

    Their grievance was over the lack of hospitality shown them by Haligonians.

  • The Greasy Pole Riot

  • The Greasy Pole Riot

    One of the military riots that broke out in Halifax came to be known as The Greasy Pole Riot.

    This was in 1863 when the 16th Regiment was dissatisfied with the prizes awarded in a greasy pole competition.

    Soldiers fought among themselves and then broke windows across the city.



  • The Halifax Explosion Blame Game

    Only a few days after the Halifax explosion an enquiry was convened to attach blame and Justice Arthur Drysdale of the Supreme Court ruled the ship Mont Blanc at fault.

    The captain and crew of the Mont Blanc had abandoned ship and hidden in the woods immediately after the collision with the Imo and all escaped death in the explosion.

    Capt. Aime Le Medec, local pilot Frank Mackey and Commander Frederick Wyatt, the official responsible for overseeing harbour traffic, were all arrested and charged with manslaughter.

    The defence applied to the Supreme Court to release Le Medec and Mackey and Judge Benjamin Russell, who had witnessed the collision, ruled there was no evidence to support criminal charges.

    Wyatt's case was brought before a grand jury and presiding Judge Russell told the jury "nothing in the eyes of the law" justified a manslaughter charge.

    The jury acquitted Wyatt. The owners of the Mont Blanc and Imo sued one another but fought to a draw.

    Ultimately the Supreme Court of Canada and the Judicial Committee of Britain's Privy Council, then Canada's final court of appeal, found the ships equally liable for the collision.


  • Souvenir Of The Halifax Explosion

    When the munitions ship SS Mont Blanc blew up in Halifax Harbour in 1917, bits of it and the Belgian relief ship Imo with which it collided were scattered for and wide.

    Part of the Mont Blanc's anchor shaft, weighing over 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds) landed more than three kms (2 mi.) away.

    It may be seen there today in a small park at Spinnaker Drive and Anchor Street.


  • World's First Biggest Man-made Explosion

    Until the Americans dropped an Atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945, the Halifax Explosion was the world's greatest man-made explosion.

    It happened Dec. 6, 1917 after the Belgian relief vessel Imo collided with the French munitions carrier Mont Blanc in the narrowest part of Halifax harbour.

    The Mont Blanc was blown a mile high and 2.5 sq. km of the industrial N end of the city was obliterated, either by the explosion, the subsequent tidal wave or the raging fire started after wooden structures collapsed on burning stoves and furnaces.

    The blast shattered windows as far away as Truro, 100 km distant. Of a population of less than 50,000, 1,600 people died and 9,000 were injured, including 200 blinded by flying glass.

    Six thousand people were homeless, 1,600 buildings were destroyed and 12,000 damaged and 20,000 people lacked adequate shelter.

    The city was evacuated because fire threatened the main dockyard magazine and immediately after the explosion a winter storm roared in, compounding the misery.


  • Dr. Daurene Lewis

  • Dr. Daurene Lewis

    North America's first black woman mayor Dr. Daurene Lewis (1943–2013) of Halifax, a 7th-generation descendant of slaves who settled in Annapolis Royal in 1783, became the first Black woman mayor in North America when elected mayor of Annapolis Royal.

  • The Automobile Backup Light Invention

  • The Automobile Backup Light Invention You can thank James A. Ross of Halifax for the backup light(s) on your automobile.


  • Nova Scotia can claim the questionable distinction of having more shipwrecks off its shores than any other province. To date there have been 9,600 recorded wrecks off Nova Scotia, followed by Newfoundland with 7,000. Prince Edward Island has the least-700, followed by New Brunswick with 1,800. British Columbia has 3,600, Quebec 3,800 and Ontario, 4,100.


  • Sir Provo W. P. Wallis enjoyed a 96-year naval career

    Provo William Parry Wallis (1791-1892) is credited with stating what became the motto of the US Navy: "Don't give up the ship."

    He was born in Halifax where his father, Provo Featherstone Wallis, was clerk to the master shipwright of Halifax Dockyard. Through his connections, his father was able to show his son on the books of several ships from the age of four.

    At the age of 22, Wallis was second lieutenant aboard the frigate Shannon which was blockading Boston Harbour when the American frigate Chesapeake sailed out to engage her. In one of the shortest and bloodiest ship-to-ship battles in naval history, both frigates lost many men. The American captain was killed, Wallis's captain had his head split open, but lived, and the first lieutenant died.

    That left young Wallis in charge of the Shannon and the Chesapeake which had been captured. He brought both ships back to Halifax, the American captives handcuffed in the manacles they had brought to capture the British.

    Wallis's career continued ever upward, ending with promotion to the distinguished position of vice-admiral of the United Kingdom.

    In 1870 the British Admiralty introduced a new retirement scheme which kept on the active list all officers who had commanded a ship during the Napoleonic Wars. So Wallis received full pay until his death in England at the age of 100.

    His 96-year naval career must surely be the longest in naval history.


  • Alexander Keith

    He died in 1873, but his name lives on Although his name may be synonymous with great beer, Alexander Keith (1795-1873) was also a major player in the banking, insurance and city infrastructure business of Halifax.

    He was born in Scotland and at the age of 17 his father sent him to northern England to learn the brewing business. Five years later he immigrated to Halifax and became business manager and sole brewer for Boggs' Brewery which he bought out in 1820.

    Two years later he moved to larger quarters on Water St. and in 1863 began building Keith Hall, connected by a tunnel to his brewery, Keith Hall, now occupied by Oland's Brewery, was built in a peculiar combination of architectural styles.

    Keith was a director of half a dozen banks, insurance companies and the Halifax Gas, Light and Water Co. He served several terms as Halifax mayor, was president of the Legislative Council and declined a seat in the Canadian Senate.


  • Canada's Oldest Newspaper

  • Canada's Oldest Newspaper

    Canada's oldest newspaper and the third oldest on the North American continent is the Halifax Gazette, which published its first issue on March 23, 1752 Bartholomew Green Jr., the grandson of the man who published North America's second newspaper, the News-Letter of Boston (published 1704-76), came to Halifax from Boston in 1751 and opened a print shop on Grafton Street.

    When he died from an illness four months later at the age of 52, his former partner, John Bushnell, sailed for Halifax and took over the operation.

    The first issue of the Halifax Gazette, a half sheet with bits of news and some advertising, was published March 23, 1752.

    The Halifax Gazette lives on today as the Nova Scotia Royal Gazette, official government publication for legal notices and proclamations. (Some dispute that the Gazette is not Canada's first newspaper on the basis that in 1752 Nova Scotia was not part of Canada.)

  • Halifax firsts for North America include:

  • Halifax firsts for North America include:

    first Board of Trade, 1752; first saltwater ferry service, 1752; first Naval Dockyard, 1758;

    first intact executive mansion, Government House (the first intact since Canadians torched the first White House); and the first Yacht Squadron, the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, 1837.

    first zoo (sold to New York City in 1863)
    North America's First Zoo

    The first zoo in North America was opened near Halifax in 1847 by Andrew Downs, a world-famous naturalist and taxidermist.

    His five-acre zoo had been in operation for 12 years before the first American zoo was founded in Philadelphia.

    Downs expanded his zoo to 100 acres and its inhabitants became a favourite attraction for Halifax area residents, who arrived there by steamboat.

    In 1868 Downs was offered the post of superintendent of New York's Central Park Zoo.

    He sold his Nova Scotia operation and moved to New York, but later turned down the appointment.

    He returned to Halifax and founded a second zoo.

    Firsts in Canada: the first permanent British settlement (1749); the first Protestant Church and Cathedral (1750);

    the first newspaper (1752); the first printed book (1752) and Representative Government (1758).



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