Epidemiology & Public Health

Halifax is the capital city of Nova Scotia and is located on the East Coast of Canada. It is the major economic centre in Atlantic Canada and the Maritime provinces. It is home to a large number of government services and private companies, and the local economy is growing. And with a diverse population, Halifax is an ideal location to call home. 

The city has roots dating back to 1749 when it was first established as the Town of Halifax by European settlers. It officially became a city in 1842 and a regional municipality in 1996.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, also known as the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), is the capital of the province with a population of approximately 425,000 – 40 percent of the Nova Scotia’s total population. It is the major economic center of Atlantic Canada, and serves as the business, banking, government, and cultural center for the Maritime region. The area was originally inhabited by the Mi’kmaq Peoples who saw the first European settlers arrive in the early 1600s. The British took over the area in 1749, when 1,176 settlers and their families came to the peninsula, named it after George Montagu-Dunk, the 2nd Earl of Halifax, and erected several forts to defend it against attack by the French and the native tribes.