Halifax

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA COOPER HEWITT FOR SUBHEADS TOO NOVA SCOTIA COME HAVE A LOOK H alifax, Nova Scotia is the capital of the province with a population of approximately 425,000–45 percent of Nova Scotia’s total population. It is the major eco- nomic center of Atlantic Canada, and serves as the business, banking, government, and cultural center for the 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 Mon- tagu-Dunk, the 2nd Earl of Halifax, and erected several forts to defend it against attack by the French and the native tribes. Today, Halifax consists of four former munic- ipalities that were amalgamated in 1996 into Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM): Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and the Municipality of