The town of Halifax was founded by the British government under the direction of the Board of Trade and Plantations under the command of Governor Edward Cornwallis in 1749.^[3] The founding of the town sparked Father Le Loutre's War. The original settlement was clustered in the southeastern part of the peninsula along The Narrows, between a series of forts (Fort Needham to the north, Fort George (Citadel Hill) in the middle, and Fort Massey to the south) and the harbour. With time, the settlement expanded beyond its walls and gradually encroached over the entire peninsula, creating residential neighbourhoods defined by the peninsula's geography.

From 1749 until 1841, Halifax was a town. After a protracted struggle between residents and the Executive Council, the town was incorporated into a city in 1841. From 1841 until 1969, the entire Peninsula was home to the former City of Halifax.

In 1789, the University of King's College was founded. Roughly thirteen years later, Saint Mary's University was founded in 1802. Subsequently, Dalhousie University was founded 1818. NSCAD University was founded in 1867.

In 1867, the Halifax Public Gardens and Victoria Park, Halifax were created, with many Victorian Era monuments. Builders such as George Lang created many landmark buildings.

During 1916–1919 a mega construction project was undertaken by Canadian Government Railways (later Canadian National Railway) along the peninsula's Northwest Arm shoreline which saw a 4 km (2.5 mi) long rock cut blasted up to 30 m (98 ft) deep for a railway line running from Fairview Cove to serve the new Halifax Ocean Terminals which were built at the southeastern end; the rock from blasting work in the cut being used as infill for a portion of The Narrows.

Rudyard Kipling paid homage to Halifax in his poem The Song of Cities:

Into the mist my guardian prows put forth,
Behind the mist my virgin ramparts lie,
The Warden of the Honour of the North,
Sleepless and veiled am I!

In 1969, adjacent rural areas within the former County of Halifax (that at this time were beginning to urbanize) west of the isthmus were annexed into the city. The city annexed Armdale, Clayton Park, Fairview, Rockingham and Spryfield.

On 1 April 1996, Halifax County was dissolved and all of its places (cities, suburbs, towns, and villages) were turned into communities of a single-tier municipality named Halifax Regional Municipality. Subsequently, the Halifax Peninsula was included in the new community of Halifax, within the new Municipality of Halifax.

Today, the Peninsula is the bustling region of the community of Halifax.

Provincial electoral districts edit

• Halifax Chebucto
• Halifax Citadel-Sable Island
• Halifax Needham

Colloquial neighbourhoods edit

• Convoy Place
• Downtown
• Hydrostone
• Mulgrave Park
• North End
• Quinpool
• South End
• Spring Garden
• West End
• Westmount

Historic neighbourhoods edit

• Africville
• Richmond

Stratigraphy edit

The bedrock of this peninsula is Precambrian slate. Glaciers during the Pleistocene era converted the rock surface to an olive-colored loamy till. Glaciation also removed reddish till from sedimentary rock to the north and redeposited it as a drumlin to form Citadel Hill. The stony loam to sandy loam soils are mapped as Bridgewater series on olive till and Wolfville series on the Citadel Hill drumlin.^[4]

Topography edit

According to the 2021 Census, the Halifax Peninsula covers approximately 1,894.9 hectares (18.949 km²).^[5]

Peninsular Halifax extends from the western shore of Halifax Harbour, and is connected to the much larger Chebucto Peninsula by an isthmus measuring 2.6 km (1.6 mi), defined by Fairview Cove and the Bedford Basin to the north and the Northwest Arm to the southwest. Down the length of this isthmus is Joseph Howe Drive, generally considered to be the boundary between mainland Halifax and peninsular Halifax. The Halifax Peninsula creates The Narrows, a constriction of Halifax Harbour to its east.

The peninsula measures approximately 3.3 km (2.1 mi) at its widest and approximately 7.5 km (4.7 mi) at its longest, the peninsula's topography is relatively flat near the isthmus where Chebucto Field, an aerodrome that preceded Halifax Stanfield International Airport was located. The northern part of the peninsula rises to approximately 60 m (200 ft) above sea level as a glacial drumlin at Fort Needham, with the central area of the peninsula being a plateau roughly 40–50 m (130–160 ft). in elevation. Another drumlin approximately 60 m (200 ft) above sea level is located at Citadel Hill and immediately offshore to the east at Georges Island.

Arenas

• Scotiabank Centre

Art Galleries

• Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

Community Centres

• Children's Aid Society of Halifax
• Citadel Community Centre
• Community YMCA
• George Dixon Centre
• Halifax and Region Military Family Resource Centre
• Mi'kmaq Child Development Centre
• Mi'kmaq Native Friendship Centre
• Needham Pool and Recreation Centre
• Olympic Hall Community Centre
• Salvation Army Open Arms Centre

Libraries

• Anchor Archive Zine Library
• Halifax Central Library
• Halifax North Memorial Public Library
• Left-Leaning Library
• Library and Archives Canada Regional Service Centre
• Nova Scotia Barristers Library
• Vernon Street Community Library

Museums

• Africville Museum
• Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21
• Maritime Museum of the Atlantic
• Naval Museum of Halifax
• Thomas McCulloch Museum
• Museum of Natural History
• Sea Turtle Centre

Parks

• Conrose Park
• Flinn Park
• Horseshoe Island Park
• Hydrostone Park
• Marlborough Woods Park
• Nick Meagher Community Park
• Fort Needham Memorial Park
• Larry O'Connell Park
• Peace and Friendship Park
• Point Pleasant Park
• Merv Sullivan Park
• Raymond Taavel Park
• Victoria Park
• Murray Warrington Park

Pools

• Centennial Pool
• Dalplex
• John W. Lindsay YMCA
• Needham Pool and Recreation Centre
• The Waegwoltic Club

Trails

• Africville Trails
• Point Pleasant Park

The Peninsula's population grew to a high of 92,511 in 1961--and decreased thereafter. However, in recent years, the population has increased. In 2016, the population was 63,210 people. By 2021, the population increased to 72,169 people--an increase of 14.1% from 2016.

Being a very populated area, the peninsula hosts many businesses, government services, hospitals, post-secondary institutions, and more.

Rail edit

The Halifax Station is operated by Via Rail, and is the easternmost station for the Ocean. The Ocean travels from Halifax to Montreal once per week.

Road edit

There are many kilometres of avenues, lanes, roads, and streets that criss-cross throughout the Peninsula. The main thoroughfare is Robie Street. Robie Street runs approximately 4 km (2.5 mi), then continues on as Massachusetts Avenue.

Public Transit edit

Source:^[8]

Halifax Transit provides many transit routes that traverse the peninsula. There are two terminals located within the area; the Scotia Square Terminal in the South End; and the Mumford Terminal in the West End.

Bus edit

  Wheelchair – Uses Accessible Low Floor (ALF) buses only.
  Rush Hour Service Only
  Designated Bike Route
  MetroLink Service
  MetroX Service

Ferry edit

There is a ferry service that runs from Downtown Halifax.^[9] It is located at the Halifax Ferry Terminal in Downtown. It connects to either the Alderney Terminal in Downtown Dartmouth, or the Woodside Terminal in Woodside.

There are many colleges, private-and-public schools, and universities on the peninsula.

Colleges

• Academy of Learning Career College
• Apex Language and Career College
• Eastern College - Halifax Campus
• Nova Scotia College of Early Childhood Education
• Nova Scotia Community College Institute of Technology Campus

Inclusive Education

The Halifax School for the Blind is administered by the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA).^[10]

• Halifax School for the Blind

Private Schools

• Armbrae Academy
• Halifax Grammar School
• Halifax Independent School
• Maritime Muslim Academy
• Sacred Heart School of Halifax
• St. Thomas Acquinas Elementary School
• Shambhala School

Public Schools

All public schools on the peninsula are administered by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education.

• Citadel High School
• École St. Catherine's Elementary School
• Gorsebrook Junior High School
• Halifax Central Junior High School
• Highland Park Junior High School
• Inglis Street Elementary School
• Joseph Howe Elementary School
• LeMarchant-St. Thomas Elementary School
• St. Mary's Elementary School
• Sir Charles Tupper Elementary School

Universities

• Dalhousie University
• NSCAD University
• University of King's College
• Université Sainte-Anne Campus de Halifax
• Saint Mary's University