Halifax Buddy - an online tour of Eastern Canada and Montreal

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HALIFAX BUDDY

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Welcome to the East Coast of Canada

The historic Town Clock

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is located north east of Boston and New York City

The first to people settle Halifax were Mic Mac Indians who would winter inland to avoid the harsh Atlantic winds. In the spring they would return by canoe across lakes and down rivers to the coast where there was plenty of fish, shellfish and fowl to be had with a minimum of work. They called the site of Halifax Che-book-took “the biggest harbour” and the white settlers who started to come in the early 1600’s changed this to Chebucto.

In 1705 the French and British were using Halifax as a shelter and watering hole for their ships coming over from Europe. By 1713 Halifax was in British hands and Cape Breton was in French possession. Life was hard for the early settlers and almost everything depended on the seamen and soldiers who brought goods to and who defended the city from the Indians and French. Indians had a price on their heads, and any settlers caught stealing were mostly either branded or put to death. Privateers, pirates, salt and scum of the earth would venture into port looking for supplies, shelter or entertainment. Soldiers were barracked near Citadel Hill and nearby were the slums that contained houses with bootleggers, pimps and prostitutes. The seamen had their own slums near the harbour, which catered to their base desires. Quite often these two groups would wander into each other’s territory to sample some different delights and the result would be a melee of violence.

In 1848, largely through the efforts of newspaper owner and patriot Joseph Howe, Nova Scotia became the first British colony to win responsible government. Nova Scotia was one of the four provinces that constituted the new federation called the Dominion of Canada in 1867. At that time, the province was at the forefront of international shipbuilding and the lumber and

fish trades. Confederation helped to finance the railroad to Quebec City, which opened the province to the interior of the continent. The First and Second World Wars emphasized the importance of Halifax, Nova Scotia's capital, as a staging point for convoys and confirmed it as one of the world's major ports.

Halifax to day is a multi-cultural city of over 340,000 people, which still has the historical waterfront, The Halifax Public Gardens and Citadel Hill, but the only Redcoats (Lobsterbacks) you will see on Citadel Hill are part of the historical setting of the Citadel Fort which makes an interesting background for the tourists to include in their pictures. Both the Halifax Public Gardens and the Citadel are located on or close to the fashionable Spring Garden Road area – see a map of the Spring Garden Road area.

Nearly one-quarter of Nova Scotia's population of approximately 941,000 report the British Isles as their place of ethnic origin. Significant portions of the population also report either French or European origins.

Many residents of Nova Scotia are of German, Dutch, Polish, Italian, Jewish and Lebanese descent. After the War of 1812, several thousand Black people, including the Chesapeake Blacks, settled in the Halifax and in the settlements of Preston, East Preston and Hammonds Plains; in 1996, more than 18,000 residents of the province reported having Black origins. More recent immigrants to Nova Scotia have included Chinese, Indo-Chinese, African, Asian and eastern European groups.

In 1996, the Aboriginal population of Nova Scotia was 12,380, mostly belonging to the Micmac Nation.

The largest concentrations of population are found in the Halifax metropolitan area with a population of approximately 329,000 and Cape Breton County (including Sydney) with approximately 117,000. Major towns include Yarmouth, Kentville, Bridgewater, Truro, Amherst and New Glasgow. Approximately half of Nova Scotia's residents are based in small towns, rural and coastal areas.

Some of the most famous tourist areas in Nova Scotia are the Cabot Trail - Cape Breton, Fortress Louisurg – Cape Breton, Lunenburg, Annapolis Royal, Digby, Sherbrooke, Truro, Pictou and Peggy’s Cove.

There are numerous ferries to take in Nova Scotia. There is a ferry at Digby that takes you to St. John New Brunswick, a Cat ferry at Yarmouth takes you to Portland Maine(temporary not in service), a ferry to Little Tancook Island and Big Tancook Island that leaves from Chester Nova Scotia, a ferry from North Sydney to Argentia New Foundland, a ferry from North Sydney to Port Aux Basques New Foundland, a small ferry at Little Narrows Cape Breton and many smaller ferries in various parts of Nova Scotia. There is also a Halifax harbourfront tour that’s part road, part sea that’s called the Harbour Hopper. It’s wild.

Reference - Warden of the North.

Check our links page for Nova Scotian Tourism information, information on Nova Scotian Lighthouses, Halifax tours, information on Nova Scotian hiking trails, hiking clubs and Halifax restaurants and other businesses.

Some Famous Nova Scotia expressions:

The early bird catches the worm

Give and take

Live and let live

Raining cats and dogs

You're barking up the wrong tree

Facts are stranger than fiction

Quick as a wink

Jack of all trades, master of none

Honesty is the best policy

I wasn't born yesterday

Every dog has his day

Drank like a fish

What goes around, comes around

Hey Bud

A stitch in time saves nine (T.C.Haliburton)

Quote from Joseph Howe:

"A wise nation preserves its records, gathers up its monuments, decorates the tombs of its illustrious dead, repairs its greatest structures and fosters national pride and love of country, by perpetual references to the sacrifices and glories of the past." Ask Joe Howe

Quote from Alexander Graham Bell about Nova Scotia:

"I have traveled around the globe. I have seen the Canadian Rockies, the American Rockies, the Andes and the Alps and the Highlands of Scotland; but for simple beauty, Cape Breton outrivals them all." - The Bells are buried in Baddeck, Cape Breton - Nova Scotia.

The Halifax Citadel	Halifax Old Churches	Nova Scotia Exhibitions
Halifax Public Gardens	Maps-Halifax area	Nova Scotia Festivals –Film, Fringe, Jazz
Halifax sites of interest	Halifax Restaurants – Mexican, Chinese, Seafood	Nova Scotia Lighthouses
Halifax Mayor and Councilors	Halifax International Airport	Atlantic Canada Ferry Schedule
Halifax/Dartmouth Ferry and Bus Schedules	City of Dartmouth	Links
Halifax old buildings	Towns of Nova Scotia	Links To Places in the Maritimes
Halifax Farmers Market	Nova Scotia Farmers Markets	Links to music
Titanic grave sites in Halifax	Halifax Jazz Festival 2005 music links	Cuba – Information on Santiago de Cuba, Havanna

NEWS - Read about the New Bus Rapid Transit System being setup in the Halifax area

This website was last updated on May 13, 2009

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The Halifax Citadel, Halifax Public Gardens, Halifax sites of interest, Halifax/Dartmouth Ferry and Bus Schedules, Halifax old buildings, Halifax Old Churches, Towns of Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Exhibitions

Nova Scotia Festivals –Film, Fringe, Jazz, Nova Scotia Lighthouses, Atlantic Canada Ferry Schedule, Halifax International Airport, Halifax Restaurants – Mexican, Chinese, Seafood

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