Halifax County ( gd, Siorrachd Halifax, french: Comté de Halifax, links=no) is a
county in the
Canadian province of
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. The Municipality of the County of Halifax was the municipal government of Halifax County, apart from the separately incorporated towns and cities therein. The municipality was dissolved in 1996, together with those town and city governments, in their
amalgamation into Halifax Regional Municipality.
History
Deriving its name from
George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (1716–1771), Halifax County was established by order-in-council on August 17, 1759. The boundaries of four other counties –
Annapolis,
Kings,
Cumberland and
Lunenburg – were specifically defined at that time, with Halifax County comprising all the part of peninsular Nova Scotia that was not within their limits.
Following the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...
,
Cape Breton Island was formally annexed to Nova Scotia. For a time it formed part of Halifax County.
The boundaries of Halifax County were modified in 1822. That part of St. Mary's Township (established in 1818) which had been in Halifax County was annexed to and included within
Sydney County.
The dividing line between the Districts of Halifax and Colchester was confirmed and established on May 3, 1828. In 1835, Halifax County was divided and the Counties of
Colchester and
Pictou County were created out of parts of what had previously been Halifax County. Eventually in 1880 the boundary between the Counties of Halifax and Colchester was fixed.
On April 1, 1996, Halifax County was dissolved and the
Halifax Regional Municipality was created. The boundaries of the county and the regional municipality are the same. The county, however, also includes reserves of
Cole Harbour,
Sheet Harbour and
Shubenacadie, parts of the
Millbrook and
Shubenacadie First Nations.
Halifax County continues to exist as a county in Nova Scotia, but all municipal government and service delivery is provided by either the
Regional Municipality or the Indigenous Canadian Reserves, with no additional county level government or administration.
Communities
;Regional municipalities
*
Halifax Regional Municipality
;Reserves
*
Beaver Lake 17
*
Cole Harbour 30
*
Sheet Harbour 36
Sheet Harbour 36 is a Mi'kmaq reserve located in on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Part of the reserve is located just west of Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia. The reserve's borders also includes a t ...
*
Shubenacadie 13
*
Wallace Hills 14A
Demographics
As a
census division in the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada, Halifax County had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Notes
References
{{Subdivisions of Nova Scotia
Former county municipalities in Nova Scotia
States and territories disestablished in 1996
Populated places disestablished in 1996
States and territories established in 1759