By Bruce Holland, Publisher
August is the traditional month we celebrate Natal Day, Halifax’s birthday! While traditionalists are quick to point out that the first settlers arrived on the shores of Nova Scotia, in the Halifax area, on June 21st, 1749, we have traditionally celebrated Natal Day in August.
This is also the day we celebrate the city of Dartmouth, the town of Bedford, and the municipality of Halifax County, all amalgamated into the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) in 1996. Confusing, I know, and a decision, in my opinion, that has had a detrimental effect on the suburban and rural areas of HRM.
The human settlement of present-day Nova Scotia dates to the end of the last Ice Age, approximately 13,000 years ago, when groups of hunter gatherers moved into the area to hunt caribou. Oral tradition identifies these early settlers as the forefathers of the Mi’kmaq people, who occupied a territory stretching from the Gaspé Peninsula to Cape Breton Island, called Mi’kma’ki. The Mi’kmaq did not establish permanent settlements but moved in seasonal rounds from coastal regions in the summer where they fished and hunted, to inland areas in the winter where they hunted game. One coastal area used by the Mi’kmaq was Jipugtug, later Anglicized as Chebucto, which meant “the biggest harbour.” The Mi’kmaq were prosperous and greatly impressed early Europeans.
In 1746 the British government sponsored the first settlement plan in North America, focused on present-day Halifax. This settlement was undertaken for a number of reasons, including countering the Catholic presence throughout Acadia and the French military presence at Louisburg, but more importantly exploiting the rich cod fishery. In 1749 some 2,500 settlers, mostly poor and recruited mainly from England, arrived, led by Colonel Edward Cornwallis. Cornwallis selected Chebucto as the site of the new settlement because of its fine ice-free harbour, the second largest in the world. First named Chebucto, it was renamed Halifax shortly after in honour of George Dunk, Earl of Halifax and Chief Lord of Trade and Plantations, who masterminded its settlement. The first settlers had free building lots, but few houses were completed before winter.
A governor’s residence, an Anglican church, wharves, modest defense facilities and wooden houses were all built within a year. To bolster the settlement’s population, Germans, known as “Foreign Protestants,” were recruited and given land just north of the town.
When Halifax was founded in 1749, the majority of residents were from England, Ireland and Scotland. Soon after they were joined by immigrants from Germany and America. Black people, some from Africa, others escaping enslavement in the United States, settled in or near Halifax beginning in the 18th century. The first large group of Black people to settle in Nova Scotia were the Black Loyalists, who had supported the British in the American Revolution. Irish Catholics moved to Halifax from the early to mid-19th century, many escaping the height of the Irish potato famine in the 1840s.
At Confederation in 1867, Halifax was the fourth largest city in Canada, but its position slipped thereafter. Expansion of the city boundaries westward in 1969 boosted the population considerably, and the 1996 amalgamation with neighbouring municipalities also increased the city’s population. Many newcomers to HalifaxDartmouth come and go as transients; they are employees of the armed forces, national corporations, research institutes and the federal government.
According to the 2021 census, people citing Scottish origins make up the largest ethnic group, at 23.9 per cent of the city’s population, followed by English (22.9 per cent) and Irish (21.4 per cent). Visible minorities account for 16.8 per cent of city residents, with Black, South Asian, Chinese and Arab people comprising the largest communities within this group. Indigenous peoples make up a further 3.8 per cent of Halifax’s population.
Halifax has a rich history and has established many unique traditions over the years! Let’s celebrate all that is good in Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County, and focus on making our communities the best they can be in the future! Happy Birthday!
