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refers specifically to residents of the former City of
Halifax. Since amalgamation, there have been attempts to apply the term more broadly to all residents of HRM, but most citizens in Dartmouth, Bedford and other communities in the municipality tend to avoid its use. Despite amalgamation, residents
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cast a negative light on the process, and unflattering articles in the national media portrayed the
Halifax amalgamation as an example of how not to merge municipalities. Halifax was repeatedly referenced as a scenario to avoid when the Government of Ontario was looking at amalgamating municipalities
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With the creation of HRM, the
Municipality of the County of Halifax was officially dissolved, however the geographic division of Halifax County continues to exist and the boundaries of HRM are contiguous with the county, except for several First Nations reserves. The provincial government designated
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The actual public debate over the planned amalgamation was fairly muted, with a few sparsely-attended public information sessions and some discussion in various media. The prevailing attitude among residents and outside observers was that amalgamation would be inevitable and could not be stopped. The
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Hayward's report had predicted that a regional amalgamation in
Halifax County would save over $ 20 million annually, through reductions in duplicate services and by eliminating duplicate high-level administrative positions for the population of 350,000. Many residents in Halifax County municipalities
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in August 1995 to solve a funding and demographic short-fall facing several communities in Cape Breton County. The merger was controversial but appeared to achieve the predicted economic goals in the short-term so Savage's government opted to proceed with the
Halifax County merger; Bill Hayward was
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Several problems with the amalgamation were noted, with the most obvious being that many of the predicted cost savings did not materialize. Some savings to be achieved by eliminating duplicate jobs were offset by the fact that staff from rural areas now demanded to paid at the same rate as their
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Hayward's predicted cost savings were widely criticized as unrealistic, with many feeling that he had arbitrarily determined the figures. Politicians were equally divided on the merger, as many saw the influence of their local constituencies being reduced in a larger municipality, which would be
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In 1993, the
Progressive Conservative provincial government of Nova Scotia began to consider merging the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth with the town of Bedford and Halifax County. Halifax, Dartmouth and Bedford were relatively densely populated while Halifax County was largely rural with large
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Since amalgamation, the municipality has experienced dramatic growth and prosperity, mainly resulting from HRM benefiting from a much-delayed urban growth in
Atlantic Canada – this being one of the last regions in North America to urbanize. Critics have pointed out that the majority of economic
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Bedford was organized as an unincorporated rural community in 1921 and underwent rapid suburban growth during the post-war years. One of the largest unincorporated municipalities in Nova Scotia by the 1970s, Bedford incorporated as the
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were against the merger with rural areas tending to generate the most opposition; those residents feared that they would be forced to pay higher taxes and follow urban standards without receiving a higher level of municipal services.
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all municipal governments within
Halifax County to create HRM, a regional municipality comprising approximately 200 individual communities or placenames for civic addressing grouped into eighteen planning areas for zoning purposes.
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In 2004, there was some discussion in the
Eastern Shore area of applying to the province of Nova Scotia to form their own municipality because of the perceived lack of services to and representation from that part of HRM.
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All municipal services and staff were merged into the new municipal unit. The awkward name of the municipality was quickly shortened by media, residents and politicians to the informal "HRM," which is commonly heard.
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was incorporated in 1962, including all areas in the county outside of the cities of
Halifax and Dartmouth. The City of Halifax gradually grew to occupy the entire
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development has benefited the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, with many rural areas of HRM continuing to experience economic stagnation and decline.
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in the provincial legislature and the Halifax Regional Municipality was established on April 1, 1996, the same day all former municipalities were dissolved.
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still refer to the names of the pre-amalgamation municipalities to describe the geographic area and when referring to their specific groupings of citizens.
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along with the area of the town of Dartmouth joined together to become the "City Of Dartmouth" the city was the third largest city in Nova Scotia, after
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493:. The late 1960s was a period of significant change and expansion of the city when surrounding areas of Halifax County were amalgamated into Halifax:
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Savage had previously declared his opposition to regional amalgamations, but he relented and his administration backed the creation of the
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The current boundaries of Halifax County were established in 1908. Owing to the need for a more efficient county-wide government, the
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581:. Before the report was completed, Cameron's party was defeated in a provincial general election and a former mayor of Dartmouth,
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opened in 1970, furthering growth and leading to the economic integration of what many were terming Nova Scotia's "twin cities".
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opened, connecting Dartmouth to Halifax. Unprecedented suburban growth led In 1961 the communities of
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It was formed on April 1, 1996, by dissolving and amalgamating the following municipalities:
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to prepare a report on the potential savings resulting from the merger of municipalities in
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urban counterparts, forcing the cost for amalgamation to double from initial estimates.
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areas of wilderness. Amalgamating these regions had been proposed as far back as 1974.
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The amalgamation of four municipalities on April 1, 1996, was the creation of the
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New Democratic Party called unsuccessfully for a plebiscite on the matter.
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the area occupied by the former Cities of Halifax and Dartmouth as the
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It is one of the newest municipalities in the Canadian province of
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Bill Hayward, a consultant, was hired by the government of Premier
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Annexations and amalgamations in the Halifax Regional Municipality
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Small scandals such as the purchase of $ 1,000 chairs for the new
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Headquarters established for Royal Navy's North American Station
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retained to oversee the process on behalf of the government.
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dominated by the former cities of Halifax and Dartmouth.
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The biggest change to Dartmouth came in 1955 when the
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Act to Incorporate the Halifax Regional Municipality
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59:"Amalgamation of the Halifax Regional Municipality"
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48:introducing citations to additional sources
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297:Departing Halifax for Northwest Rebellion
739:Tindal, C. R.; Nobes Tindal, S. (2000).
303:Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts
38:Relevant discussion may be found on the
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659:Municipality of the County of Halifax
483:Municipality of the County of Halifax
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624:In 1996 the provincial government
316:Departing Halifax for the Boer War
310:Local Council of Women established
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590:Cape Breton Regional Municipality
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263:Cornwallis Street Baptist Church
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31:relies largely or entirely on a
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896:History of Halifax, Nova Scotia
391:Oldest buildings and structures
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636:, in terms of incorporation.
469:, Canada. It resulted in the
463:Halifax Regional Municipality
745:. Nelson Thomson Learning.
277:Halifax Volunteer Battalion
270:Halifax School for the Deaf
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801:1961, Dartmouth annexation
742:Local Government in Canada
340:Bedford Magazine Explosion
681:Aftermath of amalgamation
675:Bedford (Urban Community)
671:Halifax Metropolitan Area
561:Precursor to amalgamation
518:Angus L. MacDonald Bridge
250:Capture of USS Chesapeake
822:1969, Halifax annexation
710:of the municipality and
691:Halifax Regional Council
513:were all added in 1969.
244:Halifax Impressment Riot
232:Naval battle off Halifax
698:during the late 1990s.
542:A. Murray MacKay Bridge
473:'s current boundaries.
220:Sambro Lighthouse built
853:1996, HRM amalgamation
284:CSS Tallahassee Escape
471:regional municipality
238:Prince Edward arrives
175:Halifax (amalgamated)
151:Halifax (former city)
696:Greater Toronto Area
585:, won the election.
322:Dingle Tower created
290:Mic-Mac hockey stick
256:Royal Acadian School
128:Halifax, Nova Scotia
44:improve this article
556:Second amalgamation
381:Timeline of history
346:Second Amalgamation
334:Halifax VE-Day Riot
579:Cape Breton County
477:First amalgamation
423:History portal
358:Africville Apology
208:Dartmouth Massacre
195:Citadel Hill built
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752:978-0-17-616791-2
649:City of Dartmouth
487:Halifax Peninsula
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411:Canada portal
328:Halifax Explosion
292:sold commercially
201:St. Paul's Church
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177:(1996–present)
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42:. Please help
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609:Incorporation
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61: –
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55:Find sources:
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33:single source
29:This article
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619:Royal Assent
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613:In 1995, an
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499:Clayton Park
491:World War II
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716:Canada Post
634:Nova Scotia
626:amalgamated
583:John Savage
571:Don Cameron
467:Nova Scotia
305:established
279:established
272:established
265:established
258:established
203:established
171:(1759–1996)
165:(1980–1996)
159:(1750–1996)
153:(1749–1996)
829:Rockingham
726:References
707:Haligonian
495:Rockingham
125:History of
100:March 2013
70:newspapers
865:Dartmouth
844:Spryfield
705:The term
617:received
552:in 1980.
511:Spryfield
157:Dartmouth
40:talk page
890:Category
834:Fairview
813:Woodlawn
808:Westphal
530:Westphal
526:Woodside
522:Woodlawn
503:Fairview
117:a series
115:Part of
870:Bedford
860:Halifax
839:Armdale
694:in the
534:Halifax
507:Armdale
163:Bedford
145:History
84:scholar
749:
540:. The
538:Sydney
509:, and
356:2010:
350:2003:
344:1996:
338:1945:
332:1945:
326:1917:
320:1912:
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188:Events
119:on the
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370:Other
91:JSTOR
77:books
747:ISBN
714:and
712:maps
577:and
536:and
528:and
63:news
46:by
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98:(
88:·
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