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  #1  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 2:35 PM
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Economic Strategy Scorecard

The economic strategy scorecard for this year is out from the chamber of commerce. There have been improvements, particularly in population growth, employment and the commercial tax base. but reading through the report, theres a lot that can be improved on:

http://www.halifaxchamber.com/images...cardReport.pdf
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  #2  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 3:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wishblade View Post
The economic strategy scorecard for this year is out from the chamber of commerce. There have been improvements, particularly in population growth, employment and the commercial tax base. but reading through the report, theres a lot that can be improved on:

http://www.halifaxchamber.com/images...cardReport.pdf
Yeah it is actually not as bad as I had feared. Much of the "downturns" this year are far more a reflection of the global economy. The two that, in my mind, are actual structural long-term issues are immigration and wages.

The "brand-recognition" one makes me chuckle though. It has been a long-standing beef of mine that "Halifax" does not seem to be able get past its parochial view with this whole HRM deal. I understand that internally it makes sense to use Dartmouth/Bedford/Sackville etc etc (especially given that there are multiple Queen Streets and so, so one has to delineate somehow), but to the outside world "HRM" is a laughingstock. People all the time from other places mention to me how silly the whole HRM thing seems. It really is time for people to just grow up and get over it, and brand this place to the rest of the world as Halifax. It reinforces the "backwater" image of the city otherwise! It is not like we are reinventing the wheel here... many many other cities have gone through similar amalgamations and didn't have an apparent "city" of X Regional Municipality! When you visit NYC you may be staying in Manhattan, but you are visiting NYC. :-)

(and now I sit back and wait for the angry responses )
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  #3  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 4:53 PM
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i dont think it was that bad but it wasnt that great either, the yellow light overall reflects that.
there were alot more red lights than i would have wanted like unemployment and wage which i kind of expected but still sucks.
some of the buisnes ones were pretty good like actracting and such, but the overall economic score kinda sucked.
the crime rate going down is good, unexpected but good, plus the tax base is commercialy stronger.
and i guess were not satisfied as a commuinity, aha.
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Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 7:06 PM
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Regional municipality does sound horrible - it sounds like some collection of shacks up north somewhere.

The sad thing is Halifax isn't even a real polycentric city like, say, Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (and note that even Halifax-Dartmouth sounds better than "HRM"). It's just one city that's big enough that some of its parts need different names.

Also, the report has some weird statistics. For example, they list provincial income, not income for the city. The two are very different.
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  #5  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 7:16 PM
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(and note that even Halifax-Dartmouth sounds better than "HRM").
Agreed... however if we go down that road you know how it will be. We'll become the Halifax-Dartmouth-Bedford-Lawrencetown-Sackville-Enfield-Tantallon-WestChezzetcook Regional Municipality! But DEFINITELY not the City of Halifax. LOL
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  #6  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 8:02 PM
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i think it should be just Halifax, but shorten the borders to make it from tantallon to sackville to fall river to poters lake and back to tantallon
ecum secum musquodoboit sheet harbour hubbards ect, isnt really halifax
for some reason its everywhere metro transit goes, ahah
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  #7  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 11:00 PM
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Originally Posted by -Harlington- View Post
i think it should be just Halifax, but shorten the borders to make it from tantallon to sackville to fall river to poters lake and back to tantallon
ecum secum musquodoboit sheet harbour hubbards ect, isnt really halifax
for some reason its everywhere metro transit goes, ahah
That would make a lot more sense, you'd have the core urban and suburban areas, and the eastern shore could exist as it's own Municipality, which would probably suit them much better.

How abought when the Municipality is communicating with the outside world we just say the Halifax Region or Greater Halifax? It's accurate, we're a region centred around Halifax, and much less of a mess than Halifax Regional Municipality. Ideally we could change the name of the Municipalty (and in a dream-world we could change the boundaries as Harlington suggests) but until an official name change happens just shorten it a bit.
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  #8  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2010, 8:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Halifax Hillbilly View Post
How abought when the Municipality is communicating with the outside world we just say the Halifax Region or Greater Halifax? It's accurate, we're a region centred around Halifax, and much less of a mess than Halifax Regional Municipality. Ideally we could change the name of the Municipalty (and in a dream-world we could change the boundaries as Harlington suggests) but until an official name change happens just shorten it a bit.
The reason why things like "HRM" look ridiculous and quaint is that people around Halifax think that it's a special case when it's not. Every North American city is a region with a core and suburbs, and actually most are less centralized than Halifax.
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  #9  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 9:25 PM
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I agree with Beyeas. People need to just let go of this community identity crap a bit and just accept that their a part of Halifax. I live in Dartmouth and I still consider myself a Haligonian.
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  #10  
Old Posted Jan 14, 2010, 9:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Wishblade View Post
I agree with Beyeas. People need to just let go of this community identity crap a bit and just accept that their a part of Halifax. I live in Dartmouth and I still consider myself a Haligonian.
I agree with you there.

I was born in Halifax and I've been able to see it everyday of my life so while for the purpose of this forum I might consider myself Bedfordian a lot I defenitely prioritize being Haligonian more.

Heck to me the three important things about my identity is I'm Haligonian, I'm a Maritimer, and I'm Canadian!
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  #11  
Old Posted Jan 15, 2010, 1:16 PM
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I agree with you there.

I was born in Halifax and I've been able to see it everyday of my life so while for the purpose of this forum I might consider myself Bedfordian a lot I defenitely prioritize being Haligonian more.

Heck to me the three important things about my identity is I'm Haligonian, I'm a Maritimer, and I'm Canadian!
You know it's funny... I actually kind of like that internally there is some residual identity (the fact that Bedford still has a small town feel to it, the gritty feel of Dartmouth, how people from Cole Harbour are proud of Crosby etc). It is in terms of governance and presenting a face to the rest of the world that I feel like we need to grow up and just be one city. We can't have a council that pits one area over another, and we can't market ourselves as a "region" rather than a grown up city.
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  #12  
Old Posted Apr 1, 2010, 10:47 AM
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I wasn't sure where to post this. The cargo at the Halifax Port is up substantially this year over last year. However, the cargo was down substantially in the past few years . It looks like it might be starting to rebound. (source: Bill Power - Chronicle Herald - http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1175010.html )

Quote:

Halifax cargo up over 30%
Group reports Q1 improvement
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Thu. Apr 1 - 4:54 AM

The Port of Halifax had felt the impact of the global economic recession but cargo traffic is now increasing.(Ingrid Bulmer / Staff)



The volume of cargo passing through the Port of Halifax was up more than 30 per cent during the first quarter of 2010, the Halifax Employers Association said Wednesday.

Richard Moore, the association’s president and chief executive officer, said it is a positive signal in the aftermath of the global recession.

The association represents employers in the longshoremen’s industry.

"Things have been steady for the past six months and there are indications it will remain that way until the end of the year," Moore said in an interview.

The port was hit hard by the recession and observers are hungry for any indicator of improvement.

The employers association monitors tonnage for its member companies. The firms hire workers with the International Longshoremen’s Association in Halifax to handle cargo.

Moore said overall tonnage is up about 30 per cent for the first quarter, while container traffic is up about 41 per cent.

He said the work longshoremen do at the port is reported to the association for tabulations relating to worker pension plans and benefits.

"It is a reliable indicator of the volume of cargo moving though the port," he said.

The numbers indicate total tonnage of about 286,000 metric tonnes for January and about 282,000 tonnes for February. A final number for March was not yet available.

The Halifax Port Authority will release its own numbers on port cargo volume in mid-April.

There are preliminary indicators these results will be positive but not up to pre-recession levels, said port spokesperson Michele Peveril.

"Most experts agree it will take at least a year or two before major ports around the world get volumes back up to pre-recession levels."
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  #13  
Old Posted Apr 10, 2010, 9:14 PM
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Halifax is one of the best places in the country to raise kids. Housing is relatively affordable, the schools are good, the economy is strong, and the natural setting is second only to parts of BC. I could imagine lots of people moving there from Toronto in the future - when I was a kid there were already lots of families who were moving in from Ontario.

Something else to look at is the employment rate. In Toronto and Vancouver, 61-62% of people work. In Calgary it's 70% and in Halifax it's 67% (Windsor is down to 55%). High employment means that the economy is healthy and there is more money available to take care of children and the elderly.
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  #14  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2010, 3:27 AM
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Halifax port business looking up

ROGER TAYLOR
Sat. Apr 24 - 4:54 AM






THERE ARE benefits to competition, and that’s especially true for a federal agency like the Halifax Port Authority.

Halifax is considered a "discretionary" port because the bulk of the cargo handled here is headed somewhere other than the Atlantic region.

So the port is constantly battling to hold on to business while trying to drum up more customers.

It seems to me that a decline in port commercial activity in Halifax over the last several years, just as some rival ports were successfully building their business, has heightened a sense of urgency to turn things around in Halifax.

Add to that the possibility that private developers will soon build a rival container terminal in Melford at the Strait of Canso and it’s easy to see that Halifax port managers are challenged to stay relevant.

I think for too many Nova Scotians it’s easy to take for granted the tremendous asset Halifax Harbour represents, but occasionally something comes along to remind us.

Earlier this week, I flipped on the television to watch Jeopardy and was surprised to hear one of the clues was about Halifax. It went something like, "This Nova Scotia city has one of the world’s largest harbours."

I was equally surprised when the contestant answered correctly.

It’s not shocking that one of the most famous things about Halifax is its naturally deep and ice-free harbour, but it is equally true that Halifax Harbour can’t live off its deep reputation alone.

Statistics show the container business in Halifax has rebounded from the first-quarter lows reported last year, but it is clear that the container business hasn’t returned to pre-recession levels.

This is all pushing the port authority to invest in infrastructure, which is aimed at bringing more business to Halifax.

The port authority and the federal government are spending $75 million to upgrade the Richmond Terminal in the city’s north end and another $35 million is being spent to dredge Pier C in the south end.

The dredging will allow that pier to accommodate two of the largest ships in the world simultaneously.

I’m not sure if the promise of port improvements is helping to make the case for Halifax, but over the past year five shipping lines were convinced to start calling.

Today, there are 19 lines serving Halifax. This week, one of those lines, CMA-CGM, announced it would be adding a ship to increase the frequency of its calls on Halifax.

And there are unconfirmed reports that Maersk Line will soon return to Halifax for a weekly service.

All that is good news, but don’t expect the competition to let up.

Bob Stevens, CEO of Melford International Terminals Inc., the Halifax company pushing forward with plans to build the terminal at the Strait of Canso, says he’s pleased Halifax is showing signs of improvement. It helps to make the case for Nova Scotia as the first port of call for vessels crossing the Atlantic to North America, and the last call for vessels headed in the other direction.

The Melford terminal backers plan to employ modern technology at the Strait terminal, which aims to offer customers a faster and better alternative to rival ports on the east coast of North America, not just Halifax.

While some may question whether the Melford group is serious about putting its plan into action, the proponents are being taken seriously elsewhere.

Stevens and his partners in Halifax-based Trident Holdings Inc., the original proponent of the Melford terminal project, have a contract with the State of Louisiana to develop a comprehensive port master plan and port development plan for Plaquemines Parish, near New Orleans.

( rtaylor@herald.ca)



i think a Halifax Ports thread would better suite this but i thouht id post this here since everyone else is.
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  #15  
Old Posted May 11, 2010, 11:26 AM
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CMHC data show that Halifax area housing starts increased significantly in April 2010 compared to last year.

Quote:
April Housing Starts in Halifax

HALIFAX, May 10 /CNW/ - New residential construction in Halifax increased last month compared to April 2009. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC's) preliminary data(1) released today for Halifax, there were 223 housing starts last month, more than twice the 84 starts recorded in April 2009. Single starts increased from 66 to 80 units while multiple starts surged from 18 to 143 units.

"The April figures were supported by a high level of apartment construction with 98 new units started and by semi-detached and row house construction with 45 new units started," said Matthew Gilmore, senior market analyst with CMHC's Atlantic Business Centre. "The single-detached market strengthened in April with 21 per cent growth compared to last April. The increased level of residential construction activity reflects the generally supportive economic conditions of stable employment and wages in Halifax," Gilmore added.

In urban centres across Canada in April there were 14,995 total housing starts, 79 per cent more than the 8,387 starts recorded in April of 2009. There were 6,774 single-detached starts last month, an increase of 79 per cent compared to April of 2009. Multi-residential starts were also up 79 per cent to 8,221 in April of 2010. In Atlantic Canada, there were 573 urban housing starts posted compared to 419 in April of last year, an increase of 37 per cent.

As Canada's national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes. CMHC also provides reliable, impartial and up-to-date housing market reports, analysis and knowledge to support and assist consumers and the housing industry in making vital decisions.

-------------------
(1) Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or sampling results.

(Ce document existe également en français)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRELIMINARY URBAN MONTHLY HOUSING STARTS
NOVA SCOTIA SUMMARY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2010 2009 YEAR-TO-DATE
--------------- % Change -------------- % Change
APR APR 2010 2009
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATIONS GREATER THAN 50,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
HALIFAX CMA
Single 80 66 21.2% 296 170 74.1%
Multiple 143 18 (XX) 393 188 (XX)
TOTAL 223 84 (XX) 689 358 92.5%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
CAPE BRETON RGM
Single 10 1 (XX) 22 15 46.7%
Multiple 0 0 - 10 10 0.0%
TOTAL 10 1 (XX) 32 25 28.0%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL URBAN CENTRES WITH POPULATION GREATER THAN 10,000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL CENTRES*
Single 103 104 -1.0% 432 269 60.6%
Multiple 144 24 (XX) 429 224 91.5%
TOTAL 247 128 93.0% 861 493 74.6%
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Figures for the most recent month are preliminary and subject to revisions due to corrections or updates from quarterly enumeration or sampling results.

The Chronicle Herald has an interesting take (I had to scratch my head when I saw the title) on the same statistics. They took positive numbers and made it sound like it was a poor result, at least in the title and the first few paragraphs and then by the end of the story they say that it indicates increased migration to the Halifax area.

Quote:
Halifax housing slows

By ROGER TAYLOR Business Columnist
Tue. May 11 - 6:50 AM

Housing statistics released Mon­day show that Halifax continues to have the strongest housing market in Nova Scotia by far.

Halifax housing prices grew by about five per cent during the first quarter this year, compared with the same period last year.

But housing market expert Mat­thew Gilmore says prices aren’t likely to continue rising at the same rate for the rest of the year.

Gilmore, a senior market analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in Halifax, says he is expecting price growth to slow down to about three to five per cent as the year pro­gresses. That growth rate is lower than it has been for most of the last decade.

“Last year was little bit slower, but previously, we were averag­ing six to seven per cent (growth) for 10 years."

The Halifax market was slow­er during the first quarter of 2009 due to economic uncertain­ty, so the price growth experienced so far this year looks more pronounced than it otherwise would, he says.

“There’s about a $100,000 price difference for an average existing home and an average new (one). The average existing (home) is about $240,000 and the average new (one) is about $340,000. That gives you some indication that what we build is just a little more elaborate than what’s available in the existing home mar­ket."

April statistics from CMHC for Halifax show there were 223 housing starts last month, more than twice the 84 starts record­ed in April 2009. Construction of single­family homes started in April increased to 80 from the 66 starts recorded in April 2009.

And in the apartment-building category, 143 units were started in April, compared with 18 units during the same month last year.

In Cape Breton Regional Municipality, construction was started on only 10 single­family homes in April, and there was no apartment construction. If you subtract the Halifax and Cape Breton starts from pro­vincial statistics for all urban centres with populations of 10,000 or more, there were only 13 single-family homes started in the rest of Nova Scotia in April.

The housing statistics provide more evi­dence that Halifax continues to grow as people migrate to jobs and take advantage of other opportunities.

So far this year, there have been 689 hous­ing starts in the Halifax area for the period that ended April 30, compared with 358 starts in the first four months of 2009. That may not be a fair comparison, considering that the first four months of last year were at the height of the financial crisis.

But Gilmore says the starts so far this year are more in line with housing construction in 2008 and 2007.

“If we look at total starts, we’re sitting at 689. In ’08 at this time, we had 605 (starts), and the year before that, we had 560," he says. “We have more people moving to Hali­fax than moving away. When you’re talking local people . . . they tend to be younger, in the 20-something age group, and that is one of the largest sources of new people to the city."

When you add a growing immigrant pop­ulation to that, Gilmore says it creates rental demand.

(rtaylor@herald.ca)

Last edited by fenwick16; May 11, 2010 at 1:14 PM.
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  #16  
Old Posted Jul 15, 2010, 10:22 PM
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The manufacturing numbers in Canada continue to improve. New Brunswick is the manufacturing hot spot in the Atlantic Provinces (and ahead of places like Manitoba and Saskatchewan). If you add the numbers for all three Maritime provinces, the manufacturing numbers are in the same ballpark as the British Columbia manufacturing numbers.

I would like to see manufacturing increase in Nova Scotia. It would be good to see it match the NB numbers.

(source: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quoti...00715a-eng.htm )

Last edited by fenwick16; Jul 15, 2010 at 10:51 PM.
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  #17  
Old Posted Jul 16, 2010, 9:43 AM
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Wow - I knew Ontario was the manufacturing heartland - but the gap between Ontario and the next biggest Province with manufacturing is incredible - it's virtually double!

Well with the recent landing of the wind power plant with Daewoo will help increase that number. I'm also hopeful that if oil exploration increases, that will bring some off-shoot industries for oil exploration and development that requires manufacturing.
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  #18  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2010, 11:17 PM
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The way these resources are handled in Canada is pretty messed up. The royalties should be paid to the federal government, not the provinces. Ideally, in a fair world nobody would have a privileged monopoly over resources simply because they happened to live close to them (or not close at all, but within the same arbitrary political entity) or, worse yet, decided to forcibly take them.
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  #19  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2010, 12:43 AM
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How much office space did Exxonmobil have and where were they located?
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  #20  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2010, 1:00 AM
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How much office space did Exxonmobil have and where were they located?
Exxon have their offices in Founders Square
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