As the capital of the province of Nova Scotia, the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) is an amalgamation of four municipal governments, including the Cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, the Town of Bedford and Halifax County Municipality. The Municipality represents the largest urban area in the Maritimes and the largest population centre in Canada east of Québec City. Throughout history, Halifax has been an important defense port in Atlantic Canada.
The urban area of the Halifax Regional Municipality is a major economic centre for a variety of industries including manufacturing; it is also a government and cultural centre for the Maritime region. The large concentration of government services plays a very important role in its economy, and major employers in Halifax include the Department of National Defense as well as the Port of Halifax. Due to its unique geographical location, the municipality is also becoming a major multi-modal transportation hub with improved rail and highway connections, an increasingly important port, and the Halifax International Airport. Real estate is booming, partly due to the gentrification of some former working-class areas.
On the other hand, the areas surrounding Halifax provide innumerable resources. The considerable resource industries include agriculture, fishing, mining, forestry and natural gas extraction. In addition, Halifax is an important educational centre on the east coast of Canada. Many universities and colleges make their home in Halifax: Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent University, the Halifax campus of Université Sainte-Anne, University of King's College, Atlantic School of Theology, NSCAD University, and the Nova Scotia Community College. Dalhousie University's campus is often featured in films and documentaries because of its classical Victorian style buildings. Government, educational and commercial activities generate a substantial demand for linguistic services.
With a population of 372,679 people, 80% of Halifax residents speak English, while 16.57% of the residents speak French. Other languages spoken in Halifax are German, Lebanese, Arabic and Dutch. The Municipality works hard to attract newcomers to land in Halifax, and many ethnic groups have begun began to settle in the Greater Halifax area, including Chinese and Korean immigrants. As a result of the influx of these linguistic groups, the demand for multi-lingual services and translation services has been increasing steadily.
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