Halifax Index 2023

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WELL-BEING ON THE RISE IN HALIFAX

People. Planet. Prosperity. Halifax’s Inclusive Economic Strategy 2022-27 includes a strategic goal to decrease the share of people with a low score in life-satisfaction. This is measured through Halifax Partnership’s annual City Matters Survey. Following the benchmark of 14.4% established in 2022, the 2023 survey found that the share of respondents reporting a low level of life-satisfaction had declined to 12.8%.

The total number of Halifax Transit passenger rides increased by 25.9% in 2022-23 despite hours of service declining by 0.3%. Public transit fares in Halifax remained among the lowest across benchmark cities.

As the impact of COVID-19 decreased, access to the medical system became our biggest health issue. With explosive population growth, the waitlist for a family doctor in Halifax spiked to over 50,000. Nova Scotia continued to rank poorly in terms of conditions and activities that impact health including arthritis, smoking, and heavy drinking.

Over the longer term, crime in Halifax has trended downward. However, both the Crime Severity Index (CSI) and the Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI) have seen much less change in recent years. The share of surveyed Halifax residents saying that they believe most people can be trusted increased to 63.8% in 2023.

A very important aspect of well-being now and in the future is the state of our environment. Halifax has one of the most ambitious climate-action plans in Canada, HalifACT. From 2016 through 2021, GHG emissions in Halifax fell by a compound rate of 1.5% per year. However, they will have to decline 13.0% per year to reach the municipality’s 2030 goal.

Halifax Index 2023
Quality of Life

In 2022, the well-being of residents in Halifax was included as one of the topline goals of the new five-year economic strategy, People. Planet. Prosperity. Consequently, the Partnership added questions to monitor residents’ perceptions of quality of life in the 2022 City Matters Survey. The 2023 survey provided the first set of results to compare against the 2022 benchmarks.

One such measure was the response to the question “How satisfied are you with your life nowadays?” A scale from 0 to 10 was used with 0 meaning “not at all” and 10 meaning “completely.” The share with a low score, a rating of four or less, was used as a headline measure for the Economic Strategy.

The 2023 survey found that 12.8% of respondents gave a score of four or less, a decrease (improvement) from 14.4% in 2022. The share of respondents giving a high score of seven or more increased to 66.8% from 62.1% in 2022. The mean score rose from 6.7 in 2022 to 7.6 in 2023.

Not surprisingly, residents of higher-income households tended to give a higher score in life-satisfaction (8.1) than residents of lower-income households (7.0). Life-satisfaction scores were slightly higher in rural Halifax (7.7) compared to urban Halifax (7.5). Also, there was a noticeable difference in life-satisfaction between male (7.9) and female (7.3) respondents.

More than 80% of residents continue to be satisfied with Halifax as a place to live, as a place for recreation and play, and as a place to raise a family. Also, more than 75% of residents are satisfied with Halifax as a place to work, as a place for young people, and as a place to retire.

Trust is critical to any well-functioning society. Levels of trust reported by Halifax residents improved in 2023. The share of residents saying that they believe most people can be trusted increased to 63.8% in 2023, up from 59.2% in 2022. More residents in rural Halifax (71.2%) than in urban Halifax (61.5%) believe most people can be trusted. Residents’ trust in government (federal/provincial/municipal) is 39.2% a slight decline from the 2022 benchmark. Trust in elected officials, though higher than in the previous year, remains lowest compared to other institutions (e.g., academics, police, businesses) at 30.9%.

Question: “Using a scale of zero to ten, with zero (0) meaning ‘Not at all’ and ten (10) meaning ‘Completely,’ how satisfied are you with life nowadays?

Source: MQO Research, City Matters Survey (Various)

Perceptions of Well-Being

  • In 2022, well-being was explicitly added as a goal in the new five-year economic strategy for Halifax. The Partnership’s City Matters Survey, carried out by MQO Research, provides the data points used to track progress on this measure.
  • The well-being goal of the new economic strategy is to reduce over time the share of respondents who give a score of four or lower to the life-satisfaction question. The 12.8% share recorded in 2023 was an improvement from 14.4% in 2022.
  • The 2023 share of respondents who have a score of seven or higher when asked to rate life-satisfaction was 66.8%. This is up 4.7 percentage points from 2022.
  • Overall, the mean score for this question in 2023 was 7.6, up from 6.7 in 2022, indicating an overall improvement in life-satisfaction for Halifax residents.

Question: “Using a scale of zero to ten, with zero (0) meaning ‘Not at all’ and ten (10) meaning ‘Completely,’ how satisfied are you with life nowadays?

Source: MQO Research, City Matters Survey (2023)

Mean Well-Being by Selected Characteristics

  • Improvements in mean scores were recorded across all categories of respondents in response to the question “How satisfied are you with life nowadays?”
  • Mean scores improved the most from 2022 to 2023 for those ages 18-34 and those with high school education or less, growing by 1.4 and 1.3 points, respectively.
  • The lowest mean score was for those with household income below $75,000 while it was highest for those above $75,000. Both these household-income categories, however, saw increases of 0.8 in their mean scores from 2022 to 2023.
  • Life-satisfaction scores grew by 0.9 points in both rural and urban Halifax although the mean is higher in rural areas at 7.7 compared to 7.5 in urban areas.

Question: “Please tell us how satisfied you are with the following quality of life aspects of the municipality.”

Source: MQO Research, City Matters Survey (2023)

Aspects of Quality of Life in Halifax

  • Survey respondents were again asked to rate various quality of life aspects in Halifax. The shares of those either satisfied or very satisfied improved for all aspects except for “as a place to retire”, which dropped 0.6 percentage points.
  • More than 80% of residents are either very satisfied or satisfied with Halifax as a place to live, as a place for recreation and play, and as a place to raise a family. 79% feel the same about Halifax as a place to work.
  • At 75.9%, identical shares of residents are either very satisfied or satisfied with Halifax as a place for young people and as a place to retire.
  • Between 2022 and 2023, the share of residents very dissatisfied fell for all aspects of quality of life in Halifax except as a place to retire.

Question: “Do you believe the following institutions can be trusted? [Yes]”

Source: MQO Research, City Matters Survey (Various)

Residents' Trust in Institutions

  • Halifax residents’ trust in most institutions grew between 2022 and 2023. Only trust in the government (federal/provincial/municipal) fell from 2022 to 2023. The drop was only 0.2 percentage points from 39.4% to 39.2%.
  • Academia surpassed the judicial system (57.6%) and the police (59.6%) in 2023 to become the institution with the highest share of trust (61.6%).
  • The share of residents who trust elected officials improved by 0.7 percentage points in 2023 but still remains last place on the list with only 30.9% of respondents saying they trust elected officials.

RESIDENTS' FEELING OF TRUST
Share of Respondents, Halifax, 2023

Response

Overall

Gender

Age

Area

Male

Female

18-34

35-54

55+

Urban

Rural

Yes

63.8%

63.3%

64.4%

63.6%

55.7%

73.6%

61.5%

71.2%

No

28.1%

29.5%

27.0%

30.3%

36.6%

16.1%

29.8%

22.8%

Don’t know

8.0%

6.9%

8.5%

6.1%

7.7%

10.0%

8.7%

5.5%

Prefer not to say

0.1%

0.2%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.3%

0.0%

0.5%

Question: “Do you believe that most people can be trusted?”
Source: MQO Research, City Matters Survey (2023)

Trust

  • The 2023 survey found that 63.8% of Halifax residents felt most people can be trusted; 28.1% did not feel this way. Respondents also indicated they “don’t know” (8.0%) or “prefer not to say” (0.1%).
  • Unlike previous years, 2023 saw a higher share of females (64.4%) than males (63.3%) who said they believed most people could be trusted.
  • Larger shares of those 18-34 years (63.6%) and those 55 years and older (73.6%) believe most people can be trusted than those ages 35-54 years (55.7%).
  • As in previous years, a larger share of rural residents (71.2%) than urban residents (61.5%) have trust in people. The share of urban residents who believe most people cannot be trusted grew by 3.3 percentage points over 2022.

Question: “Do believe that most people can be trusted?”

Source: Source: MQO Research, City Matters Survey (Various)

Feelings of Trust Over Time

  • The 2023 share of Halifax residents who believe that most people can be trusted, at 64%, was the second highest since this question was first included in the City Matters Survey, behind only 2020 (67%).
  • The share of Halifax residents that responded “no” to the question has remained steady over the past three years at around 28%.
  • The gap between the “yes” and “no” shares grew substantially from 2018 through 2020, dropped sharply in 2021, and then rebounded in 2023.

Halifax Index 2023
Transportation

Halifax Transit saw total ridership increase by 25.9% in 2022-23, providing close to 17 million passenger-rides throughout the year. Despite the large increase, ridership still remained much lower than pre-pandemic levels. Total hours of service provided by Halifax Transit decreased some 2,500 hours in 2022-23. However, the year still clocked in the second most hours of service at 924,719, behind only 2021-22.

Public transit accessibility is in part a function of affordability. Halifax’s public transit fares are some of the most affordable across benchmark cities. Halifax fares are the second lowest for single rides ($2.75), monthly passes ($82.50), seniors ($2.00), and youth ($2.00).

Most Haligonians (82.3%) drove to work in a car, truck, or a van, either as the driver or a passenger according to the 2021 Census. The bus was used primarily by 7.4% to commute to work while 0.2% used the ferry.

There was an improvement of 2.2 minutes in the average commute time to work in Halifax from 2016 when it was 24.0 minutes to 2021 at 21.8 minutes. Across benchmark cities, Halifax’s average commute time was the third lowest behind only St. John’s and Quebec City. The share of residents whose daily commute time was 30 minutes or more also declined by 6.7 percentage points to 27.6% in 2021. This is the fourth lowest share across benchmark cities.

Note that these commuting data were collected in May 2021 when Halifax was under a COVID-19 lockdown and, thus, may be significantly affected by factors like large numbers of employees working from home.

Source: Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax Transit

Transit Passenger Volume and Hours of Service

  • Total Halifax Transit ridership increased by 25.9% in 2022-23 to 16.9 million, 3.5 million rides more than in 2021-22. Still, ridership volume remained 17.9% lower than the pre-pandemic high in 2019-20.
  • Total service hours for Halifax Transit decreased in 2022-23 from the previous year by approximately 2,500 hours, a 0.3% decline, to total just under 925,000 hours for the year. Despite this decline, total hours of service were the second highest ever in 2022-23 behind only 2021-22.

TRANSIT FARES BY TYPE OF FARE CURRENT DOLLARS
Current Dollars, Benchmark Cities, 2023

Type of Fare

Single Fare

Monthly Pass

Senior Fare

Youth Fare

Halifax

$2.75

$82.50

$2.00

$2.00

St. John's

$2.50

$78.00

$2.50

$2.00

Quebec City

$3.75

$97.00

$2.65

$2.65

Montreal

$3.50

$94.00

$1.25

$2.50

Ottawa

$3.70

$125.50

$2.80

$1.85

KCW*

$3.50

$90.00

Toronto

$3.35

$156.00

$2.30

$2.40

Winnipeg

$3.15

$107.80

$2.65

$2.65

Calgary**

$3.60

$112.00

$2.45

Vancouver***

$4.53

$141.61

$3.08

$3.08

*KCW does not provide age-based fare reductions. Reductions are based on income.
**Senior fare reductions are available for annual passes only in Calgary.
***These are averaged rates across Vancouver's three zones.

Source: Various Municipal Sources

Fare Costs

  • Halifax Transit has the second lowest single fare at $2.75 after St. John’s at $2.50. It is also $1.75 less than the highest single fare of $4.53, the three-zone average across Vancouver.
  • Halifax Transit also charges the second lowest fare for a monthly pass at $82.50 substantially below what is charged in cities like Toronto ($156.00) and Vancouver ($141.61).
  • Both senior and youth fares in Halifax are $2.00, close to the lowest cost across benchmark cities in both cases.

COMMUTE TIME BY METHOD OF TRANSPORATATION
Share of Employees with a Usual Workplace, Halifax, 2021

Mode of Commuting to Work

Duration of Commute to Work

All Durations

Less than 15 minutes

15 to 29 minutes

30 to 44 minutes

45 to 59 minutes

60 minutes and over

Car, truck, or van - as a driver

74.7%

69.7%

80.2%

77.1%

67.0%

51.4%

Car, truck, or van - as a passenger

7.7%

10.3%

7.3%

5.5%

4.5%

5.6%

Bus

7.4%

2.3%

5.0%

11.4%

22.5%

33.9%

Passenger ferry

0.2%

0.0%

0.1%

0.5%

1.1%

0.2%

Walked

6.9%

11.7%

5.7%

3.9%

2.8%

3.2%

Bicycle

0.7%

0.8%

0.7%

0.5%

0.8%

0.3%

Motorcycle, scooter, or moped

0.1%

0.1%

0.1%

0.0%

0.1%

0.4%

Other method

2.3%

5.0%

0.8%

1.1%

1.1%

5.1%

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada (2021)

Commute by Method

  • The 2021 Census found that 82.3% of Halifax residents travelled to work in a vehicle they either drove themselves or were a passenger in.
  • Of those who travelled an hour or more to work, 57.0% used a private vehicle and 33.9% used the bus.
  • Among those who commute less than 15 minutes to work, 11.7% walked and 79.9% travelled in a vehicle as the driver or a passenger.
  • Note that these data were collected in May 2021 when Halifax was under a COVID-19 lockdown and may be significantly affected by factors like large numbers of employees working from home.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada (Various)

Average Commute Time

  • The average commute time to work in Halifax decreased from 24.0 minutes in 2016 to 21.8 minutes in 2021.
  • Across benchmark cities, Halifax’s rank improved from fourth lowest in 2016 to third lowest in 2021.
  • The average commute time in Halifax was 21.8 minutes, 8.0 minutes below Toronto in top spot at 29.8 and 4.2 minutes above St. John’s shortest commute time at 17.6 minutes.
  • Note that these data were collected in May 2021 when Halifax was under a COVID-19 lockdown and may be significantly affected by factors like large numbers of employees working from home.

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada (Various)

Share of Commuters 30 Minutes and Over

  • The share of employees in Halifax who travelled for 30 minutes or more to get to work declined from 34.3% in 2016 to 27.6% in 2021. A reduction in the share of employees with long commutes was observed in every benchmark city.
  • Across benchmark cities, just as in 2016, Halifax had the fourth-smallest share of employees who commuted for 30 minutes or more to get to work.
  • Note that these data were collected in May 2021 when Halifax was under a COVID-19 lockdown and may be significantly affected by factors like large numbers of employees working from home.

Halifax Index 2023
Health

The impacts of and response to the COVID-19 pandemic were top of mind beginning in early 2020. Now with the effects of the pandemic receding and rapid population growth continuing, basic access to the health care system is a higher priority issue.

Statistics Canada data from 2021 show that 86.3% of Nova Scotians reported having access to a regular health care provider, fifth highest among provinces. In Halifax, the waitlist for a family doctor ballooned to over 50,000 by the end of 2022, with an additional 29,600 names being added to the list over the year.

Nova Scotia ranked poorly in 2021 in terms of the prevalence of conditions and activities that impact health. It had the country’s second highest rates of arthritis, mood disorders, regular smoking, daily cannabis use, and heavy drinking.

On a more positive note, Nova Scotia ranked third best in 2021 in the shares of those who reported having “very good” or “excellent” mental health (60.1%) and being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with life (92.4%). The former figure is down substantially from 2020, decreasing by 6.4 percentage points, but a decline in self-reported mental health is not surprising during a once-in-a-century global pandemic.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, Table 13-10-0096-01

Access to a Regular Health Care Provider

  • Statistics Canada reports on how many Canadians have access to a regular health care provider. The most recently published data are for 2021.
  • At 86.3%, Nova Scotia ranked fifth highest among the provinces. New Brunswick led at 89.8% and Quebec was at the bottom with 78.4%.
  • Comparing 2021 to 2015, the shares for most provinces have changed by less than five percentage points, including Nova Scotia (-2.4 pp). Among the five provinces that increased, Alberta led at +6.8 pp. Prince Edward Island had the biggest decrease (-8.2 pp).

Waitlist Size for Primary Care Provider

  • As of December 2022, over 50,000 Halifax residents were on the family doctor waitlist.
  • After peaking just below 30,000 in the fall of 2018, the number of people on the waitlist for a family doctor in Halifax fell steadily through to July 2020.
  • Since that time, however, the Halifax waitlist rapidly grew in length adding an average of just over 1,000 people per month in 2021 and almost 2,500 per month during 2022.
  • From its low in July 2020 through to December 2022, the waitlist for Halifax grew by almost 47,000 people. The waitlist for the rest of Nova Scotia grew by slightly more than 33,000 over the same period.

ACTIVITIES AND CONDITIONS IMPACTING HEALTH
Share of Population Aged 12 and Older, Provinces, 2021
IndicatorsNLPENS
NB
QC
ON
MB
SK
AB
BC
Obese*
42.2%
35.9%
37.0%
39.2%
27.6%
29.3%
33.9%
34.6%
29.7%
24.6%
Arthritis**
31.4%
21.4%
26.7%
24.5%
19.2%
18.7%
18.6%
18.7%
19.9%
18.7%
Diabetes
9.6%
8.7%
8.7%
9.9%
7.6%
7.6%
7.6%
8.4%
5.9%
5.9%
High blood pressure
24.4%
17.8%
22.4%
24.4%
16.9%
18.0%
17.9%
19.8%
16.2%
16.8%
Mood disorder
11.5%
11.2%
12.2%
12.4%
6.0%
10.5%
9.7%
11.3%
10.8%
10.6%
Current smoker, daily or occasional
13.4%
14.2%
13.5%
12.4%
13.3%
11.6%
11.1%
12.6%
11.5%
9.6%
Cannabis use, daily or almost daily
5.5%
8.8%
8.6%
7.9%
3.4%
5.6%
5.1%
6.0%
6.7%
6.2%
Heavy drinking
22.8%
19.0%
19.4%
18.9%
15.9%
14.7%
14.6%
16.7%
16.0%
15.1%
Regular physical activity***
50.3%
51.3%
55.4%
50.6%
51.7%
51.5%
52.8%
52.2%
58.0%
62.4%
Regular fruit and vegetable consumption****
11.9%
16.6%
17.7%
15.9%
28.6%
19.9%
19.7%
21.9%
19.4%
21.2%

*Based on self-reported body mass. Only includes respondents 18 and older.
**Only includes respondents 15 and older.
***Based on self-reported physical activity, 150+ minutes per week. Only includes respondents 18 and older.
****Based on self-reported eating habits, fruit and vegetation consumption 5 times or more per day.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, Table 13-10-0096-01

Health Conditions

  • In terms of the prevalence of conditions and activities impacting health, Nova Scotia generally ranks poorly among the 10 provinces.
  • Nova Scotia has the second highest rates for the prevalence of arthritis, mood disorders, regular smoking, daily cannabis use, and heavy drinking. Nova Scotia also has the third- or fourth highest rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
  • The lone relative bright spot for Nova Scotia is its third best ranking for participation in regular physical activity.
  • The Atlantic provinces have all four of the worst rankings for six of the 10 items listed in the table and account for three of the four worst rankings for the remaining items.

SELF-REPORTED PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH STATUS
Share of Population Aged 12 and Older, Provinces, 2021
IndicatorsNLPENSNBQCONMBSKABBC
Perceived health, very good or excellent60.2%56.9%58.2%53.5%61.2%59.5%59.5%56.9%60.7%59.2%
Perceived mental health, very good or excellent61.5%57.5%60.1%57.3%65.8%56.9%58.1%55.5%57.7%55.7%
Life satisfaction, satisfied or very satisfied92.1%93.1%92.4%92.2%94.5%91.3%92.0%91.6%91.7%91.7%
Sense of belonging to local community, somewhat strong or very strong80.5%78.1%75.8%76.7%66.0%69.4%70.5%76.1%68.3%70.9%
Perceived life stress, most days quite a bit or extremely stressful15.0%14.7%19.0%18.7%21.5%20.6%18.0%18.5%21.0%19.5%

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, Table 13-10-0096-01

Health Perceptions

  • Statistics Canada’s survey of self-reported health status in 2021 – in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic – found Nova Scotia generally in the middle of the pack among provinces.
  • Nova Scotia ranked third best in both the share of the population who reported “very good” or “excellent” mental health and the share who reported being “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with life.
  • Nova Scotia ranked fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively, in terms of self-reported community belonging, perceived stress, and perceived good health.
  • Compared to 2020, Nova Scotia’s shares for both life-satisfaction and stress changed by less than a percentage point. The shares for perceived good health and perceived good mental health dropped by 3.5 and 6.4 percentage points, respectively.

Halifax Index 2023
Crime

Although they have trended downward over the longer term, the Crime Severity Index (CSI)1and Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI)2scores have risen in Halifax in recent years. The CSI and VCSI, published by Statistics Canada, measure the incidence and severity of crimes across Canada. The most recent figures available are for 2021.

Halifax had a CSI score of 65.7 in 2021 putting it in the middle of the pack among benchmark cities. Though the CSI score grew by 3.7 points since 2020, the 2021 score was 69.1 points below the peak year of 2004. From 2004 through 2016, Halifax’s CSI declined annually in all but one year. Since 2016, however, the CSI in Halifax has not moved up or down substantially.

Halifax’s VCSI score in 2021 was 91.7 the third highest across benchmark cities behind only Winnipeg (159.6) and St. John’s (98.2). Halifax’s VCSI score declined sharply from 2006 through 2014, but it has been on an upward trend since then.

Source: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Table 35-10-0026-01

Crime Severity Index and Annual Change

  • Halifax’s CSI score increased by 3.7 points in 2021. At 65.7, the CSI in Halifax was in the middle of the pack across benchmark cities.
  • Halifax saw the second-largest annual growth (+3.7) behind only KCW (+4.3).
  • Quebec City had the lowest (best) CSI score at 42.6 and Winnipeg had the highest (worst) at 113.6.

Source: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Table 35-10-0026-01

Violent Crime Severity Index and Annual Change

  • The VCSI score in Halifax was 91.7 in 2021. As in 2020, Halifax was the third highest (worst) across all benchmark cities.
  • Winnipeg by far had the worst score at 159.6 and Quebec City fared best at 59.7.
  • Halifax also saw the third-largest growth in VCSI across cities with a 7.0 point increase. The largest jump occurred in St. John’s where the VCSI rose by 15.1 points. Only Toronto had a decrease in its VCSI from 2020 to 2021.

Source: Statistics Canada, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Table 35-10-0026-01

Crime and Violent Crime Severity

  • Both the CSI and the VCSI peaked between 2004 and 2006 and then began to steadily decline over the following decade. In more recent years, the CSI has essentially remained steady and the VCSI has trended upward.
  • Halifax’s CSI score of 65.7 in 2021 was the highest since 2018, but it was still significantly below the all-time high of 134.8 in 2004.
  • Halifax’s VCSI score in 2021 was also the highest since 2018 at 91.7. That was still well below the all-time high of 154.6 in 2006.

Halifax Index 2023
Environment

With HalifACT – Halifax’s comprehensive climate action plan – as a blueprint, the municipality updated its solid waste strategy in 2022. It added goals to reduce waste generation by 30% and to achieve 100% waste-diversion by 2050. In 2022, the waste-diversion rate for the municipality was 57%, and the disposal rate in 2021 was 361 kg per capita.

In 2022, 33% of Nova Scotia’s energy came from renewable sources. This figure was seven percentage points short of the legislated requirement. The gap in meeting the requirement for renewable-energy supply was a result of delays in getting hydroelectric power from Muskrat Falls. Despite initial delays, both the province and Nova Scotia Power remain confident that the 80% target for renewable-energy supply will be met by 2030.

Halifax Regional Municipality updated recent figures for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after improving its GHG-inventory methodology. These updates resulted in increased emissions values for every year since 2016. In 2021, the latest year that data are available, GHG emissions declined 0.12% to 4.92 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents. This figure is 7.4% below 2016’s level. To achieve the goal of 1.4 MtCO2e by 2030, a decline of 13.0% per year is required. However, a faster annual reduction would be required after 2030 to reach the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Across sectors, the largest source of GHG emissions in 2021 was residential (34.8%) followed by institutional/commercial (26.5%), transportation (20.3%), industrial (15.8%), and waste (2.7%). The agriculture/forest sector was net-positive in the calculations. (It absorbed 0.006 MtCO2e.)

According to the Canadian Environmental Quality Index (Can-EQI) developed by Dalhousie University Professor Daniel Rainham and his colleagues, Halifax had the second highest score across benchmark cities. The Can-EQI is a composite measure of environmental conditions at the neighbourhood level (formally: dissemination areas within population centres) across Canadian cities, comprising nine indicators3that are weighted based on their importance to human health. Datasets were averaged over a five-year period from 2014 to 2018. Within urban Halifax, areas in and around Point Pleasant Park had the highest score for environmental quality, whereas Burnside Park had the lowest environmental quality.

Approximately 89.5% of Halifax’s urban land area was classified as green in 2022, the second most across benchmark cities.

RESIDENTIAL WASTE-DIVERSION RATE
Share of Solid Waste, Halifax, 2014 to 2021

Year

Diversion Rate

2014-15

61%

2015-16

59%

2016-17

60%

2017-18

60%

2018-19

59%

2019-20

60%

2020-21

58%

2021-22

57%

Source: Halifax Regional Municipality, Transportation and Public Works, Custom Request

Waste-Diversion

  • The residential waste-diversion rate in Halifax decreased by one percentage point in 2022 after falling two percentage points in 2021.
  • In alignment with HalifACT, Halifax’s climate action plan, the Halifax Regional Municipality updated its solid waste strategy to include new goals: reducing waste generation by 30% by 2050 and achieving 100% waste-diversion by the same year.
  • Halifax’s Solid Waste Strategy is designed to contribute to Nova Scotia’s goal to reduce its disposal rate from 402 kg per capita to 300 kg per capita by 2030. In HRM, the 2021 disposal rate was 361 kg per capita.

Source: Nova Scotia Power, Renewable Energy Regulations

Renewable Energy Supply and Requirements

  • 33% of Nova Scotia’s energy in 2022 came from renewable sources up three percentage points from 2021.
  • Nova Scotia Power was required to supply 40% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, but due to delays in getting power from Muskrat Falls, the deadline was pushed to 2022.
  • Both the Province and Nova Scotia Power are confident that the target of 80% of energy coming from renewable sources by 2030 will be achieved.

Source: Halifax Regional Municipality, Environment and Climate Change

Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Targets

  • Greenhouse gas emissions totaled 4.92 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) in 2021. This was down 0.1% from 2020 and 7.4% below the 2016 level.
  • An average annual decline of 13.0% is needed to reach the goal of 1.4 MtCO2e by 2030. After 2030, a faster annual reduction would be required to reach the 2050 goal of achieving net-zero emissions.

Source: Halifax Regional Municipality, Environment and Climate Change

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Sector

  • The largest source of emissions in 2021 was the residential sector, as it has been since 2016, emitting 1.71 MtCO2e of GHG. Residential emissions were down by 3.6% over 2020 but up by 3.5% since 2016.
  • The second largest source of GHG emissions in Halifax is the institutional/commercial sector emitting 1.31 MtCO2e of GHG. This is down 3.2% from 2020 and 10.9% since 2016.
  • Transportation, industrial, and waste emitted 1.00, 0.78, and 0.13 MtCO2e, respectively.

*Chart represents the minimum, mean, and maximum values for dissemination areas across each city.

Source: Dalhousie University, Professor Daniel Rainham, Custom Request

Paper: Davis, Z., de Groh, M., & Rainham, D. G. (2022). The Canadian Environmental Quality Index (Can-EQI): Development and calculation of an index to assess spatial variation of environmental quality in Canada’s 30 largest cities. Environment International, 170, 107633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envi...

Environmental Quality Index

  • The Canadian Environmental Quality Index (Can-EQI) is a composite index of environmental conditions across five domains (outdoor air pollution, natural environments, built environments, radiation, and climate/weather) for Canada’s largest urban areas. For each city, the Can-EQI is derived by calculating values for each census dissemination area (DA) in the urban part of the municipality. In Halifax, there are 427 such DAs.
  • Halifax’s average Can-EQI score of 62.3, calculated by taking the average score across selected DAs in the city, ranks second best behind only KCW. Calgary had the lowest average across benchmark cities.
  • The spread between the maximum and the minimum Can-EQI scores across DAs was the second smallest in Halifax with a maximum of 77.8 and a minimum of 44.4. Most benchmark cities contained DAs with scores above Halifax’s highest-scoring DA and DAs with scores below Halifax’s lowest-scoring DA.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INDEX WITHIN HALIFAX
Five-Year Average Index (Scores Out of 100), Selected Dissemination Areas in Halifax, 2014 to 2018

Environment in Halifax

  • The dissemination area (DA) with the lowest Can-EQI score in urban HRM is located adjacent to Pine Hill in Dartmouth. However, surrounding areas like Albro Lake Park, Wright’s Cove, and Wallace Heights have higher Can-EQI scores.
  • A cluster of DAs with relatively lower Can-EQI scores can be found on the Peninsula in the areas where Canadian Forces Base Halifax and Bilby Street Park are located.
  • The highest scores can be found in South End Halifax DAs in and around Point Pleasant Park.

*Average greenness is the percentage of land area classed as green (normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) pixel >= 0.5) within the geography. Water areas were excluded from this analysis.

Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian System of Environmental Accounting, Table: 38-10-0158-01

Average Greenness*

  • 89.5% of Halifax’s land area was classed as green in 2022, which is the second most across benchmark cities.
  • Since records on average greenness began being kept in 2000, Halifax has seen the joint lowest (with St. John’s) average annual decline in share of land classed as green at -0.2%.
  • Note that these calculations are based on the urbanized population centres of each municipality. Halifax’s high score is not biased upwards because the municipality contains very large rural areas.

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