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About Halifax

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is a modern port city teeming with culture and heritage and the perfect place for your next holiday vacation.

The entire Halifax region delights with its impressive array of entertainment, museums, galleries, historic sites, fine restaurants, colourful gardens and lively nightlife. Why not dine at O’Carroll’s restaurant and Irish pub? Through our 188 communities, explore charming seaside towns, sun-drenched beaches, sparkling coves and miles of rugged shoreline guarded by graceful lighthouses. Imagine the vivacity of city living, the charms of small town life and the pristine beauty of nature - all in one place!

Halifacts - Halifax Explosion

As we get ready for the Holidays and the cheer it brings to our households, there are many Haligonians who still remember the tragic stories that our grandparents told us about the fateful day of Thursday, December 6, 1917. It was on this day, the city was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows" section of the Halifax Harbour. About 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, or collapsed buildings and it is estimated that over 9,000 people were injured. This is still the world's largest man-made accidental explosion.

The whole north end of Halifax was demolished and the explosion damaged buildings and shattered windows as far away as Sackville and Windsor Junction, which are about 16 kilometres (10 mi) away. Buildings shook and items fell from shelves as far away as Truro (100 kilometres/60 miles) and New Glasgow (126 kilometres/80 miles). The explosion was felt and heard in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, roughly 215 kilometres/130 miles away.

To add insult to the misery, an early winter blizzard hit Halifax the next day. It dumped a whopping 40 centimetres (16 in) of snow on the city, just as relief trains were trying to make their way into the city.

A number of the relief trains came from, what Maritimers called, the “Boston States” (New England). A year after the explosion, Halifax sent a Christmas tree to the City of Boston in thanks and remembrance for the help that the Boston Red Cross and the Massachusetts Public Safety Committee provided immediately after the disaster. The tradition was revived in 1971, and has continued, as an annual gift, to this day. The fir or spruce tree is Boston's official Christmas tree and is lit on Boston Common throughout the holiday season.