View source for Halifax County, Nova Scotia

<!-- Infobox begins -->
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name          = Halifax County
| other_name             =
| native_name            = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
| nickname               =
| settlement_type        =  [[List of municipalities in Nova Scotia|County]] <!--For Town or Village (Leave blank for the default City)-->
| motto                  =
| image_skyline          =
| image_caption          =
| image_map              = HalifaxCountyHRM.png
| mapsize                = 275px
| map_caption            = Location of Halifax County in [[Nova Scotia]]
| subdivision_type       = Country
| subdivision_name       = Canada
| subdivision_type1      = Province
| subdivision_name1      = [[Nova Scotia]]
| subdivision_type2      =
| subdivision_name2      =
| government_footnotes   =
| government_type        = Regional Council
| leader_title           = Present governing council
| leader_name            = [[Halifax Regional Council]]
| established_title      = Established
| established_date       = August 17, 1759
| established_title2     = Incorporated county
| established_date2      = April 17, 1879 
| established_title3     = Dissolved into the Halifax Regional Municipality
| established_date3      = April 1, 1996
| unit_pref              = <!--Enter: Imperial, if Imperial (metric) is desired-->
| area_footnotes         = <ref>{{cite web |title=Electronic Area Profiles |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census96/data/profiles/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=35782&PRID=0&PTYPE=3&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=1996&THEME=34&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |website=Statistics Canada |date = 29 October 1998|access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref>
| area_total_km2         = 5557.29 <!-- ALL fields dealing with a measurements are subject to automatic unit conversion-->
| area_land_km2          = <!--See table @ Template:Infobox Settlement for details on automatic unit conversion-->
| area_water_km2         =
| population_as_of       = [[Canada 1996 Census|1996]]
| population_footnotes   = <ref>{{cite web |title=Electronic Area Profiles |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census96/data/profiles/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=35782&PRID=0&PTYPE=3&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=1996&THEME=34&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |website=Statistics Canada |date = 29 October 1998|access-date=22 May 2020}}</ref>
| population_note        =
| population_total       = 342966
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone               = [[Atlantic Standard Time|AST]]
| utc_offset             = -4
| timezone_DST           =
| utc_offset_DST         =
| coordinates            = {{coord|44.9|N|63.1|W|region:CA-NS_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_footnotes    = <!--for references: use <ref> tags-->
| elevation_m            =
| postal_code_type       =
| postal_code            =
| area_code              = [[Area code 902|902]]
| blank_name             = Median earnings{{efn|Median household income, 2021 (all households)}}
| blank_info             = $81,000
| website                = [https://halifax.ca https://halifax.ca]
}} <!-- Infobox ends -->

'''Halifax County''' ({{langx|gd|Siorramachd Haileafaics}}; {{langx|fr|Comté de Halifax|links=}}) is a [[county]] in the [[province (Canada)|Canadian province]] of [[Nova Scotia]].<!-- NOTE: This is still a county – it is merely the county government which no longer exists after the HRM was incorporated.--> 

==History==
Deriving its name from [[George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax]] (1716–1771), Halifax County was established by order-in-council on August 17, 1759. The boundaries of four other counties&nbsp;– [[Annapolis County, Nova Scotia|Annapolis]], [[Kings County, Nova Scotia|Kings]], [[Cumberland County, Nova Scotia|Cumberland]] and [[Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia|Lunenburg]]&nbsp;– were specifically defined at that time, with Halifax County comprising all the part of peninsular Nova Scotia that was not within their limits.

Following the end of the [[Seven Years' War]] in 1763, [[Cape Breton Island]] was formally annexed to Nova Scotia until 1784 when it became a separate colony. From 1763 to 1784, Cape Breton Island formed part of Halifax County.

Cape Breton Island ceased being a separate colony and was reannexed to Nova Scotia in 1820.  The boundary of Halifax County was further modified in 1822. That part of St. Mary's Township (established in 1818) which had been in Halifax County was annexed to and included within [[Sydney County, Nova Scotia|Sydney County]]; "Sydney County" was a historic county that included all of Cape Breton Island and present-day [[Antigonish County, Nova Scotia|Antigonish]] and [[Guysborough County, Nova Scotia|Guysborough]] counties.

The dividing line between the Districts of Halifax and Colchester, within Halifax County, was confirmed and established on May 3, 1828. In 1835, Halifax County was divided and the counties of [[Colchester County, Nova Scotia|Colchester]] and [[Pictou County, Nova Scotia|Pictou]] were created out of parts of what had previously been Halifax County. Eventually in 1880 the boundary between the Counties of Halifax and Colchester was fixed.

==Governance==
Municipal government at the county level in Nova Scotia dates to proclamation of ''The County Incorporation Act'' on April 17, 1879, which saw the establishment of the Municipality of the County of Halifax.

The Municipality of the County of Halifax was the municipal government of Halifax County, apart from the separately incorporated towns and cities therein as well as several First Nation reserves. The county municipality was dissolved on April 1, 1996, together with those town and city municipal governments, and all were [[Amalgamation of the Halifax Regional Municipality|amalgamated into the Halifax Regional Municipality]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.halifax.ca/community/history.php|title=History of Halifax|publisher=Halifax|language=en|access-date=8 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924024755/http://www.halifax.ca/community/history.php|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The boundaries of Halifax County and the [[Halifax Regional Municipality]] are approximately the same. The county, however, also includes five First Nations reserves.

Halifax County continues to exist as a county in Nova Scotia, but all municipal government and service delivery is provided by either the Halifax Regional Municipality or the respective First Nations, with no additional county level government or administration.

== Communities ==
{{Main|List of communities in Halifax County, Nova Scotia}}

;Regional municipalities
*[[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax Regional Municipality]]

;Reserves
*[[Beaver Lake 17]]
*[[Cole Harbour 30]]
*[[Sheet Harbour 36]]
*[[Shubenacadie 13]]
*Wallace Hills 14A

== Demographics ==
As a [[Census divisions of Canada|census division]] in the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 Census of Population]] conducted by [[Statistics Canada]], Halifax County had a population of {{nts|440072}} living in {{nts|190650}} of its {{nts|200619}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:440072-403390}}|403390|1}} from its 2016 population of {{nts|403390}}. With a land area of {{convert|5477.53|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|440072|5477.53|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name=2021census>{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000701 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census divisions | publisher=[[Statistics Canada]] | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=April 2, 2022}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Subdivisions of Nova Scotia}}
{{Portal bar|Canada|Nova Scotia}}

[[Category:Halifax County, Nova Scotia| ]]
[[Category:Former county municipalities in Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1996]]
[[Category:Populated places disestablished in 1996]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1759]]
[[Category:Counties of Nova Scotia]]