Halifax is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is one of a handful of ridings which has been represented continuously (albeit with different boundaries and different numbers of members) in the House of Commons since Confederation in 1867.
The riding of Halifax includes the communities of Spryfield, Sambro, Herring Cove, Harrietsfield, Williamswood, Prospect, Purcell's Cove, Armdale, Cowie Hill, Fairmount, Kline Heights, and the Halifax Peninsula.
History
The electoral district was created at Confederation in 1867. It returned two members until 1968.
The most notable of the riding's MPs was Robert Borden, who was Conservative leader from 1901 to 1920, and Prime Minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. Borden represented the riding from 1896 to 1904 and again from 1909 to 1917. Another notable MP was Robert Stanfield, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party from 1967 to 1976, who represented the riding from 1968 to 1979.
Halifax was represented by the New Democratic Party from 1997 to 2015, with the Liberal Party coming in second in every election from 2000 to 2015. The riding's boundaries were re-distributed in 2004. Before that date, it comprised the peninsula of Halifax, the community of Fairview, and part of Clayton Park.
Alexa McDonough stepped down as NDP leader in 2003, but stayed on to represent Halifax in the House of Commons. McDonough ran for re-election against popular city councillor Sheila Fougere in 2004, who came within 1000 votes of beating the incumbent. McDonough pulled ahead based in part on a strong showing in Halifax's North End. On 2 June 2008, McDonough announced that she would not seek re-election.
Following the 2012 redistribution, the riding gained a small part of the riding of Halifax West, on the eastern side of Long Lake Provincial Park.
Following the 2022 redistribution, the riding lost the Fairmount area to Halifax West.
Demographics
According to the 2021 Canadian census, 2023 representation order
Languages: 82.8% English, 3.1% French, 2.5% Mandarin, 1.8% Arabic, 1.1% Punjabi <br/>
Race: 73.9% White, 6.1% South Asian, 5.4% Black, 3.8% Chinese, 3.2% Indigenous, 2.4% Arab, 1.1% Filipino<br/>
Religions: 42.8% Christian (19.6% Catholic, 5.6% Anglican, 4.8% United Church, 2.3% Baptist, 10.6% other), 3.8% Muslim, 2.8% Hindu, 1.2% Sikh, 46.9% none<br/>
Median income: $38,400 (2020)<br/>
Average income: $52,900 (2020)
Geography
The district includes the old City of Halifax except for the extreme western part, the area along the west coast of Halifax Harbour and along the Atlantic Ocean until Pennant. It also includes Sable Island. The area is .
Members of Parliament
Halifax was a two-member riding from 1867 to 1968, electing its members through block voting. Since the 1968 Canadian federal election, it has elected just one MP in each election, electing its member through first past the post.
This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:
{| class="wikitable"
|+2 member riding (1867–1968)
! Parliament
! style="width: 80px;" | Years
! colspan="2" | Member
! Party
! colspan="2" | Member
! Party
|-
| bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="8" align="center" | Halifax
|-
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 1st
| 1867–1869
| |
| rowspan="3" | Alfred Gilpin Jones
| Anti-Confederation
| |
| rowspan="3" | Patrick Power
| Anti-Confederation
|-
| 1869–1870
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | Independent
| |
| Liberal
|-
| 1870–1872
| |
| Independent Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 2nd
| 1872–1874
| |
| William Johnston Almon
| Liberal–Conservative
| |
| Stephen Tobin
| Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 3rd
| 1874–1878
| |
| Patrick Power
| Independent Liberal
| |
| Alfred Gilpin Jones
| Independent
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 4th
| 1878–1882
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | Matthew Henry Richey
| rowspan="2" | Liberal–Conservative
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" | Malachy Bowes Daly
| rowspan="3" | Liberal–Conservative
|-
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 5th
| 1882–1883
|-
| 1883–1887
| |
| John Fitzwilliam Stairs
| Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 6th
| 1887–1891
| |
| Alfred Gilpin Jones
| Liberal
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | Thomas Edward Kenny
| rowspan="2" | Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 7th
| 1891–1896
| rowspan="3" |
| John Fitzwilliam Stairs
| rowspan="3" | Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 8th
| 1896–1900
| rowspan="2" | Robert Borden
| rowspan="3" |
| Benjamin Russell
| rowspan="3" | Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 9th
| 1900–1904
| rowspan="2" | William Roche
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 10th
| 1904–1908
| |
| Michael Carney
| Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 11th
| 1908–1911
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | Robert Borden
| rowspan="2" | Conservative
| |
| Adam Brown Crosby
| Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 12th
| 1911–1917
| |
| rowspan="4" | Alexander Kenneth Maclean
| Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 13th
| 1917–1921
| |
| Peter Francis Martin
| Government (Unionist)
| |
| Government (Unionist)
|-
| rowspan="3" bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 14th
| 1921–1922
| rowspan="3" |
| Edward Blackadder
| rowspan="3" | Liberal
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | Liberal
|-
| 1922–1923
| rowspan="2" | Robert Emmett Finn
|-
| 1923–1925
| rowspan="4" |
| rowspan="4" | William Anderson Black
| rowspan="4" | Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 15th
| 1925–1926
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" | Felix Patrick Quinn
| rowspan="3" | Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 16th
| 1926–1930
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 17th
| 1930–1935
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 18th
| 1935–1940
| rowspan="7" |
| rowspan="5" | Gordon Benjamin Isnor
| rowspan="7" | Liberal
| rowspan="7" |
| Robert Emmett Finn
| rowspan="7" | Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 19th
| 1940–1945
| rowspan="2" | William Chisholm Macdonald
|-
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 20th
| 1945–1947
|-
| 1947–1949
| rowspan="4" | John Dickey
|-
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 21st
| 1949–1950
|-
| 1950–1953
| rowspan="2" | Samuel Rosborough Balcom
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 22nd
| 1953–1957
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 23rd
| 1957–1958
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" | Robert McCleave
| rowspan="3" | Progressive Conservative
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" | Edmund L. Morris
| rowspan="3" | Progressive Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 24th
| 1958–1962
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 25th
| 1962–1963
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 26th
| 1963–1965
| |
| John Lloyd
| Liberal
| |
| Gerald Regan
| Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 27th
| 1965–1968
| |
| Robert McCleave
| Progressive Conservative
| |
| Michael Forrestall
| Progressive Conservative
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Single member riding (1968–present)
! Parliament
! style="width: 80px;" | Years
! colspan="2" | Member
! Party
|-
| bgcolor="#F0F0F0" colspan="5" align="center" | Halifax
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 28th
| 1968–1972
| rowspan="4" |
| rowspan="3" | Robert Stanfield
| rowspan="4" | Progressive Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 29th
| 1972–1974
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 30th
| 1974–1979
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 31st
| 1979–1980
| George Cooper
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 32nd
| 1980–1984
| |
| Gerald Regan
| Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 33rd
| 1984–1988
| |
| Stewart McInnes
| Progressive Conservative
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 34th
| 1988–1993
| rowspan="2" |
| rowspan="2" | Mary Clancy
| rowspan="2" | Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 35th
| 1993–1997
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 36th
| 1997–2000
| rowspan="6" |
| rowspan="4" | Alexa McDonough
| rowspan="6" | New Democratic
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 37th
| 2000–2004
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 38th
| 2004–2006
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 39th
| 2006–2008
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 40th
| 2008–2011
| rowspan="2" | Megan Leslie
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 41st
| 2011–2015
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 42nd
| 2015–2019
| rowspan="3" |
| rowspan="3" | Andy Fillmore
| rowspan="3" | Liberal
|-
| bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 43rd
| 2019–2021
|-
| rowspan="2" bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 44th
| 2021–2024
|-
| 2024–2025
| |
| colspan="2" | Vacant
|-
| rowspan="1" bgcolor="whitesmoke" align="center" | 45th
| 2025-<small>present</small>
| rowspan="1" |
| rowspan="1" | Shannon Miedema
| rowspan="1" | Liberal
|-
|}
Election results
2025
2025 general election
2021
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2021 federal election redistributed results
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
| |
| Liberal ||align=right| 20,087 ||align=right| 42.24
|-
| |
| New Democratic ||align=right| 19,160 ||align=right| 40.29
|-
| |
| Conservative ||align=right| 6,062 ||align=right| 12.75
|-
| |
| Green ||align=right| 1,052 ||align=right| 2.21
|-
| |
| People's ||align=right| 1,003 ||align=right| 2.11
|-
| |
| Others ||align=right| 192 ||align=right| 0.40
|}
2019
2015
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2011 federal election redistributed results
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
| |
| New Democratic ||align=right| 23,761 ||align=right| 51.62
|-
| |
| Liberal ||align=right| 11,805 ||align=right| 25.64
|-
| |
| Conservative ||align=right| 8,292 ||align=right| 18.01
|-
| |
| Green ||align=right| 2,023 ||align=right| 4.39
|-
| |
| Marxist-Leninist ||align=right| 152 ||align=right| 0.33
|}
2011
2008
2006
2004
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2000 federal election redistributed results
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="230px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
| |
| New Democratic || 17,548 || 41.56
|-
| |
| Liberal || 13,453 || 31.86
|-
| |
| Progressive Conservative || 7,487 || 17.73
|-
| |
| Alliance || 2,570 || 6.09
|-
| |
| Others || 1,169 || 2.77
|}
2000
1997
1993
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 1993 federal election redistributed results
|-
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" colspan="2" | Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" | Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
| |
| Liberal ||align=right| 21,210 ||align=right| 47.42
|-
| |
| Progressive Conservative ||align=right| 9,677 ||align=right| 21.63
|-
| |
| Reform ||align=right| 6,151 ||align=right| 13.75
|-
| |
| New Democratic ||align=right| 5,469 ||align=right| 12.23
|-
| |
| Others ||align=right| 2,225 ||align=right| 4.97
|}
1988
1984
1980
1979
1974
1972
1968
1867–1968: two members
Approximately 13,000 valid ballots were cast in this election.
Approximately 10,000 valid ballots cast in this election.
Approximately 8500 valid ballots cast in this election.
Approximately 5500 valid ballots cast in this election.
Approximately 6300 ballots cast in this election.
4948 valid ballots cast.
4480 voted out of 5958 eligible voters.
See also
- List of Canadian electoral districts
- Historical federal electoral districts of Canada
References
Notes
External links
- Riding history for Halifax (1867– ) from the Library of Parliament