Halifax, Nova Scotia, is renewing its Economic Strategy for 2011-2016 in collaboration with all three levels of government, business and community. This presentation provides economic background

1. Renewal of Halifax Regional Municipality’s Economic Strategy Economic BackgroundJune, 2010

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4. Halifax Snapshot Halifax Quick Facts Population – Over 370,000 Labour Force Size – 230,000 400,000 people within 30 miles Unemployment rate – 6.5% Real GDP 12,909(million) 1.4% growth Conference board forecasted that Real GDP in Halifax in 2009 grew by 1.4%, ahead of cities such as: Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver. Halifax’s GDP represents 47% of Provincial GDP 4

5. 10-year Economic Overview Sources: Statistics Canada, CMHC, MPHEC 5

6. New Jobs in Greater Halifax Financial Services • Butterfield Fund Services – 400 jobs • Olympia Capital – 150 jobs • CITCO Fund Services – 350 jobs • Marsh – 150 jobs • Admiral Insurance – 150 jobs • Meridian Fund Services (Canada) Ltd – 50 jobs • ADP Canada – 122 jobs • Manulife Bank – 150 jobs Aerospace and Defense • IMP Aerospace Ltd. – 350 jobs • General Dynamics – 110 jobs • L-3 Electronics System – 210 jobs Oil & Gas/Energy •Deep Panuke Project – 35 jobs Nearshore Outsourcing •Minacs – 300 jobs • Hogg Robinson Group – 250 jobs Information Technology • xwave – 250 jobs • CGI Group Inc. – 23 jobs • SportsDirect Inc. – 110 jobs Other •Halifax Regional Police – 36 jobs • Scorpio Mining Corporation – 40 jobs 6

8. Closer to Boston than to Montreal

10. Closer to Boston than to Montreal

11. Closer to New York than to Toronto7

12. Population by Age – Halifax 2006 Source: Statistics Canada 8

13. Education Attainment 67%of the population of Halifax have trade, college or university qualifications –the 4th highest in Canada. Source: 2006 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia Perspective, Release #7, Nova Scotia Department of Finance, Statistics Division 9

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15. Recent Economic Performance 11

16. Halifax’s labour force growth has outperformed other areas of Nova Scotia by a wide margin 12

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18. Employment Comparison Unlike the rest of Canada, Nova Scotia, and the Atlantic Provinces, Halifax has continued to create jobs throughout the recent recession 14

19. CIBC’s index of 9 indicators places Halifax as the top performing economy in Canada 15

20. CFIB Confidence Survey: February 2010 At the beginning of 2010 – Nova Scotia has the highest level of small business confidence in Canada 16

21. Halifax’s Average Earnings Trend Average earnings in Halifax have been increasing steadily over the last 4 years 17

22. Halifax’s NSCC Campus Enrollment Trend NSCC enrollment in Halifax campuses are increasing sharply and consistently. 18

23. Halifax’s University Enrollment Trend University enrollment has continued to decrease but saw a rebound in 2009. 19

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25. Quantitative Results Our population has increased by more than 15,000. More than 18,000 net new jobs have been created. The average income has jumped by more than $4,000 The jump in outmigration so evident in 2006-07 has reversed. At the beginning of 2010, Nova Scotia and Halifax had the highest level of small business confidence in Canada and that index was at its highest level in four years. By the end of 2009 CIBC’s Metro Monitor told us that by a measure of 9 different indicators, Halifax had the strongest economy in Canada 21

26. Qualitative Results HRM by design has been approved and several new projects have been approved or are under construction in the Capital District HRM has set infrastructure spending priorities Young professionals are engaged in their community, thanks to FUSION Halifax. 22

27. Sector Results Both Port and Airport gateways have made major investments and have begun to rebound from the world recession. Substantial strenthing of the finance and insurance sector…HRM’s highest wage sector Stabilization of Defense and other Federal Government Employment HRM is on the brink of a major investment in a new convention centre…the private component of which will add to the stock of class A downtown office space. Several additional class A office projects have been proposed for the downtown core. A gateway strategy has been developed but implementation is slow. 23

28. Business Climate Measurable improvements in processing times for development agreements and project approvals have been achieved. However Nova Scotia’s tax and regulatory burden seems to be among the most burdensome in Canada. 24

29. Chamber Scorecard The Chamber accepted the substantial role of developing a yearly community progress report on the strategy based on established outcome measures. Outcomes were mixed. Notably population, university enrolment, and public and private investment targets did not meet their stretch goals. However, significant progress was achieved in regulatory reform and most of the top 11 priority actions. 25

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31. Hub City Defined The Conference Board Of Canada’s research shows that 9 Canadian cities drive an even faster rate of growth in smaller communities within the same province or region. The Conference Board demonstrates growth convergence between the cities and surrounding areas…in other words gaps in GDP growth between the hub city and surrounding areas are declining rapidly. The gap between GDP per capita in Halifax, surrounding centres of Nova Scotia and other Atlantic provinces shows the strongest convergence of any hub city in Canada In other words, Halifax not only pulls along the economies of surrounding communities, it helps them grow even faster than the hub. 27

32. Hub City Facts Over 13,000 people from outside HRM commute to the community daily for employment. These workers bring about $600 million in income back to their communities each year from their jobs in Halifax. Aside from declines in primary and manufacturing sectors employment in most other sectors was up outside of Halifax. 28

33. Halifax is Atlantic Canada’s Economic Hub Gateway Digital Industries Finance & Insurance Ocean Industry Life Science Education Hospitality –Tourism Green-Tec Real Estate – Development Aerospace & Defence Advanced Manufacturing Hub city assets drive the economic growth of Halifax and all of Nova Scotia 29

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36. Labour market shifts demand different and new skills.

37. Labour Market Outlook: Nova Scotia *YTD Estimate **Projection 33

38. Population Growth 2001-2006 Halifax has not kept pace with growth in neighbouring cities 34

39. Net Youth Migration Aged 20 – 34 2001 - 2006 While Halifax has had net improvement in youth migration our performance is no longer the best among medium sized cities Source: Statistics Canada, Census 2006 35

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41. A Green Community HRM Harbour Solutions $333 million First coastal city in Atlantic Canada to move to full treatment Solid waste diversion at over 60% Highest of any city in Canada Pesticide by-law Green Energy Plan 37

42. Quality of Life Vibrant arts and culture environment - symphony, theatre, art galleries, museums, historic sites, major junior hockey Hub city, pub & club city Variety of recreation - parks, beaches, hiking, boating, golf Physical beauty Over 10% of Halifax workers walk to work Harbour Solutions, Recycling, Pesticide By-Law 38

43. Quality of Life Factors, by Indicated Frequency of Importance 39

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46. Myth 1: HRM’s population thinks growth is bad.

47. Attitudes To Economic Growth (mean ratings; 10 = “strongly agree”)(7 is considered strong approval of a statement) 43

48. Change Over Last 10 - 15 Years Has Been: (Total Sample: 1371) 44

49. Myth 2: People don’t support the idea of a densely developed urban core.

50. Development In Downtown Halifax (Total Sample: 1371) 46

51. Note: Scale is 0% – 50% Downtown Halifax Should Be The Location For Future Development: By Type Of Development (among those stating strong preference for town or city) 47

52. Note: Scale is 0% – 50% Downtown Halifax Should Be The Location For Future Development: By Type Of Development 48

53. Myth 3: People don’t recognize and support downtown Halifax as ‘the showroom’ of the regional municipality.

54. Development In Downtown Halifax(Total Sample: 1371) 50

55. Who Will Benefit From (Further) Growth And Development In Downtown Halifax (Total Sample: 1371) 51

56. n= 516 376 I Will Personally Benefit From Further Growth And Development In Downtown Halifax(among those stating strong preference for town or city) 52

57. My Neighborhood Will Benefit From Further Growth & Development In Downtown Halifax (among those stating strong preference for town or city) 53

58. Myth 4: People are opposed to tall buildings. 54

59. A Building’s Visual Appeal Is Very Important(Total Sample: 1371) 55

60. Support For Developments In The Downtown Core (Total Sample: 1371) 56

61. Developments That Are 10 Stories Or Taller In The Downtown Core (among those stating strong preference for town or city) 57

62. Developments That Are 4 to 10 Stories Tall In The Spring Garden Road Area (among those stating strong preference for town or city) 58