Atlantic Canada's Urban Growth Agenda - Greater Halifax Partnership

• One large airport serving a broad region versus multiple airports serving local populations
A continuing challenge for Atlantic Canadian urban areas is the overcapacity in airport infrastructure with no
critical mass (with the exception of the Halifax International Airport). In the Maritime provinces, for example,
there are five aggressively competing airports within a 4.5-hour drive of each other (Fredericton, Saint John,
Moncton, Charlottetown and Halifax). There is a scheduled services airport (with daily scheduled flights) for
every 250,000 citizens in Atlantic Canada - by far the highest ratio in North America – yet there are 30% less air
passengers per-capita compared to Canada and 58% less compared to the U.S. This over capacity in airport
infrastructure has led to fewer flight options and higher prices which have been disincentives to air travel.
Ineffective air transportation links can have a ripple effect on the entire economy influencing business investment
decisions, head/regional office decisions, conference/tourism activity, as well as immigration.
• Better urban transit versus better urban fringe/rural transit to/from the urban area
Canada’s largest urban centres are challenged by urban transit issues. Commute times to work are growing,
public transit infrastructure is strained. Atlantic Canadian cities, by contrast, are relatively uncongested. Despite
relatively easy access, there are significant employment rate differentials between the urban areas and many of
the communities that are in close proximity (up to a 30 percentage point difference). The employment rate
differential is significantly reduced and in some cases reversed for communities that are connected to the urban
area by a four-lane highway. Many of Atlantic Canada’s urban areas a highly connected with the rural
communities for health-care services, retail shopping infrastructure, etc. People routinely drive 1-1.5 hours to
access many of these services. However, it does not seem there is similar mobility related to the job market.
• High urban density versus low urban density
Atlantic Canadian urban areas are much less densely developed than Canada’s large urban areas and that trend
has been continuing in recent years. From 1997–2001 employment growth in the urban fringe 1 areas within
Atlantic Canada’s CMAs/CAs was 42% compared to only 11.7% in Canada as a whole.
• Enhancing strategic development infrastructure versus creating new development infrastructure
For the most part, Atlantic Canadian urban areas do not have the critical mass to support large-scale
development oriented infrastructure compared to Canada’s largest urban areas. Examples of strategic
development infrastructure include international airports and recreational and cultural assets found only in large
urban areas.
• Co-ordinating large populations in one municipality versus co-ordinating many municipalities with
smaller populations
Atlantic Canada’s urban areas have significantly more municipalities located within them compared to Canada’s
largest urban areas (with the exception of Halifax and Cape Breton). The Moncton CA, for example, has three
different municipalities in less than 200 square kilometers, and 12 different municipalities in an area one-third the
size of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
• Urban-dominated population versus an urban/rural mix
Atlantic Canada has a high percentage of rural dwellers, with some 45% of the population living in rural
communities in 2001 compared to only 20% nationally. However, in the Maritime provinces, this rural population
lives in relatively close proximity to urban areas. Some 98% of the Maritime province’s population lives within an
hour’s drive of a CMA or CA. In many of Canada’s provinces, the rural populations are much more isolated.
1 A CMA or CA area has three components: an urban core, an urban fringe and a rural fringe.
…Atlantic Canadian Context v