[Hali87]

Technically Halifax and Sydney are both RM's, not cities. This is more of a governance/legal distinction, although it does influence the way the "cities" function. I was in Sydney recently and was actually surprised by how urban it is; it certainly feels just as much like a "city" as Moncton or Fredericton, for example. The layout of CBRM also makes it feel a bit more big-citylike, due to the freeway network etc. although there are relatively large gaps between Sydney, N. Sydney, Glace Bay and New Waterford.

The distinction between "towns" and "cities" is pretty arbitrary anyway. Markham and Oakville were (still are?) officially considered "towns", while many "cities" in NB and BC have populations under 15,000. Many other provinces would consider places like Truro and New Glasgow to be "cities".