There's definitely a changing perception of Halifax becoming an actually-big city. In my recent trip I visited a friend of mine living in a new condo/apartment and I think just the design and the background of other buildings out the window made it feel very Toronto in a way. Maybe it was the cramped layout or everything in the building being in English & Chinese.
It's an aside, and I had nowhere good to mention it, but Halifax feels bigger than Ottawa. Ottawa's sprawl is soul-sucking, but it really feels like Halifax's downtown core and central areas are more proper big city than Canada's capital. Moving around the peninsula, taking a bridge over to Dartmouth...felt more big city than winding around Ottawa avenues. Two cents.