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Originally Posted by someone123
Don't have the data on hand right now but demographically it's mostly immigration. If I remember correctly internal migration is positive but small (maybe 1-2k a year), and births vs. deaths are pretty low too, while immigration is probably 5-6k. Last year, Halifax was one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, and I would imagine it stands hugely outside of the pack of Northeastern US cities that are sort of comparable (Portland, Providence, etc.).
NS used to have a very low provincial immigration cap not might higher than PEI. The raising of the cap was a major change for the province.
I have read that 50% of the value of construction in the metro area is on the peninsula, but I don't have a good source for that either.
Halifax is such a strange metro area. It has a lot of exurbs but also a lot of large multi-unit residential buildings for its size. If you are going to live in one of those multi-unit buildings, I think it makes more sense to be in an urban neighbourhood than a suburb. Halifax is also relatively old with a more expansive than usual urban core that is suitable for infill. It might soon end up with an urban core with 150,000-200,000 residents (I don't mean urban area but rather walkable "inner city"), something you don't see much in smaller North American metros.
The Halifax model of a strong core and then quasi-rural suburbs actually makes a lot of sense in a smaller city. I think people in big cities would choose that option too but there's not enough land for exurbs within a good commuting distance of downtown. Halifax has a combination of desirable inner-city locations and plentiful, dirt cheap suburban land.
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The geography of Halifax is really restrictive too so infill is really the only option at this point. Halifax is both really dense (for its pop) but also incredibly sprawled too which is a weird combination. If LRT/Fast Ferry/Streetcars could get planned and built faster the metro could sustainably grow to the 600,000-650,000 range if a metrolink system could connect the mainland areas, Bedford, Dartmouth/Cole Harbour and so on with increased infill in those outer centres.