Ahoy. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada’s preferred bidder for a multibillion-dollar fleet of submarines. In Atlantic Canada, that kind of massive defence spending represents a chance to catch strong economic wind – more jobs, more investment, more growth. But Halifax is fighting institutional undercurrents that risk proving just as strong. That’s in focus today.
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Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore on the downtown boardwalk lining the harbour.Darren Calabrese/The Globe and Mail
In focus
Under stress, bracing for the best
Maybe my perspective is coloured by the fact that I was born in Nova Scotia – though I was mostly raised in my beloved yet oft-ignored New Brunswick – but there really is a kind of kinetic energy running through Halifax.
Walking the downtown boardwalk of the province’s capital for the first time in more than a decade, I could see why civic leaders share an optimism that the city is on the verge of something big: new towers rising downtown, cranes dotting the skyline, a flood of spring tourists.
And now, Canada is planning to invest billions of dollars into its defence sector. Along with those massive amounts spent on military vessel procurement, business leaders expect more corporate investment, stronger supply chain stability, and permanent utility expansions.
But Halifax is already bursting at the seams. During the pandemic, a wave of remote workers from across Canada looked at the city’s housing market and had the same thought: Why aren’t we living by the ocean?
Demand quickly outpaced supply, and housing prices skyrocketed. Affordability was just one of several structural challenges the city was facing before Ottawa’s defence spending came into play.
Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore joined me on the boardwalk recently to talk about how the city can seize a generational opportunity.
This rapid expansion must put an immense amount of pressure on the city’s physical bones. What are you worried about most?
It means more people, which drives up demand for housing, transit, and pipe services like water and wastewater. We are already stretched very thin in those areas because of the growth spurt we’ve experienced over the last decade. All of that drives up costs for everyone, so affordability comes sharply into focus.
We have a lot of catching up to do to meet the sheer ambition that the federal government has for us right now.
How do you fix that municipal infrastructure gap if traditional federal funding models fall short?
The old per capita funding models are simply not enough to close the gap. I’ve engaged directly with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Infrastructure on the notion of a new Defence Impacted Communities Infrastructure Fund, and we’re beginning to use our collective voice through the Big City Mayors’ Caucus to make the case for an exceptional fund to help us meet this moment.
Let’s talk about the specific bottlenecks. Where are the current growth plans getting stuck?
The city is currently working on a suburban plan to manage growth nodes rationally, but that planning is already long overdue. At the same time, Halifax Water is working on its integrated resource plan.
Right now, both the city planning department and the water utility are saying no to opportunities until those plans are entirely finished. My position is that we do not have that luxury. We have to do both things at once: say yes to defence investments, say yes to large-scale corporate investments, and say yes to building tens of thousands of homes.
Halifax put in a bid to host Canada’s new Defence Bank. If that institution lands in a city like Toronto instead, how do you view that relationship?
We raised our hand and made a very strong case. But the bank is heavily focused on finance, so adjacency to Bay Street and the banking centre of gravity makes sense.
My pitch is to let the board decide its main headquarters, and then establish a tier of back-end support locations. That would be fantastic for Halifax because we can provide the direct Armed Forces subject matter expertise. Toronto has the banking centre of gravity, but they don’t have the defence centre of gravity that we do. We need both to make that bank work.
- You can read my full report from Halifax here.
- And you can e-mail me at cws@globeandmail.com
Charted
Revenge of the TSX
At a time when the Canadian economy feels like it’s under siege, The Globe’s Tim Shufelt writes, the Toronto Stock Exchange serves as a powerful counter-narrative.
Over the last two years, the Canadian stock market has gained nearly 55 per cent, after factoring in inflation. That ranks among the very best two-year stock rallies in history, such as the dot-com boom of the 1990s and the rebound from the global financial crisis beginning in 2009.
Quoted
Bears are being harassed and followed morning to night by people for videos and pictures.
— Ryan Phinney, a human-wildlife specialist
Exploring the great outdoors? Experts say a can of bear spray is more appropriate than a phone.
Up next
More files we’re following
By the numbers: Statistics Canada reports employment for June. Economists are expecting minimal gains and an unemployment rate remaining at 6.6 per cent. It’s been at or above 6.5 per cent since January.
By the weekend: A pattern is emerging of the U.S. President finding exits over the weekend from his deepest threats on Iran – stoking a healthy rebound in stocks to start the week. Just something to watch.
Morning update
Global stocks climbed as investors weighed Middle East tensions and awaited the highly anticipated Nasdaq debut of South Korean chip bellwether SK Hynix.
Wall Street futures were mixed with the Nasdaq pointing lower, while TSX futures were in positive territory.
Overseas, the pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.11 per cent in morning trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.03 per cent, Germany’s DAX inched up 0.02 per cent and France’s CAC 40 gave back 0.02 per cent.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei closed 1.2 per cent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.61 per cent.
The Canadian dollar traded at 70.58 U.S. cents.