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Survey Results | May 2010
Sponsoring PartnersMetro HalifaxWe are pleased to co-sponsor this second CityThink
for HRM. We feel that part of our mandate is to reflect
the opinions, hopes and concerns of our readers and
the citizens of this area. We believe we have selected
an interesting and useful range of topics for this year.
They range from the economy, to development, crime and
personal financial situations.
This summary represents an overview of CityThink for
2010 and over the next week we will use the results from
this survey to publish a series of stories looking behind the
numbers. We look forward to your reading!
Greg Lutes
Publisher, Metro Halifax
Greater Halifax PartnershipAs the catalyst for economic growth and confidence in
Greater Halifax, we think it is important for us to support
initiatives like this. CityThink is a valuable tool for business
and community leaders because it offers insight into the
perceptions and attitudes of citizens on a wide range of
current topics.
We hope you find the information interesting and useful.
Paul Kent
President and CEO
Greater Halifax Partnership
OmnifactsWe are delighted to bring you a new edition of CityThink
for Metro Halifax and want to thank Metro and Greater
Halifax Partnership for their support and assistance
throughout this research. We have included questions to
give a good overview of public perception on a wide range
of topics. We certainly hope you find the information to
be helpful.
This short publication is intended to give a quick overview
of the major topics included on the survey. Over the
coming week more detailed coverage will follow in Metro.
Thank you for your interest in our work.
Craig Wight
Vice President Omnifacts
CityThink – HRM
Economic Performance(% indicating good or excellent)
Economic Confidence(% indicating better)
AtlanticThink – Atlantic Canada
AtlanticThink – Nova Scotia
CityThink – HRM
AtlanticThink – Nova Scotia
AtlanticThink – Atlantic Canada
0
10
20
30
40
50
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70
80
90
100
EconomyAs the world begins to recover from the global recession
and countries like Greece are dealing with a debt crisis,
residents of HRM are feeling pretty good about the region’s
economic situation. More than half rate HRM’s economy as
good or excellent and one third expect things to get even
better in the year ahead.
How does that fair compared to the rest of Atlantic
Canada? Pretty good when we look at our recent numbers
from AtlanticThink (Omnifacts’ quarterly research
publication). Residents of HRM give higher ratings for
the economy and are more positive about the future
compared to their counterparts in the rest of Nova Scotia
and Atlantic Canada.
The Economy – Performance and Confidence
Participate in a wide range of
leisure activities
Start a new business
Grow an existing business
Earn a competitive salary
Develop commercial real estate
Work in the field for which you
are trained
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Think the good news ends there? Think again. Perceptions
of HRM on a variety of measures related to the business
climate are very positive as well. More than four in ten feel
HRM is a great place to start or grow an existing business.
About half feel they can earn a competitive salary for the
work they do and almost two thirds feel residents can
work in the field for which they are trained.
People in HRM are feeling pretty good about their personal
financial health as well. Four in ten residents we surveyed
indicated they were doing okay while the same number
said they were doing well or great. Just one in five people
said that they can’t cope or are just getting by.
Business Climate – Percentage rating “Good” or “Excellent”
Personal Financial Health
Description2007
CityThink – HRM
2010 CityThink –
HRM
Can’t cope / Just getting by
22% 18%
Doing okay 39% 41%
Doing well/great 36% 38%
Description2009
AtlanticThink – Atlantic Canada
2009 AtlanticThink –
Nova Scotia
Can’t cope / Just getting by
34% 32%
Doing okay 42% 44%
Doing well/great 23% 24%
Strongly support
Support
HRM using rail lines as a form of
public transit service
Creating a high-speed ferry transit service between
Bedford and Halifax
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
More positive About the same More negative0
10
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50
60
70
80
90
100
Public TransitThis year, we asked residents to indicate their level of
support for two potential developments for the public
transit system. Their reaction was very positive. 81% were
in favour of HRM using rail lines as a form of public transit
service while 65% gave the thumbs up to creating a high-
speed ferry service between Bedford and Halifax.
So how do the majority of people in HRM get around?
Well, almost nine in ten households surveyed had a vehicle
while 22% ride the bus at least once a week. We also
asked those bus riders how they felt about paying more
per trip for an improved bus system. Two thirds of bus
riders indicated they would be at least somewhat willing.
DowntownThere hasn’t been a lot of change in peoples’ attitudes
towards downtown Halifax compared to three years ago.
Two thirds indicated they felt the same while just 16%
indicated they were more positive and 19% were feeling
more negative. Further, very few people said they were
highly concerned about the changes happening in the
downtown area (just 22% gave a rating of 8 or higher).
That’s not to say people don’t visit downtown Halifax.
The majority of residents we surveyed go downtown at
least once every two or three months with one third going
at least once a week. Their reasons for going downtown?
Top mentions included:
Dining/restaurants – 25%•
Attend an event or show – 21%•
Shopping – 18%•
Public Transit – Percentage who support each
Attitudes towards Downtown Halifax –
Compared to 3 years ago
CrimeWe also looked at crime again in 2010. Interestingly,
71% felt that downtown Halifax was mostly or very safe.
This was up significantly from 50% just three years ago.
This trend also extended to other indicators of crime in
HRM. In 2010, just 14% indicated they had personally
been a victim of a serious crime, 47% personally knew
someone else who had been a victim of a criminal act and
70% avoid areas of HRM for safety reasons. While most of
these numbers were down, the fact that so many residents
still avoid areas of HRM for safety reasons suggests there’s
work left to do.
Very safe
Mostly safe
2007 20100
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Personally been a victim of a serious crime
Know someone who has been a victim of a serious crime
Areas of HRM you avoid for safety reasons
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1002007
2010
Crime Indicators – Percentage indicating “Yes” to each
Downtown Halifax – Percentage who consider it
“Mostly” or “Very” safe
DevelopmentCurrent development in the region is seen as having
a positive impact on HRM by the majority of residents.
Approximately two thirds indicated that the economic
growth, residential and commercial development that has
occurred in HRM over the past 10 years has been good
for the region.
While growth has been positive, respondents were split
on whether HRM’s development policies inhibit or favour
development. People from higher income brackets tended
to feel that they did more harm than good. Residents were
also divided on whether policies placed the right level of
emphasis on heritage preservation. Despite these mixed
feelings, respondents did agree that HRM has experienced
significant growth over the past 12 months – two thirds
described the level of growth as “some” or “a lot”.
Municipal PoliticsDespite the array of positive news on issues such as public
transit, crime and development, things weren’t quite as
rosy when we turned to municipal affairs. Ratings (7+)
for the mayor and city council have dropped significantly
since we surveyed in 2007. When it comes to the current
number of councilors, more than half feel there should be
a decrease for HRM.
Economic Growth –
Past 10 years
Residential Development – Past 10 years
Commercial Development – Past 10 years
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Development in HRM –
Percentage indicating “Good for HRM”
Municipal Satisfaction – Percentage rating “7 or higher”
2007 CityThink 2010 CityThink
Mayor 57% 45%
Council 39% 28%
Research MethodologyOmnifacts is pleased to be partnering with Metro Halifax
and Greater Halifax Partnership to bring you this edition of
CityThink for HRM. The research is based on a random
sample of 500 adults in HRM. Data collection ended on
April 28th, 2010. The margin of error for a sample of 500 is
±4.4% 19 times out of 20.
Comparison data is taken from 2007 results as well as
from Omnifacts’ AtlanticThink, an exclusive report on
Atlantic Canadians based on a quarterly survey of 1,800
Atlantic Canadians.
