Transportation & Logistics

The hub of the Atlantic Gateway

• Halifax is Atlantic Canada’s hub city, generating 17% of the combined GDP of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
• As the heart of Atlantic Canada's Gateway, Halifax is the transload hub for imports destined to the Midwest and Central Canada.
• The Halifax Gateway is comprised of the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, the Port of Halifax, two post-Panamax container terminals, CN Rain, a strong logistics and warehousing sector and excellent highway infrastructure. Read more about Halifax Gateway assets and its competitive advantages.

Why choose Halifax?

• We’re strategically located to move your goods in and out of North American fast. Halifax is 1,500 nautical miles closer to India (via the Suez Canal) than any other North American west coast port, and one full day closer to Southeast Asia than any other North American east coast container port. With our intermodal transportation, you can get your goods to:

1. New York, Boston, Montreal and Ottawa within two hours by air;
2. Europe two hours faster than any other North American destination by air;
3. New York and Boston in one day by sea;
4. Southeast Asia one day sooner than any other North American east coast container port; and,
5. Chicago from the Port of Halifax in three days by rail

• We’re Canada’s smart city, with one of the best educated workforces in all of Canada. More than two-thirds of Halifax's population has a trade, college or university designation. Halifax is home to six highly regarded universities - one of the largest concentrations of universities in North America - each specializing in various programs and degrees. These institutions currently have 5,538 graduate students and 25,014 undergraduate students enrolled.  This is in addition to the some 11,000 students across Nova Scotia who attend the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as students graduating from universities in nearby provinces.Our programs range from diplomas in aircraft maintenance engineering to PhDs in a number of science, computer science and engineering.
• Competitive business costs. Halifax offers more competitive business costs compared to other cities across North America. In its 2010 Competitive Alternatives survey of 95 jurisdictions in ten countries, KPMG found that Halifax had significantly lower costs compared to major North American cities, including Washington, Seattle, Boston, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. Halifax also offers inexpensive office space and competitive salaries. 
• The Nova Scotia Payroll Rebate and other incentives to help you relocate and expand your business. We'll be glad to assist you in identifying the ones that best suit your needs.

1. Nova Scotia Payroll Rebate
2. Productivity Investment Program (PIP): Capital Investment Incentive and Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive.
3. ACOA's Atlantic Innovation Fund
4. ACOA's Business Development Program (BDP)
5. NRC's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP)
6. The Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) Program
7. Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP)

• Deep, ice-free port with spare capacity and post-Panamax vessel handling capabilities

1. The first port of call for westbound, and last port of call for eastbound voyages.
2. The closest major port to Europe, in close proximity to the Great Circle Route - one full day faster to Europe than other North American east coast container ports.
3. The preferred connection with Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.
4. Deepest container berths on the East Coast of North America.
5. Infrastructure to handle full laden post-Panamax vessels, and with capacity to triple container volumes. The Port handled 435,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units in 2010.
6. Called by 10 of the world's top 15 container lines.
7. More scheduled liner services and direct calls to more continents than any other Canadian port.
8. Home to Autoport, one of North America's Largest vehicle processing and transhipment facilities.
9. Site of six grain towers, capable of delivering 50,000 bushels of grain per hour.
10. Imperial Oil Wharves enables coastal and foreign-going tanker vessels to load and discharge oil at wharves connected to its refinery pipeline.
11. More than a million sq. ft. of transload, distribution and warehouse space.
12. Harmonized security regulations with the US, and the US-bound cargo pre-screened on dock by U.S. Customs officials.

• Airport with US pre-clearance and ample refrigerated cargo handling capacity

1. Rated by passengers as the Best Airport in the World in its class (under 5 million) in 2010, for the seventh year in a row.
2. Used by 16 commercial airlines and five scheduled cargo airlines.
3. 8,800 foot-long runway currently being extended to 10,500 feet.
4. More than 28 metric tons of cargo and 3.5 million passengers moved in 2010.
5. Located adjacent to the Aerotech Business Park, a municipally run business park catering to the local aerospace and defence industry.
6. 40,000 sq. ft. multi-tenant cargo facility with direct airside access that includes 7,000 sq. ft. temperature controlled space.
7. With US pre-clearance at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport and the NEXUS and CANPASS programs for frequent travelers, you can avoid hassles and get to your American clients and employees quickly.

• We have immigration-friendly policies and employer support programs to help you attract foreign workers.
• The Atlantic Gateway - Halifax Logistics Park to meet your transload needs.

1. Located in Burnside Park - the largest business park north of Boston and east of Montreal with over 1,500 hundred enterprises and over 15,000 employees.
2. Next to five 100-series highways providing quick access to and from the region. 10-15 minutes to urban centre of Halifax, the Halifax Stanfield International Airport and the Port of Halifax.
3. Phase 1of the park has already attracted large anchor tenants engaged in transloading, distribution and warehousing activities.
4. New lots of serviced acreage are available for immediate acquisition. Lots can be customized to fit your distribution needs.