HEAD AND REGIONAL OFFICES

Halifax is a strategic location for companies looking to establish a head or regional office.

• Home to the majority of Atlantic Canada’s head and regional offices, Halifax is the largest commercial centre in Atlantic Canada and the logical place for a company to establish a head or regional office in the region.

• Halifax is the regional headquarters of Canada’s “Big 5” banks as well as several Fortune 500 companies.

• Halifax is a competitive location for the development of branch offices headquartered elsewhere – particularly to serve Eastern and Atlantic Canada and in sectors aligned with the province’s strengths (e.g. defence, marine transportation).

• With one of the largest concentrations of universities, best educated workforces in North America, and largest workforces in the region, Halifax offers a sustainable, talented workforce to support business growth.

HEAD AND REGIONAL OFFICES

• Opportunity to do business in, and from, Atlantic Canada’s regional commercial centre

• Strategic location for international travel, business, trade and service delivery across European, North American and Caribbean time zones (UTC – 04:00)

• Necessary infrastructure and professional services support for HROs

• Access to a sustainable, talented workforce to support business growth

• Lower wage costs

• Reliable and Secure telecommunications

• Opportunities for R&D collaboration

• Lower cost of living

• Good work/life balance

HALIFAX OFFERS HEAD AND REGIONAL OFFICES:

SECTOR OVERVIEW

Nova Scotia is home to 78 head offices, most of which are located in Halifax. This is the highest concentration in Atlantic Canada and the highest number per capita in Eastern Canada.

Major Canadian companies such as Emera, I.M.P Group International and Clearwater Fine Foods have head offices in Halifax. Several of the world’s largest multinational companies, as well as several Fortune 500 companies and six of the top 20 companies on the Financial Post 500, have regional offices in Halifax.

A 2014 study of Head and Regional Offices in Halifax reported that 61 sampled firms fell predominantly into three sectors:

• Manufacturing-related (61%)

• Knowledge-based (30%)

• Finance, insurance, and real estate (16%)

Collectively, these sectors account for two-thirds of all head and regional offices surveyed. Two other significant sectors are information and cultural industries (primarily telecommunications) and construction (primarily heavy and civil).

Within the manufacturing sector, head and regional offices are primarily concentrated in food and beverage manufacturing, a reflection of the number of seafood product preparation and packaging companies in the area. As well, computer and electronic products manufacturing (22%) and transportation equipment manufacturing (17%) play an important role due to the presence of aerospace, marine, and defence product and component manufacturers operating in the region.

HEAD AND REGIONAL OFFICES BY MAJOR SECTOR, HALIFAX

Source: Hoovers, InfoCanada, Greater Halifax Partnership, 2013

21% PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC

&TECHNICAL SERVICES

30% MANUFACTURING

INFORMATION & CULTURAL INDUSTRIES8%

CONSTRUCTION7%

ADMINISTRATIVE & SUPPORT, WASTE MANAGEMENT & REMEDIATION

5%

16% FINANCE, INSURANCE

& REAL ESTATE

3% TRANSPORTATION & WAREHOUSING

3% MINING, QUARRYING & SUPPORT

3% UTILITIES

2% HEALTH CARE & SOCIAL ASSISTANCE

2% RETAIL TRADE

Halifax also has a strong presence in banking and credit unions and serves as home base for the regional office operations of all five of Canada’s major banks. In addition, Halifax’s HRO sector is strongly represented by insurance carriers, legal service firms, and computer systems design and related services firms.

EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS

The head and regional offices surveyed employ 12,021 people and accounted for approximately 5.3% of the labour force in the Halifax Region in 2012. More than 80% of those employed fall into four sectors:

• Professional, scientific, and technical services (29%)

• Manufacturing (24%)

• Finance, insurance, and real estate (18%)

• Information and cultural industries (11%)

The presence of head and regional office operations has enabled Halifax to attract and retain a strong pool of talent at the senior management level.

HEAD AND REGIONAL OFFICES BY MANUFACTURING SUBSECTORS, HALIFAX

Source: Hoovers, InfoCanada, Greater Halifax Partnership, 2013

33% FOOD & BEVERAGE

22% COMPUTER & ELECTRONIC

PRODUCT

17% TRANSPORTATION

EQUIPMENT

FABRICATED

METAL PRODUCTS

& MACHINERY

11%

17% OTHER (PAPER,

ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT,

FURNITURE)

Source: Hoovers, InfoCanada, Greater Halifax Partnership, 2013

PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC & TECHNICAL SERVICES29%

MANUFACTURING24%

FINANCE, INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE18%

OTHER (MINING, UTILITIES, CONSTRUCTION, RETAIL, HEALKTH CARE)13%

INFORMATION & CULTURAL INDUSTRIES11%

TRANSPORTATION & WAREHOUSING6%

HEAD AND REGIONAL OFFICE EMPLOYMENT BY MAJOR SECTOR, HALIFAX

• Emera Inc

• Bell Aliant Inc

• Clearwater Seafoods Incorporated

• CCL Group

• Irving Shipbuilding Inc

• RBC Financial Group

• Manulife Financial

• Stewart McKelvey

• Deloitte

• Jazz Aviation LP

• Nautel

• Boyneclarke LLP

• Royal DSM/Ocean Nutrition Canada Limited

• Admiral Insurance

• Maritime Paper Products

NOTABLE HEAD AND REGIONAL

OFFICES IN HALIFAX

INDUSTRY VOICES

A lot of our engineers come from Dalhousie University and NSCC. The

post-secondary education here is a richness we take advantage of.

Peter Conlon, President and CEO

Nautel

Head Offices are precious jewels in our economy. They provide high

paid career development opportunities, job security, earnings, as well

as build supplier communities. Head offices build wealth and growth

that stays here, in Nova Scotia.

Steve Parker, Chairman & CEO

CCL Group

Halifax’s airport and international connections were a critical factor as we

determined our new location. As well, a familiar legal structure to its UK

operations and a strong population base were both major selling features.

Frankly, it’s just easy to setup a business here.

Alex MacDonald, Vice President Admiral Group

Located on North America’s east coast, Halifax is a strategic location for moving goods in and out of North America, traveling to and from international destinations, or delivering services across European, North American and Caribbean time zones.

• With our North Atlantic time zone (UTC – 04:00), you can easily do business with Europe and across North America on the same work day

• Halifax is two hours closer geographically by air to Europe than any other North American destination, and closer to New York and Boston than it is to any other major Canadian city

• Halifax has the only US preclearance facility in Atlantic Canada with 24/7 Canada Customs services, and NEXUS and CANPASS programs for frequent travelers

• The Halifax Gateway offers a winning combination of multi-modal transportation and logistics assets and services, modern infrastructure, and global reach

STRATEGIC LOCATION

HalifaxToronto

Chicago

New York

Miami

Vancouver London

Panama Canal

Halifax has the necessary infrastructure of financial and legal services to support a corporate head or regional office as well as an international airport and a variety of hotels for company personnel flying in and out and for visiting customers.

Halifax is also home to Hibernia Atlantic’s network cable landing station, known as the Halifax International Exchange Centre, providing fast and secure transmission of data between commercial North American and European clients via redundant routes through more than fifty commercial centres.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES TO

SUPPORT HEAD AND REGIONAL OFFICES

COMPETITIVE BUSINESS COSTS

Halifax offers more competitive business costs compared to other cities across North America and incentives to meet your particular needs.

Inexpensive office space. According to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the average rental rate for class-A office space in downtown Halifax is $18.14/sq. ft., well below that of other major cities across North America. Comparable office space is more expensive in Washington, Seattle, Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.

Competitive business costs. Halifax has significantly lower costs compared to major North American cities. KPMG ranked Halifax 4th among 110 countries in mature markets in International Business Cost Competitiveness in 2012

Lower Wage Costs. Salaries in Nova Scotia tend to be lower than in other provinces and US states – a real competitive advantage for companies located here.

Investment Incentives. Whether starting, relocating or expanding a business, we have incentives to meet your needs. There are five major incentives offered across industries. Sector specific incentives are outlined in the industry profiles.

Business Incentives

• Nova Scotia Payroll Rebate provides eligible companies with a return on gross payroll taxes.

• Capital Investment Incentive contributes 20%, up to a maximum of $1 million, toward the cost of technologically advanced machinery, clean technology, equipment, software and hardware.

• Workplace Innovation and Productivity Skills Incentive provides funding to businesses to invest in employee and management skills development, and improve productivity.

COMPARATIVE COST OF DOING BUSINESS (ACROSS NINETEEN MANUFACTURING, CORPORATE, IT, AND R&D INDUSTRIES)

Halifax (CAN)

Marseille (FRA)

Montreal (CAN)

Amsterdam (NET)

Toronto (CAN)

Vancouver (CAN)

Berlin (GER)

London (GBR)

Boston (USA)

Seattle (USA)

Sydney (AUS)

Tokyo (JAP)

80 90 100 110 120Source: KPMG Competitive Alternatives 2012

92.7

94.1

94.3

94.7

95.7

96.5

98.0

98.1

101.2

101.5

105.0

112.3

TAXATION

CORPORATE INCOME TAX

General Rate 16%

Manufacturing & Processing 16%

Small Business Rate 3.5%

CORPORATE CAPITAL TAX

General Rate Eliminated

Financial Services 4%

Payroll Tax Nil

Source: Nova Scotia Department of Finance

CANADA’S SMART CITY

Halifax has among the highest ratios of educational facilities to population in North America, with six universities offering a multitude of undergraduate and graduate programs.

More than 30,000 students are enrolled at these universities every year, while some 6,805 earn degrees and certificates. This is in addition to the 10,688 students across Nova Scotia who attend the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as students graduating from universities in nearby towns and provinces. Close to 70% of Halifax’s working age population has a post-secondary designation.

Halifax also offers a critical mass of public and private sector scientists doing world-class R&D in various industries. Its highly-educated workforce, scientific community, and first-rate R&D tax credits, make Halifax a prime location for research and innovation.

Fast Facts: One of the largest concentrations in North America producing talent you need.

37.4%University

21.8%College

20.5%High School

10.6%Trades

9.7%

Less than High

School

Bringing temporary foreign workers into the province is straightforward and fast. The Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) Skilled Worker stream

helps employers hire workers whose skills may be in limited supply in the province. The stream helps employers recruit and retain immigrant

workers with the required skills for these positions. Work permits issued from the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration are processed

more quickly, on average, than most other provinces.

IMMIGRATION-FRIENDLY POLICIES

TO ATTRACT FOREIGN WORKERS

HALIFAX IS A PLACE WHERE

PEOPLE WANT TO LIVE AND WORK

One of the oldest cities in Canada, Halifax offers a unique blend of history and modern conveniences. Both cosmopolitan and laid-back, Halifax offers an affordable cost of living, a variety of cultural and entertainment options, and easy access to outdoor recreation without the stress and traffic jams of bigger cities (median commute is 6.5 km).

A City of the Future. Halifax ranked 1st for quality of life, and 2nd overall, in FDI Magazine’s 2010/2011 ranking of Large Cities of the Future across the Americas.

Busy Urban Centre and Beautiful Natural Environment. Halifax’s mix of urban and rural communities result in a city that balances work and play with city and nature.

Ocean. No matter where you are in Halifax, you are never far from the ocean. The commercial heart of Halifax is on the water and there is no shortage of beautiful beaches, scenic coastal villages like Peggy’s Cove, and water sports like sailing, deep-sea fishing and some of the best winter surfing in the world.

Food and Nightlife. With the second-most bars per capita of any city in Canada and hundreds of restaurants, Halifax offers a variety of fine-dining and live entertainment options.

Arts and Culture. From exploring an art gallery or museum, to taking in a symphony, theatre or festival performance, Halifax’s vibrant arts and culture scene engages and entertains.

Affordable living. The average home price in Halifax is $269,000, well below the national average of $363,643.