Halifax Ladies College was and still remains as one of the most well remembered and highly respected women’s colleges of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This news article will explore some of the history behind Halifax Ladies College.
Rev. Robert Laing founded the Halifax Ladies College and the Halifax Conservatory of Music in 1887, which promoted the advancement of musical knowledge throughout Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada. (Ref: https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=8015)
Halifax Ladies College and the Halifax Conservatory of Music were founded under Chapter 91 of the Acts of the Legislature of Nova Scotia. An act of legislative movement is what got the college open to the young ladies and women of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Doors to Halifax Ladies College opened on September 15, 1887. (Ref: https://maritimeconservatory.com/about/history/)
An Act to Incorporate the Halifax Ladies' College was passed, "...to establish and maintain an institution of learning for the education of young women in the various branches of literature, science and art." (S.N.S. 1887, c. 91, s. 4)
(Ref: https://nslegislature.ca/get-involved/calendar/history/halifax-ladies-college)
The college was founded to provide a liberal education for girls and young women. The college strived to educate with equal care. Halifax Ladies College was situated in one of the most convenient and beautiful parts of the City of Halifax. (Ref: https://wiki.genealogytoday.com/Halifax_Ladies_College_1918_Historical_Sketch.html)
The College was founded to provide a liberal education for girls and young women.
It aims at providing thorough and well ordered courses of instruction, sufficiently elastic to admit of each pupil's pursuing the studies best adapted to her needs. While it amply provides for University Matriculation it strives to educate with equal care the girls that are not intending to proceed to the University.
The College buildings, situated in one of the most convenient and beautiful parts of the City of Halifax, comprise the College, the Hall of Residence and the Conservatory of Music with its large Recital Hall. They are commodious, well ventilated, lighted by electricity, heated with hot water and provided with all modern conveniences for health and comfort. The grounds are ample and attractive, containing grounds for tennis, rounders, etc., in summer, and a large open-air skating rink in winter.
The School Building comprises seven airy classrooms, a Science Laboratory, a large, well-lighted Studio and a fine Gymnasium for Calisthenics and Basket Ball.
The Laboratory is well fitted and furnished for carrying on simple experimental work in Chemistry and Physics. Each pupil has her own desk and individual equipment.
A pupil may enter any grade of the School, the Headmistress and teachers deciding upon the one for which she is best fitted.
The Halifax Ladies College was also established for advancement/to advance the educational and professional opportunities of Nova Scotian women. Art appreciation was a key element of the education at the school, with its alumnae society continuing to value the role of arts and culture in the community. (Ref: https://educationnewscanada.com/article/education/region/nova-scotia/34/854874/nscad-universityseptember-16-2020-nscad-launching-innovative-program-with-help-from-halifax-ladies-college-alumnae-.html)
From the inception of the Halifax Ladies College, Alexander McKay sat on its board of governors until his death. Halifax Ladies College provided students with practical and technical skills appropriate to the late Victorian era. (Ref: http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mckay_alexander_14E.html)
Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables novels series, was one of the famous and notable alumni of Halifax Ladies College. While attending classes at Dalhousie University, Lucy Maud Montgomery boarded at the Halifax Ladies College on Barrington Street. (Ref: https://www.dal.ca/news/2008/06/25/budge2.html?fbclid=IwAR06YDhDijo91tA5G3d3ySLowaiMbUWNRG1UNHpvX6xPJ8AiP50IXNzPjcY)
According to the St. John Sun, Halifax Ladies College had partnered and became affiliated with Dalhousie University in 1908. (Ref: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=38&dat=19060808&id=MSg1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=SikDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5095,1414270) 
The directors of the Halifax Ladies College offered to have their college used as an emergency hospital during World War I. This was because many Canadian hospitals were becoming increasingly overcrowded with soldiers returning from war. (Ref: https://twitter.com/signalhfx1917/status/940015075989118976)
Halifax Conservatory of Music had dissolved their connection with the Halifax Ladies College in the year of 1952. (Ref: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/maritime-conservatory-of-performing-arts-emc)
The original 1887 statute establishing the college was superseded by An Act to Incorporate the Governors of the Halifax Ladies' College and Conservatory of Music (SNS 1921 c. 167). The College and Conservatory remained legally joined until 1952, when the 1921 Act was amended to dissolve the union of the two institutions (SNS 1952 c. 117).
Halifax Ladies College became co-educational in 1979. The name of the institution was officially changed to Armbrae Academy and moved to 1400 Oxford Street in 1980 So yes, Armbrae Academy was formerly the Halifax Ladies College. (Ref: https://memoryns.ca/armbrae-academy-fonds)
Halifax Ladies College was located on Dundonald Street and Pleasant Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
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