Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia. Halifax has one of the world's largest harbors. The harbor serves as Canada's main naval base and is the country's busiest east coast port. It remains open in winter when ice closes most other eastern Canadian ports. In 1996, the cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, the town of Bedford, and the rest of Halifax County were combined to form the Halifax Regional Municipality, with a single regional government. The 2006 Canadian census reported that the population of the Halifax Regional Municipality was 372,679.