One thing in common in those two places and that is to find rhododendrons in local gardens. Even if Vancouver has a much larger selection. Halifax has one advantage in that the summers are much wetter for plants especially vs Victoria, BC which can be dangerously dry in summer.

The violent nature of storm winds in Halifax blows away any BC coast winter Pineapple Express in comparison. I visited the post-hurricane Juan damage. It was like a bomb hit local parks. A huge shame about the direct hit. Now forecasters fear another hurricane will soon hit Nova Scotia. The warming oceans have created some damage in BC as in the pine beetle and that's an inland issue. Vancouver is further north than Halifax but on this side of the country the added energy in the oceans has moved exotic plants where most people would not believe until this saw it. But the proof is on Google Earth.

I posted a video of a street in Vancouver which goes against what many believe about Canada. So there you go, subtropical summer heat in southern Ontario (I could use that summer rain), tropical storms (now with a cat 2) over Nova Scotia and subtropical trees in Vancouver. So we have subtropical elements in three regions where there are large bodies of water.

I'm glad that I did experience BC, ON and NS. Southern Ontario has a spot called the "Banana Belt". If we are talking muggy summer heat it's Ontario for sure. If we talk gardening it's west coast, Vancouver down to Salt Spring and Victoria, BC. That's where you'll find fronds no matter the time of year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Video of subtropical trees on a Vancouver street