Things based off history.
(If you believe the internet)
The setting is august 1814. Halifax had recently become home to a base for the Royal Navy. The city was considered to be so secure during the war of 1812 that they actually sent an estimated 1000 of the royal navy marines to help raze the city of washington. They succeeded. However then their world was literally torn apart when their lands and city were thrown through time and space to end up in a eerily similar yet foreign world. Those brave soldiers who had been sent off never returned. Much of the royal navy was out at sea acting as a deterrent so that the city could continue to remain safe. Winter is fast approaching and this land of 81,351 is in for some hard times.
Divergence from our timeline.
The city of halifax is hit hard by this new world. Their end of year harvest was not far off and much of their military might was forever lost when they changed worlds. They were hit hard by the fastforwarding of the seasons. It was middle of winter when they were dropped off. Despite efforts to save as much of the crops as they could the first frost came fast and hard. 121
Many people starved that first winter. As the numbers of dead increased disease took its grip on the city. Medicine ran out and more people were lost. By the time spring came around it was a less a question of burying the dead as burning their bodies to prevent further spread. The city was there but most of its inhabitants were not. To support an entire city that has been hit by any sort of cataclysmic event is no easy task even for our modern times. Without the help of outside forces it was no surprise that Halifax turned into a giant monument to the dead. Many of the remaining citizens of nova scotia lived in the outlying farms. The ones who were not as exposed to disease and were used to getting by on their own. A few attempts were made to resettle the city but it never gained much traction. The population rarely going above a few dozen. Mainly scavengers and other opportunists who were not the type that you wanted to settle near. 121