Eesh, so I made a semi-impulse plane ticket purchase to Halifax for some time off with my gf last week and now I see car rentals are pretty expensive. Even a compact is ~260$ for Monday->Friday. Add insurance and taxes and I’m at almost 500$. Any suggestions? Or have I been spoiled renting in Mtl/Toronto?
Thanks 
I think you have been spoiled … I rent a lot in TO and when travelling, and found Halifax quite expensive in comparison.
One “cheat” you could try is a coupon code … do a google seach for halifax conference august (or whatever month) AWD and you’ll likely get a whole bunch of links for special rate codes. these might bring things down a little, if you don’t mind bending the truth.
The best rate I got in Halifax was through Avis, but I had a coupon code through an aviation club we belong to. Even with that it’s about $45/day. Are you a CAA or AAA member? You might be able to get a coupon code from that.