Upon her arrival in Canada, Halpern became the first woman in the country to hold a doctoral degree in musicology. She was able to slowly rebuild her career in music from there. In the fall of 1940, she opened her own music studio, where she would give piano lessons. She took every opportunity that opened for her, and eventually she was able to create a UBC correspondence course in the "Fundamentals of Music. She taught the university's first class in music appreciation, and later its first class in ethnomusicology. Throughout her time in Vancouver, she became an active part of its music scene, co-founding Friends of Chamber Music in 1948, serving as its president for four years, its program chair for another seven, and as honorary president from 1952 to 1987. She was also involved with the Metropolitan Opera auditions for Western Canada, and the Vancouver Women's Musical Club.