Halifax County (, ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

History

Deriving its name from

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (6 October 1716 – 8 June 1771) was a British statesman of the Georgian era. Due to his success in extending commerce in the Americas, he became known as the "father of the colonies". President of the B ...

(1716–1771), Halifax County was established by order-in-council on August 17, 1759. The boundaries of four other counties –

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, Kings,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and Lunenburg – were specifically defined at that time, with Halifax County comprising all the part of peninsular Nova Scotia that was not within their limits. Following the end of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

in 1763,

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

was formally annexed to Nova Scotia until 1784 when it became a separate colony. From 1763 to 1784, Cape Breton Island formed part of Halifax County. Cape Breton Island ceased being a separate colony and was reannexed to Nova Scotia in 1820. The boundary of Halifax County was further modified in 1822. That part of St. Mary's Township (established in 1818) which had been in Halifax County was annexed to and included within Sydney County; "Sydney County" was a historic county that included all of Cape Breton Island and present-day Antigonish and Guysborough counties. The dividing line between the Districts of Halifax and Colchester, within Halifax County, was confirmed and established on May 3, 1828. In 1835, Halifax County was divided and the counties of

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

and Pictou were created out of parts of what had previously been Halifax County. Eventually in 1880 the boundary between the Counties of Halifax and Colchester was fixed.

Governance

Municipal government at the county level in Nova Scotia dates to proclamation of ''The County Incorporation Act'' on April 17, 1879, which saw the establishment of the Municipality of the County of Halifax. The Municipality of the County of Halifax was the municipal government of Halifax County, apart from the separately incorporated towns and cities therein as well as several First Nation reserves. The county municipality was dissolved on April 1, 1996, together with those town and city municipal governments, and all were amalgamated into the Halifax Regional Municipality. The boundaries of Halifax County and the

Halifax Regional Municipality Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

are approximately the same. The county, however, also includes five First Nations reserves. Halifax County continues to exist as a county in Nova Scotia, but all municipal government and service delivery is provided by either the Halifax Regional Municipality or the respective First Nations, with no additional county level government or administration.

Communities

;Regional municipalities *

;Reserves * Beaver Lake 17 * Cole Harbour 30 * Sheet Harbour 36 * Shubenacadie 13 * Wallace Hills 14A

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-level census geographic uni ...

in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Halifax County had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, Canada, Nova Scotia Former county municipalities in Nova Scotia States and territories disestablished in 1996 Populated places disestablished in 1996 States and territories established in 1759 Counties of Nova Scotia