Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. It is one of the three
Maritime provinces
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% o ...
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
English-speakers, and the province's population is 969,383 according to the 2021 Census. It is the most populous of Canada's Atlantic provinces. It is the country's second-most densely populated province and second-smallest province by area, both after
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
. Its area of includes Cape Breton Island and 3,800 other coastal islands. The
Nova Scotia peninsula
The Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America.
Location
The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the neighbouring province of New Brunswick through th ...
is connected to the rest of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
by the
Isthmus of Chignecto
The Isthmus of Chignecto is an isthmus bordering the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that connects the Nova Scotia peninsula with North America.
The isthmus separates the waters of Chignecto Bay, a sub-basin of the Bay o ...
, on which the province's land border with
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
to the south and east, and is separated from Prince Edward Island and the island of Newfoundland by the Northumberland and Cabot straits, respectively.
The land that comprises what is now Nova Scotia was inhabited by the
Miꞌkmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the n ...
people at the time of European exploration. In 1605,
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and earl ...
—France's first New France colony—was founded with the creation of Acadia's capital, . Britain fought France for the territory on numerous occasions for over a century afterwards. The Fortress of Louisbourg was a key focus point in the battle for control. Subsequent to the
Great Upheaval
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...
(1755–1763) where the British deported the Acadians en masse, the
Conquest of New France
Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...
(1758–1760) by the British, and the Treaty of Paris (1763), France had to surrender Acadia to the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. During the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
(1775–1783), thousands of Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia. In 1848, Nova Scotia became the first British colony to achieve responsible government, and it federated in July 1867 with New Brunswick and the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
(now
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
) to form what is now the country of Canada.
Nova Scotia's
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
and largest municipality is Halifax, which is home to over 45% of the province's population as of the 2021 census. Halifax is the thirteenth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada, the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada, and Canada's second-largest coastal municipality after
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...
.
Etymology
"Nova Scotia" means "New
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
" in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
and is the recognized English-language name for the province. In both French and
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
, the province is directly translated as "New Scotland" (French: '. Gaelic: '). In general, Romance and Slavic languages use a direct translation of "New Scotland", while most other languages use direct transliterations of the Latin / English name.
The province was first named in the 1621 Royal Charter granting to Sir William Alexander in 1632 the right to settle lands including modern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island,
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
Nova Scotia is Canada's second-smallest province in area, after
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
. It is surrounded by four major bodies of water: the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the north, the Bay of Fundy to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The province's mainland is the
Nova Scotia peninsula
The Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America.
Location
The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the neighbouring province of New Brunswick through th ...
and includes numerous bays and estuaries. Nowhere in Nova Scotia is more than from the ocean. Cape Breton Island, a large island to the northeast of the Nova Scotia mainland, is also part of the province, as is Sable Island, a small island notorious for being the site of offshore shipwrecks, approximately from the province's southern coast.
Nova Scotia has many ancient fossil-bearing rock formations. These formations are particularly rich on the Bay of Fundy's shores. Blue Beach near Hantsport,
Joggins Fossil Cliffs
Joggins is a rural community located in western Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada. On July 7, 2008 a 15-km length of the coast constituting the Joggins Fossil Cliffs was officially inscribed on the World Heritage List.Bay of Fundy's shores, has yielded an abundance of Carboniferous-age fossils. Wasson's Bluff, near the town of Parrsboro, has yielded both
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest per ...
- and
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...
-age fossils. The highest point is White Hill at 533 m (1,749 ft) above sea level, situated amongst the Cape Breton Highlands in the far north of the province.
Nova Scotia is located along the 45th parallel north, so it is midway between the Equator and the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
. The province contains 5,400 lakes.
Climate
Nova Scotia lies in the mid-temperate zone and, although the province is almost surrounded by water, the climate is closer to continental climate rather than
maritime
Maritime may refer to:
Geography
* Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps
* Maritime Region, a region in Togo
* Maritime Southeast Asia
* The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Pri ...
. The winter and summer temperature extremes of the continental climate are moderated by the ocean. However, winters are cold enough to be classified as continental—still being nearer the freezing point than inland areas to the west. The Nova Scotian climate is in many ways similar to the central
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
coast in Northern Europe, only wetter and snowier. This is true although Nova Scotia is some fifteen parallels further south. Areas not on the Atlantic coast experience warmer summers more typical of inland areas, and winter lows are a little colder. On 12 August 2020, the community of Grand Étang, famous for its Les Suêtes winds, recorded a balmy overnight low of
History
The province includes regions of the
Mi'kmaq
The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the no ...
nation of Mi'kma'ki ('), the territory of which extends across the Maritimes, parts of
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
The first Europeans to settle the area were the French, who arrived in 1604, and Catholic Mi'kmaq and Acadians formed the majority of the population of the colony for the next 150 years. In 1605, French colonists established the first permanent European settlement in the future Canada (and the first north of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...
) at Port Royal, founding what would become known as
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and earl ...
.
Warfare was a notable feature in Nova Scotia during the 17th and 18th centuries. During the first 80 years the French and Acadians lived in Nova Scotia, nine significant military clashes took place as the English and Scottish (later British), Dutch and French fought for possession of the area. These encounters happened at Port Royal, Saint John, Cap de Sable (present-day Port La Tour, Nova Scotia),
Jemseg
Jemseg is a Canadian rural community in Cambridge Parish, Queens County, New Brunswick. It is located on the east bank of the Jemseg River along its short run from Grand Lake to the Saint John River. The village briefly served as the Capita ...
Hostilities between the British and French resumed from 1702 to 1713, known as Queen Anne's War. The British siege of Port Royal took place in 1710, ending French rule in peninsular Acadia. The subsequent signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 formally recognized this, while returning Cape Breton Island (') and Prince Edward Island (') to the French. Despite the British conquest of Acadia in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq, who confined British forces to Annapolis and to Canso. Present-day New Brunswick formed a part of the French colony of Acadia. Immediately after the capture of Port Royal in 1710, Francis Nicholson announced it would be renamed
Annapolis Royal
Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the ne ...
in honour of Queen Anne.
As a result of Father Rale's War (1722–1725), the Mi'kmaq signed a series of treaties with Great Britain in 1725. The Mi'kmaq signed a treaty of "submission" to the British crown. However, conflict between the Acadians, Mi'kmaq, French, and the British persisted in the following decades with King George's War (1744–1748).
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Br ...
(1749–1755) began when
Edward Cornwallis
Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and was a member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacob ...
arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports on 21 June 1749. A General Court, made up of the governor and the council, was the highest court in the colony at the time.
Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New J ...
was sworn in as chief justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on 21 October 1754. The first legislative assembly in Halifax, under the Governorship of Charles Lawrence, met on 2 October 1758. During the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...
of 1754–1763 (the North American theatre of the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
), the British deported the Acadians and recruited New England Planters to resettle the colony. The 75-year period of war ended with the Halifax Treaties between the British and the Mi'kmaq (1761). After the war, some Acadians were allowed to return.
In 1763, most of Acadia (Cape Breton Island, St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island), and New Brunswick) became part of Nova Scotia. In 1765, the county of Sunbury was created. This included the territory of present-day New Brunswick and eastern Maine as far as the Penobscot River. In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony.
The
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
(1775–1783) had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia. Initially, Nova Scotia—"the 14th American Colony" as some called it—displayed ambivalence over whether the colony should join the more southern colonies in their defiance of Britain, and rebellion flared at the Battle of Fort Cumberland (1776) and at the Siege of Saint John (1777). Throughout the war, American privateers devastated the maritime economy by capturing ships and looting almost every community outside of Halifax. These American raids alienated many sympathetic or neutral Nova Scotians into supporting the British. By the end of the war, Nova Scotia had outfitted numerous privateers to attack American shipping. British military forces based at Halifax succeeded in preventing American support for rebels in Nova Scotia and deterred any invasion of Nova Scotia. However the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
failed to establish naval supremacy. While the British captured many American privateers in battles such as the
Naval battle off Halifax
The Battle off Halifax took place on 28 May 1782 during the American Revolutionary War. It involved the American privateer ''Jack'' and the 14-gun Royal Naval brig off Halifax, Nova Scotia. Captain David Ropes commanded ''Jack'', and Lieu ...
(1782), many more continued attacks on shipping and settlements until the final months of the war. The Royal Navy struggled to maintain British supply lines, defending convoys from American and French attacks as in the fiercely fought convoy battle, the Naval battle off Cape Breton (1781).
After the
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...
and their French allies forced the British forces to surrender in 1781, approximately 33,000 Loyalists (the King's Loyal Americans, allowed to place " United Empire Loyalist" after their names) settled in Nova Scotia (14,000 of them in what became New Brunswick) on lands granted by the Crown as some compensation for their losses. (The British administration divided Nova Scotia and hived off Cape Breton and New Brunswick in 1784). The Loyalist exodus created new communities across Nova Scotia, including Shelburne, which briefly became one of the larger British settlements in North America, and infused Nova Scotia with additional capital and skills.
The migration caused political tensions between Loyalist leaders and the leaders of the existing New England Planters settlement. The Loyalist influx also pushed Nova Scotia's 2000 Mi'kmaq People to the margins as Loyalist land grants encroached on ill-defined native lands. As part of the Loyalist migration, about 3,000 Black Loyalists arrived; they founded the largest free Black settlement in North America at Birchtown, near Shelburne. There are several Black Loyalists buried in unmarked graves in the Old Burying Ground in Halifax. Many Nova Scotian communities were settled by British regiments that fought in the war.
19th century
During the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
, Nova Scotia's contribution to the British war effort involved communities either purchasing or building various privateer ships to attack U.S. vessels. Perhaps the most dramatic moment in the war for Nova Scotia occurred when HMS ''Shannon'' escorted the captured American frigate USS ''Chesapeake'' into Halifax Harbour in 1813. Many of the U.S. prisoners were kept at Deadman's Island.
Nova Scotia became the first colony in British North America and in the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
(1861–1865), primarily on behalf of the
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north ...
.
Marquis, Greg. ''In Armageddon's Shadow: The Civil War and Canada's Maritime Provinces''. McGill-Queen's University Press. 1998.
The British Empire (including Nova Scotia) declared itself neutral in the conflict. As a result, Britain (and Nova Scotia) continued to trade with both the South and the North. Nova Scotia's economy boomed during the Civil War.
Post-Confederation history
Soon after the American Civil War, Pro-Canadian Confederation premier
Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led ...
led Nova Scotia into Canadian Confederation on 1 July 1867, along with New Brunswick and the
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...
. The Anti-Confederation Party was led by Joseph Howe. Almost three months later, in the election of 18 September 1867, the Anti-Confederation Party won 18 out of 19 federal seats, and 36 out of 38 seats in the provincial legislature.
Throughout the 19th century, numerous businesses developed in Nova Scotia became of pan-Canadian and international importance: the
Starr Manufacturing Company
Starr may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Starr (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Starr (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
Places
United States
* Starr, Ohio, an unincorporated com ...
(first ice skate manufacturer in Canada), the Bank of Nova Scotia, Cunard Line, Alexander Keith's Brewery, Morse's Tea Company (first tea company in Canada), among others.
Nova Scotia became a world leader in both building and owning wooden sailing ships in the second half of the 19th century. Nova Scotia produced internationally recognized shipbuilders Donald McKay and William Dawson Lawrence. The fame Nova Scotia achieved from sailors was assured in 1895 when Joshua Slocum became the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. International attention continued into the following century with the many racing victories of the '' Bluenose'' schooner. Nova Scotia was also the birthplace and home of Samuel Cunard, a British shipping magnate (born at Halifax, Nova Scotia) who founded the Cunard Line.
In December 1917, about 2,000 people were killed in the Halifax Explosion. In April 2004 when its Nova Scotia legislature adopted a resolution explicitly inviting the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands to explore the possibility of joining
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
as part of that
Province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
. In April 2020, a killing spree occurred across the province and became the deadliest rampage in Canada's history.
Demographics
Population
Ethnicity
According to the 2016 Canadian census the largest ethnic group in Nova Scotia is Scottish (30.0%), followed by English (28.9%), Irish (21.6%), French (16.5%), German (10.7%), First Nations (5.4%), Dutch (3.5%), Métis (2.9%), and Acadian (2.6%). 42.6% of respondents identified their ethnicity as "Canadian".
Language
As of the 2021 Canadian Census, the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (951,945 or 99.59%), French (99,300 or 10.39%), Arabic (11,745 or 1.23%), Hindi (10,115 or 1.06%), Spanish (8,675 or 0.91%), Mandarin (8,525 or 0.89%), Punjabi (6,730 or 0.7%), German (6,665 or 0.7%), Miꞌkmaq (5,650 or 0.59%), and Tagalog (5,595 or 0.59%). The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses.
The 2016 Canadian census showed a population of 923,598. Of the 904,285 singular responses to the census question concerning mother tongue, the most commonly reported languages were:
Figures shown are for the number of single-language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses.
Nova Scotia is home to the largest
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
-speaking community outside of Scotland, with a small number of native speakers in
Pictou County
Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Furthe ...
, Antigonish County, and Cape Breton Island, and the language is taught in a number of secondary schools throughout the province. In 2018 the government launched a new Gaelic vehicle licence plate to raise awareness of the language and help fund Gaelic language and culture initiatives. They estimated that there were 2,000 Gaelic speakers in the province.
Religion
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Nova Scotia included:
*
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
(556,115 persons or 58.2%)
* Irreligion (359,395 persons or 37.6%)
*
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...
(14,715 persons or 1.5%)
*
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
(8,460 persons or 0.9%)
*
Sikhism
Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...
(4,735 persons or 0.5%)
*
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
(2,955 persons or 0.3%)
*
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...
(2,195 persons or 0.2%)
* Indigenous Spirituality (1,090 persons or 0.1%)
*Other (6,195 persons or 0.6%)
According to the 2011 census, the largest denominations by number of adherents were Christians with 78.2%. About 21.18% were non-religious and 1% were Muslims.
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, Hindus, and Sikhs constitute around 0.20%.
In 1871, the largest religious denominations were Presbyterian with 103,500 (27%); Roman Catholic with 102,000 (26%); Baptist with 73,295 (19%); Anglican with 55,124 (14%); Methodist with 40,748 (10%), Lutheran with 4,958 (1.3%); and Congregationalist with 2,538 (0.65%).
Economy
Nova Scotia's per capita GDP in 2016 was , significantly lower than the national average per capita GDP of . GDP growth has lagged behind the rest of the country for at least the past decade. As of 2017, the median family income in Nova Scotia was $85,970, below the national average of $92,990; in Halifax the figure rises to $98,870.
The province is the world's largest exporter of Christmas trees, lobster,
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywa ...
, and wild berries. Its export value of fish exceeds $1 billion, and fish products are received by 90 countries around the world. Nevertheless, the province's imports far exceed its exports. While these numbers were roughly equal from 1992 until 2004, since that time the trade deficit has ballooned. In 2012, exports from Nova Scotia were 12.1% of provincial GDP, while imports were 22.6%.
Nova Scotia's traditionally resource-based economy has diversified in recent decades. The rise of Nova Scotia as a viable jurisdiction in North America, historically, was driven by the ready availability of natural resources, especially the fish stocks off the Scotian Shelf. The fishery was a pillar of the economy since its development as part of New France in the 17th century; however, the fishery suffered a sharp decline due to overfishing in the late 20th century. The collapse of the cod stocks and the closure of this sector resulted in a loss of approximately 20,000 jobs in 1992.
Other sectors in the province were also hit hard, particularly during the last two decades: coal mining in Cape Breton and northern mainland Nova Scotia has virtually ceased, and a large steel mill in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...
closed during the 1990s. More recently, the high value of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar has hurt the forestry industry, leading to the shutdown of a long-running
pulp and paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless b ...
near
Liverpool
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
. Mining, especially of
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywa ...
and salt and to a lesser extent
silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...
,
peat
Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...
and barite, is also a significant sector. Since 1991, offshore oil and gas has become an important part of the economy, although production and revenue are nowdeclining. However, agriculture remains an important sector in the province, particularly in the Annapolis Valley.
Nova Scotia's defence and aerospace sector generates approximately $500 million in revenues and contributes about $1.5 billion to the provincial economy each year.Nova Scotia Business Inc Defence, Security & Aerospace Retrieved 10 October 2008. To date, 40% of Canada's military assets reside in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has the fourth-largest
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, ...
in Canada hosting over 100 productions yearly, more than half of which are the products of international film and television producers. In 2015, the government of Nova Scotia eliminated tax credits to film production in the province, jeopardizing the industry given most other jurisdictions continue to offer such credits. The province also boasts a rapidly developing Information & Communication Technology (ICT) sector which consists of over 500 companies, and employs roughly 15,000 people.
In 2006, the manufacturing sector brought in over $2.6 billion in chained GDP, the largest output of any industrial sector in Nova Scotia. Michelin remains by far the largest single employer in this sector, operating three production plants in the province. Michelin is also the province's largest private-sector employer.
Tourism
The Nova Scotia tourism industry includes more than 6,500 direct businesses, supporting nearly 40,000 jobs. Cruise ships pay regular visits to the province. In 2010, the
Port of Halifax
The Port of Halifax comprises various port facilities in Halifax Harbour in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It covers of land, and looks after of water.
Strategically located as North America's first inbound and last outbound gateway, the port of ...
received 261,000 passengers and Sydney 69,000. This industry contributes approximately $1.3 billion annually to the economy. A 2008 Nova Scotia tourism campaign included advertising a fictional mobile phone called Pomegranate and establishing website, which after reading about "new phone" redirected to tourism info about region.
Nova Scotia's tourism industry showcases Nova Scotia's culture, scenery and coastline. Nova Scotia has many museums reflecting its ethnic heritage, including the
Glooscap
Glooscap (variant forms and spellings ''Gluskabe'', ''Glooskap'', ''Gluskabi'', ''Kluscap'', ''Kloskomba'', or ''Gluskab'') is a legendary figure of the Wabanaki peoples, native peoples located in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Atlantic Ca ...
Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia
The Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia is located in Cherrybrook, Nova Scotia, in the Halifax Regional Municipality. The centre is a museum and a library resource centre that focuses on the history and culture of African Nova Scotians. The orga ...
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
-Starlight Tourist Destination. Starlight tourist destinations are locations that offer conditions for observations of stars which are protected from
light pollution
Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day or night. Light po ...
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
; the
monarchy in Nova Scotia
By the arrangements of the Canadian federation, the Canadian monarchy operates in Nova Scotia as the core of the province's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. As such, the Crown within Nova Scotia's jurisdiction is referred to as ''the ...
is the foundation of the executive,
legislative
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
, and judicial branches. The sovereign is King Charles III, who also serves as head of state of 14 other Commonwealth countries, each of Canada's nine other provinces, and the Canadian federal realm, and resides predominantly in the United Kingdom. As such, the King's representative, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (at present Arthur Joseph LeBlanc), carries out most of the royal duties in Nova Scotia.
The direct participation of the royal and viceroyal figures in any of these areas of governance is limited, though; in practice, their use of the executive powers is directed by the Executive Council, a committee of ministers of the Crown responsible to the unicameral, elected
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony adm ...
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...
. To ensure the stability of government, the lieutenant governor will usually appoint as premier the person who is the current leader of the political party that can obtain the confidence of a plurality in the House of Assembly. The leader of the party with the second-most seats usually becomes the Leader of His Majesty's Loyal Opposition (presently Zach Churchill) and is part of an adversarial parliamentary system intended to keep the government in check.
Each of the 51 Members of the Legislative Assembly in the House of Assembly is elected by single member plurality in an electoral district or riding. General elections must be called by the lieutenant governor on the advice of the premier, or may be triggered by the government losing a confidence vote in the House. There are three dominant political parties in Nova Scotia: the Liberal Party, the New Democratic Party, and the Progressive Conservative Party. The other two registered parties are the
Green Party of Nova Scotia
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies
A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony adm ...
.
The province's revenue comes mainly from the taxation of personal and corporate income, although taxes on tobacco and alcohol, its stake in the Atlantic Lottery Corporation, and oil and gas royalties are also significant. In 2006–07, the province passed a budget of $6.9 billion, with a projected $72 million surplus. Federal equalization payments account for $1.385 billion, or 20.07% of the provincial revenue. The province participates in the HST, a blended sales tax collected by the federal government using the
GST GST may refer to:
Taxes
* General sales tax
* Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions:
** Goods and services tax (Australia)
** Goods and Services Tax (Canada)
** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Kong)
**Go ...
tax system.
On 21 July 2022, Nova Scotia became the second province in Canada to regulate online gambling by launching its own online casino through the ALC. The site will bring benefits to the economy and provide residents with a safe and secure place to gamble online.
Administrative divisions
Municipal-level governance is provided by 50 municipalities, of which there are three types: regional municipalities, towns, and county or district municipalities. Villages can exist within county or district municipalities, with a limited authority and an elected council.
Nova Scotia is divided into 18 counties. 9 of the original 18 counties retain a county-level government while the rest are either governed by regional or district municipalities. Regional municipalities are coextensive with the borders with a historic county, while historic counties governed by district municipalities are split into two district municipalities each. Despite this,
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), 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 cultu ...
uses all counties of Nova Scotia for the purposes of administering the census and presenting its data, and they remain used in common parlance as geographic identifiers by Nova Scotians.
There are three regional municipalities. They may incorporate under the ''Municipal Government Act'' (''MGA'') of 1998, which came into force on 1 April 1999, while towns, county municipalities and district municipalities are continued as municipalities under the ''MGA''. The ''MGA'' gives municipal councils the power to make bylaws for "health, well being, safety and protection of persons" and "safety and protection of property" in addition to a few expressed powers. The regional municipality of Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of Nova Scotia by population with 403,131 residents representing of the total population of the province and land area at .
Pictou
Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...
was the first municipality to incorporate , and the newest municipalities are Halifax and Region of Queens Municipality both amalgamating into their present regional municipality form of government .
There are 26 towns, nine county municipalities and 12 district municipalities.
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
with an emphasis on local seafood. One endemic dish (in the sense of "peculiar to" and "originating from") is the Halifax donair, a distant variant of the doner kebab prepared using thinly sliced beef meatloaf and a sweet condensed milk sauce. As well, hodge podge, a creamy soup of fresh baby vegetables, is native to Nova Scotia.
The province is also known for a dessert called blueberry grunt.
Events and festivals
There are a number of
festivals
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...
Cape Breton International Drum Festival
{{infobox music festival
, music_festival_name = Cape Breton International Drum Festival
, location = Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada
, years_active= 2001–present
, dates = End of April, beginning of May
, genre = Jazz ...
Halifax Busker Festival
The Halifax Busker Festival is an annual event held by Premier Entertainment Group in Halifax, Nova Scotia on the Halifax Waterfront showcasing talent from buskers around the world. The festival runs for 6 days during the Natal Day
NATAL or Nat ...
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
Lawrence of Arabia
Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–1918 ...
Ordinary People
''Ordinary People'' is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Alvin Sargent is based on the 1976 novel of the same name by Judith Guest. The film follows the disintegration of an uppe ...
Trailer Park Boys
''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer ...
'' and actress
Joanne Kelly
Joanne M. Kelly is a Canadian actress, known for her appearances in films such as '' Going the Distance'', and in the TV series ''Warehouse 13'' as the character Myka Bering, a Secret Service agent.
Early life and education
Joanne Kelly was ...
Daniel Petrie
Daniel Mannix Petrie (November 26, 1920 – August 22, 2004) was a Canadian film, television, and stage director who worked in Canada, Hollywood, and the United Kingdom; known for directing grounded human dramas often dealing with taboo subject ...
Daniel Petrie
Daniel Mannix Petrie (November 26, 1920 – August 22, 2004) was a Canadian film, television, and stage director who worked in Canada, Hollywood, and the United Kingdom; known for directing grounded human dramas often dealing with taboo subject ...
Adèle Hugo
Adèle Hugo (24 August 1830 – 21 April 1915) was the fifth and youngest child of French writer Victor Hugo. She is remembered for developing schizophrenia as a young woman, which led to a romantic obsession with a British military officer who ...
); and two films of ''Evangeline'' (one starring
Miriam Cooper
Miriam Cooper (born Marian Cooper; November 7, 1891 – April 12, 1976) was a silent film actress who is best known for her work in early film including ''The Birth of a Nation'' and ''Intolerance'' for D. W. Griffith and ''The Honor System'' a ...
and another starring Dolores del Río).
There is a significant film industry in Nova Scotia. Feature filmmaking began in Canada with ''Evangeline'' (1913), made by Canadian Bioscope Company in Halifax, which released six films before it closed. The film has since been lost. Some of the award-winning feature films made in the province are '' Titanic'' (starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet); ''
The Shipping News
''The Shipping News'' is a novel by American author E. Annie Proulx and published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1993. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the U.S. National Book Award, as well as other awards. It was adapted as a film of the ...
Liam Neeson
William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on '' Th ...
Black Harbour
''Black Harbour'' is a Canadian television series, which ran on CBC Television from 1996 to 1999.
The show starred Rebecca Jenkins as Katherine Hubbard, a successful restaurant owner who returned to live in her Nova Scotia hometown to be with he ...
Trailer Park Boys
''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary sitcom television series created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer ...
'', ''
Mr. D
''Mr. D'' is a Canadian television series starring comedian Gerry Dee. The series follows the misadventures of an underqualified schoolteacher named Gerry Duncan, nicknamed Mr. D. It debuted on CBC on January 9, 2012 and concluded after eight ...
Tom Selleck
Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations ...
Louis-Philippe Hébert
Louis-Philippe Hébert (1850–1917) was a Canadian sculptor. He is considered one of the best sculptors of his generation.
Career
Hébert was the son of Théophile Hébert, a farmer, and Julie Bourgeois of Ste-Sophie de Mégantic, Quebec. At ag ...
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...
Ernest Lawson
Ernest Lawson (March 22, 1873 – December 18, 1939) was a Canadian-American painter and exhibited his work at the Canadian Art Club and as a member of the American group The Eight, artists who formed a loose association in 1908 to protest ...
Alex Colville
David Alexander Colville, LL. D. (24 August 1920 – 16 July 2013) was a painter and printmaker who continues to achieve both popular and critical success.
Early life and war artist
Born in 1920 in Toronto, Ontario, Colville moved with his ...
, and ship portrait artist John O'Brien. Some of most notable artists whose works have been acquired by Nova Scotia are British artist Joshua Reynolds (collection of Art Gallery of Nova Scotia);
William Gush
William Gush (23 April 1813 – 28 February 1888) was an English portrait painter born near London.Christopher Wood. ''Dictionary of Victorian Painters'', Antique Collectors' Club, 1971, p. ???
Gallery
File:John Curwen by William Gush.jpg, ...
There are numerous Nova Scotian authors who have achieved international fame: Thomas Chandler Haliburton (''
The Clockmaker
''The Clockmaker'' (french: L'Horloger de Saint-Paul, also known as ''The Clockmaker of St. Paul'' and ''The Watchmaker of St. Paul'') is a 1974 French crime drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier. Based on the 1954 novel '' L'Horloger d'Evert ...
Alden Nowlan
Alden Albert Nowlan (; January 25, 1933 – June 27, 1983) was a Canadian poet, novelist, and playwright.
History
Alden Nowlan was born into rural poverty in Stanley, Nova Scotia, adjacent to Mosherville, and close to the small town of Windsor ...
Donna Morrissey
Donna Morrissey (born in The Beaches, Newfoundland) is a Canadian author.
At age 16, Morrissey left her birthplace of The Beaches, a small outport on the west coast of Newfoundland. She lived in various places in Canada before returning to St. Jo ...
''(Kit's Law),'' and
Frank Parker Day
Frank Parker Day (9 May 1881 – 30 July 1950) was a Canadian athlete, academic and author.
Since Day's father was a Methodist minister who moved to a new congregation every three years, Day spent his youth living throughout Nova Scotia, living ...
''(
Rockbound ''Rockbound'' is a novel published in 1928 by Canadian writer Frank Parker Day.
Overview
The "Rockbound" mentioned in the title is name of small fictitious island inspired by East Ironbound, a remote island near Big Tancook Island off the coast o ...
).''
Nova Scotia has also been the subject of numerous literary books. Some of the international best-sellers are: ''Last Man Out: The Story of the Springhill Mining Disaster'' (by
Melissa Fay Greene
Melissa Fay Greene (born December 30, 1952) is an American nonfiction author. A 1975 graduate of Oberlin College, Greene is the author of six books of nonfiction, a two-time National Book Award finalist, a 2011 inductee into the Georgia Writers H ...
Barometer Rising
''Barometer Rising'' is a romantic-realist novel by Canadian author Hugh MacLennan. The work explores life in Halifax, Nova Scotia during World War I, and its interruption by the Halifax explosion. The narrative predominantly follows and piv ...
'');
Ernest Buckler
Ernest Buckler (19 July 1908 – 4 March 1984) was a Canadian novelist and short story writer best known for his 1952 novel, ''The Mountain and the Valley'' and the short story ''The first born Son''. "Since its publication in 1954, Ernest B ...
(''The Valley and the Mountain''); Archibald MacMechan (''Red Snow on Grand Pré''),
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely trans ...
John Mack Faragher
John Mack Faragher (born Phoenix, Arizona) is an American historian.
Life
Born in 1945, he was raised in southern California, the oldest of eight children. Several of his siblings have been in the music business, including Danny Faragher, Jim ...
(''Great and Nobel Scheme'').
Media
News
The first newspaper to be printed in Nova Scotia was the Halifax Gazette on 23 March 1752. It was also the first newspaper printed anywhere in Canada. A single copy of the first issue of the Gazette exists today, which was acquired by Library and Archives Canada on 20 June 2002 from the Massachusetts Historical Society in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
wood pulp
Pulp is a lignocellulosic fibrous material prepared by chemically or mechanically separating cellulose fibers from wood, fiber crops, waste paper, or rags. Mixed with water and other chemical or plant-based additives, pulp is the major raw ...
was invented in 1844 by
Nova Scotian
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...
Acadian Recorder
The ''Acadian Recorder'' was a weekly newspaper published during the 19th century in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The newspaper was founded on January 16, 1813, by Anthony Henry Holland.
He was joined in 1821 by his brother, Philip. In 1824, ...
as an alternative printing medium to the paper made from other plant fibers at the time, such as cotton, which was typically made from discarded articles of clothing. Founded in 1874, the province's current primary daily broadsheet newspaper is The Chronicle Herald, which is circulated to 91,152 weekday customers, with the number increasing to 93,178 on Saturdays (2015). It is the most widely circulated newspaper in Atlantic Canada. The paper does not publish on Sundays. It is owned by the SaltWire Network, the largest media company in Atlantic Canada. The Nova Scotia Government also provides a digital
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual ...
of past newspapers via the Nova Scotia Archives website.
Radio
The province's first radio station was CHNS-FM which first aired on 12 May 1926 from the Carleton Hotel in Halifax by
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
Maritime Broadcasting System
Maritime Broadcasting System Limited, branded as MBS Radio, is a private Canadian broadcasting company owning 21 radio stations serving several communities in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick.
MBS Radio was established in ...
and goes by the on-air brand name ''89.9 The Wave'' and attracts a weekly average of 64,236 listeners between the ages of 25 and 54. It has a
classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 198 ...
format, airing popular music from the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Music
Nova Scotia is home to Symphony Nova Scotia, a symphony orchestra based in Halifax. The province has produced more than its fair share of famous musicians, including
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
Holly Cole
Holly Cole (born November 25, 1963) is a Canadian jazz singer and actress. For many years she performed with her group The Holly Cole Trio.
Background
Cole was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her father, Leon Cole, was a noted radio broadcaste ...
, classical performers
Portia White
Portia May White (June 24, 1911February 13, 1968) was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame. Growing up as part of her father's church choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia, White ...
Classified
Classified may refer to:
General
*Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive
*Classified advertising or "classifieds"
Music
*Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper
* The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
Todd Fancey
Todd George Fancey is a Canadians, Canadian guitarist, keyboardist, and solo artist. He is the guitarist for Vancouver-based indie rock band The New Pornographers and the bassist for the band Limblifter. Fancey is originally from Nova Scotia.
E ...
Susan Crowe
Susan Crowe is a Canadian folk singer-songwriter. She was the 2009 Canadian Folk Music Awards English songwriter of the year and has been nominated for two Juno Awards.
Career
Crowe's interest in music began when her father and mother enrolle ...
,
Buck 65
Richard Terfry (born March 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian alternative hip hop artist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, count ...
The Dubliners
The Dubliners were an Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personnel over their fifty-yea ...
); several songs by
Stan Rogers
Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter.
Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and ...
including Bluenose, Watching The Apples Grow, The Jeannie C (mentions Little Dover, NS),
Barrett's Privateers
"Barrett's Privateers" is a modern folk song in the style of a sea shanty, written and performed by Canadian musician Stan Rogers, having been inspired after a song session with the Friends of Fiddler's Green at the Northern Lights Festival Bor ...
, Giant, and The Rawdon Hills; Farewell to Nova Scotia (traditional); Blue Nose (
Stompin' Tom Connors
Charles Thomas "Stompin' Tom" Connors, OC (February 9, 1936 – March 6, 2013) was a Canadian country and folk singer-songwriter. Focusing his career exclusively on his native Canada, he is credited with writing more than 300 songs and has re ...
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
winning
Gordie Sampson
Gordon Francis Sampson (born July 30, 1971) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and producer from Big Pond, Nova Scotia.
Beginning his career as a performer on his hometown island of Cape Breton, both in bands and on his own, Sampson has gone on t ...
, who has written songs for Carrie Underwood ("Jesus, Take the Wheel", "Just a Dream", "Get Out of This Town"),
Martina McBride
Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material.
McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and rel ...
("If I Had Your Name", "You're Not Leavin Me"), LeAnn Rimes ("Long Night", "Save Myself"), and George Canyon ("My Name"). Many of Hank Snow's songs went on to be recorded by the likes of
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...
,
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
Leon Dubinsky
Leon Dubinsky (4 July 1941 – 17 January 2023) was a Canadian actor, theatre director and composer from Sydney, Nova Scotia.
Dubinsky first became prominent in music with the regional touring band Buddy and the Boys in the 1970s and 1980s,"S ...
have both written songs which, by being covered by so many popular artists, and by entering the repertoire of so many choirs around the world, have become iconic representations of Nova Scotian style, values and ethos. Dubinsky's pop ballad " We Rise Again" might be called the unofficial anthem of Cape Breton.
Music producer Brian Ahern is a Nova Scotian. He got his start by being music director for CBC television's Singalong Jubilee. He later produced 12 albums for
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
.
Grammy winning songwriter and music producer Cirkut, known for writing and producing songs for The Weeknd, Britney Spears,
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...
, and Katy Perry, was born and raised in Halifax before moving to Toronto in 2004.
Sports
Sport is an important part of Nova Scotia culture. There are numerous semi pro, university and amateur sports teams, for example, The Halifax Mooseheads, 2013 Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup Champions, and the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles, both of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The
Halifax Hurricanes
The Halifax Hurricanes are a professional basketball team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Hurricanes were founded as members of the National Basketball League of Canada (NBLC) to replace the Halifax Rainmen, who declared bankruptcy in July 20 ...
of the National Basketball League of Canada is another team that calls Nova Scotia home, and were 2016 league champions. Professional soccer came to the province in 2019 in the form of Canadian Premier League club
HFX Wanderers FC
HFX Wanderers Football Club, commonly known as HFX Wanderers, and spoken as Halifax Wanderers, is a Canadian professional soccer club in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The club competes in the Canadian Premier League at the top of the Canadian soccer le ...
.
The
Nova Scotia Open
The Nova Scotia Open was a golf tournament on the Web.com Tour. It was first played in July 2014 at the Ashburn Golf Club, New Course in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Sc ...
was a professional
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
tournament on the Web.com Tour in 2014 and 2015.
The province has also produced numerous athletes such as Sidney Crosby (ice hockey), Nathan Mackinnon (ice hockey),
Lincoln Steen
Ryan Mader (born March 18, 1982), better known by his ring name Lincoln Steen, is a Canadian professional wrestler, who has competed in Canadian independent promotions since October 27, 2000. He has featured as a prominent character in The Fight N ...
(Wrestling),
Brad Marchand
Brad Marchand ( ; born May 11, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and alternate captain for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Bruins selected Marchand in the third round, 71st overall, of the 2006 ...
(ice hockey),
Colleen Jones
Colleen Patricia Jones (born December 16, 1959) is a Canadian curler and television personality. She is best known as the skip of two women's world championship teams and six Tournament of Hearts Canadian women's championships, including an un ...
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and former professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, he was integral to the developm ...
Kirk Johnson
Kirk Cyron Johnson (born June 29, 1972) is a Canadian former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2010, and challenged once for the WBA heavyweight title in 2002.
Amateur career
Johnson represented Canada at the 1992 Olympics in Bar ...
(boxing). The achievements of Nova Scotian athletes are presented at the
Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame
The Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame was established in 1964, to honor outstanding athletes, teams and sport builders in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The facilities are located at the World Trade and Convention Centre in the provincial ca ...
.
Education
The Minister of Education is responsible for the administration and delivery of education, as defined by the Education Act and other acts relating to colleges, universities and private schools. The powers of the Minister and the Department of Education are defined by the Ministerial regulations and constrained by the Governor-In-Council regulations.
All children until the age of 16 are legally required to attend school or the parent needs to perform home schooling. Nova Scotia's education system is split up into eight different regions including; Tri-County (22 schools), Annapolis Valley (42 schools), South Shore (25 schools), Chignecto-Central (67 schools), Halifax (135 schools), Strait (20 schools), and Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education (39 schools).
Nova Scotia has more than 450 public schools for children. The public system offers primary to Grade 12. There are also private schools in the province. Public education is administered by seven regional school boards, responsible primarily for English instruction and French immersion, and also province-wide by the
Conseil Scolaire Acadien Provincial
The Conseil scolaire acadien provincial is the Francophone school board for Nova Scotia.
It was created in 1996.
Schools
*Centre scolaire Étoile de l'Acadie (pr to 12); Sydney
*École acadienne de Pomquet (pr to 12); Pomquet
*École Beau-Por ...
, which administers French instruction to students whose primary language is French.
The
Nova Scotia Community College
Nova Scotia Community College, commonly referred to as NSCC, is a community college serving the province of Nova Scotia through a network of 14 campuses and three community learning centres.
The college delivers over 130 programs in five acade ...
Acadia University
Acadia University is a public, predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level. The enabling legislation consists of the Acadi ...
Atlantic School of Theology
Atlantic School of Theology (AST) is a Canadian public ecumenical university that provides graduate level theological education and undertakes research to assist students to prepare for Christian ministries and other forms of public leadership. ...
*
* Brebner, John Bartlet. ''New England's Outpost. Acadia before the Conquest of Canada'' (1927)
* Brebner, John Bartlet. ''The Neutral Yankees of Nova Scotia: A Marginal Colony During the Revolutionary Years'' (1937)
*
*
* Grenier, John The Far Reaches of Empire. War in Nova Scotia, 1710–1760 . University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 2008. ()
* Landry, Peter. The Lion & The Lily. Vol. 1, Trafford Publishing, Victoria, BC., 2007. ()
* Murdoch, Beamish History of Nova Scotia, Or Acadie Vol 2. BiblioBazaar, LaVergne, TN, 1865.
* Pryke, Kenneth G. ''Nova Scotia and Confederation, 1864–74'' (1979) ()
* Thomas Akins. History of Halifax, Brookhouse Press. 1895. (2002 edition) ()