Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Cape Breton County is one of eighteen
counties 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 A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of
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 ...
. It is located on
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 ...
. From 1879 to 1995, the area of the county excluded from towns and cities was incorporated as the Municipality of the County of Cape Breton to provide local government services. Since 1995 the only municipality in the county has been a single-tier municipality called
Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2021 the municipa ...
. For statistical purposes, the
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
reserves of Eskasoni 3 and Membertou 28B are included in the county, but are separate entities.


History

Taking its name from Cape Breton, the most easterly point of the island which was called after the
Bretons The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwal ...
of
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, the county has what is probably the oldest surviving European name to have been used to designate part of North America. By proclamation of October 17, 1763 after termination 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 ...
,
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. For a time thereafter Cape Breton Island was part of Halifax County. On December 10, 1765, Cape Breton Island was set apart as a separate county under the name Cape Breton County. From 1784 to 1820, Cape Breton Island was established as a separate
colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
with a Lieutenant Governor and a nominated Executive Council, but without an elected house of assembly. Not until after Cape Breton Island was re-annexed to Nova Scotia in 1820 did it receive representation in an elected legislature. Although subdivided into three districts in 1824, Cape Breton County was co-extensive with Cape Breton Island from 1820 to 1835 when the county was divided into three separate and distinct counties: * Cape Breton (Northeastern District) * Richmond (Southern District) later called Richmond County * Juste au Corps (Northwest District) later called Inverness County In 1851, Victoria County was formed out of the northeastern part of Cape Breton County and a year later, in 1852, the present boundaries of Cape Breton County were defined by the colonial government in Halifax.


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 The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
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 ...
, Cape Breton 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.


Transportation


Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Municipal government

Cape Breton County had several incorporated municipalities within its boundaries: * City of Sydney (1904–1995) * Town of Glace Bay (1901–1995) * Town of New Waterford (1913–1995) * Town of North Sydney (1885–1995) * Town of Sydney Mines (1889–1995) * Town of Louisbourg (1901–1995) * Town of Dominion (1906–1995) * Municipality of the County of Cape Breton (1879–1995) In the early 1990s the provincial government began to examine duplication of municipal services in Nova Scotia. One of the recommendations arising from this study was that all of Cape Breton County be amalgamated. On August 1, 1995, all seven municipal units in the county were dissolved and replaced by a single tier municipality called the
Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2021 the municipa ...
(CBRM). The new regional municipality's boundary included all of Cape Breton County except for the Eskasoni and Membertou
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
. Cape Breton County continues to exist as a county in Nova Scotia, but all municipal government and service delivery is provided by either the Cape Breton Regional Municipality or the First Nations, with no additional county level government or administration or any lower-level town or city-level government or administration.


Communities

;Regional municipalities *
Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2021 the municipa ...
;Reserves * Eskasoni 3 * Membertou 28B


References


External links


Official Website
{{Portal bar, Canada, Nova Scotia Cape Breton County Former county municipalities in Nova Scotia 1765 establishments in Nova Scotia Counties of Nova Scotia