New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province 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 ...

, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,471 in the 2021 census. New Glasgow is at the centre of the province's fourth largest urban area; the population of the New Glasgow census agglomeration in the 2021 census was 34,397. The New Glasgow census agglomeration includes the smaller adjacent towns of Stellarton, Westville, and Trenton as well as adjacent rural areas of the county.

History

Scottish immigrants, including those on the ship

Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; , ) was a Trojan prince, a hero and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. He is a major character in Homer's ''Iliad'', where he leads the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing c ...

in 1773, settled the area of the East River of Pictou during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Deacon Thomas Fraser first settled the area at the head of navigation on the East River of Pictou in 1784. The settlement was officially named "New Glasgow", after

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, in 1809, the same year its first trading post was developed. The discovery of large

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

deposits in the East River valley during the early 19th century saw New Glasgow, at the head of navigation, quickly develop into a manufacturing and port community. In 1829, a horse-drawn tramway was built using

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

rails from the settlement of Albion Mines (now Stellarton) to a wharf near New Glasgow. This was the first use of standard gauge rails in what would become Canada. On September 19, 1839, the Albion Railway was opened from Albion Mines to New Glasgow, hauling coal wagons behind steam locomotives such as the

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

along the west bank of the East River of Pictou. This was the second steam-powered railway in what would become Canada, and the first to use

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

rails. The railway was extended north to a coal loading pier at Dunbar's Point on May 14, 1840. In 1840, George MacKenzie started the town's first shipbuilding company, which eventually built or owned 34 vessels; hundreds of ships would later be built along the East River in New Glasgow. In 1861 the clipper ship '' Sebastopol'' was built. In June 1867, the Nova Scotia Railway opened its "Eastern Line" from

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

through New Glasgow to its terminus at the passenger and cargo wharf in Pictou Landing. In 1882 the "Eastern Extension" of the

Intercolonial Railway The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canada, Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also compl ...

was opened from New Glasgow to Mulgrave on the Strait of Canso, placing New Glasgow on the mainline between

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 ...

and the North American rail network. Economic development in New Glasgow was driven by the steel industry in neighbouring Trenton (site of the first steel manufacturing in Canada), shipbuilding and shipping in

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'' Miꞌkmawiꞌsimk: ''Piktuk'') 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) nor ...

and Pictou Landing, and coal mining in Stellarton and Westville. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the famous New York sculptor J. Massey Rhind was commissioned to make the Nova Scotia Highlander soldier cenotaph. In 1946, New Glasgow was the setting for an important civil rights case when Viola Desmond challenged racial segregation of New Glasgow's Roseland Theatre. New Glasgow became a service centre for the county during the late 20th century as shopping centres, retail and residential development was spurred by the construction of Highway 104.

Municipal amalgamation

Talk of amalgamating the six municipal units in Pictou County has increased in recent years. Among the reasons for this, small towns adjacent to New Glasgow are having a hard time coping financially on their own due to the declining economy. Also, Pictou County has the most politicians per capita in Canada. With the Government of Nova Scotia having already amalgamated Halifax County, Cape Breton County, and Queens County into regional municipalities, Pictou County residents feel it is only a matter of time before that concept is introduced in Pictou County. The two most often suggested scenarios involve amalgamating the entire county (six municipalities) into a single regional municipality, or amalgamating the upper East River towns (New Glasgow, Stellarton, Trenton, Westville) into a single larger town. After several months of public backlash a vote was held and the public spoke against amalgamation, effectively killing any possibility of a future merger.

Geography

New Glasgow is located on Nova Scotia's north shore, northeast of Halifax, west of the Canso Causeway to

Cape Breton 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 ...

and south of the

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

ferry at

Caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

. The town can be easily accessed from several exits off the

Trans Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (Canadian French, French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the A ...

. It is in the

Atlantic Time Zone The Atlantic Time Zone is a geographical region that keeps standard time—called Atlantic Standard Time (AST)—by subtracting four hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC), resulting in UTC−04:00. AST is observed in parts of North America ...

, four hours behind UTC. New Glasgow is divided by the East River (north – south), a tidal estuary with brackish (salt and fresh) water. The three lane George Street bridge is the only vehicle crossing within town limits and is considered the main entrance into the downtown core on the east side of the river. The closest bridges out of town are the Trenton Connector to the north, the Trans Canada Highway to the south and Bridge Avenue (Stellarton) also to the south.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies New Glasgow's climate as humid continental (Dfb), with rainy and snowy cold winters and warm humid summers. The highest temperature ever recorded in New Glasgow was on 10 August 2001. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 2 February 1961.

Demographics

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 ...

, New Glasgow 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. Mother tongue language (2006)

Neighbourhoods

;South End The southeastern part of the town is located on the east bank of the East River, immediately north of the unincorporated community of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and west of the unincorporated community of Priestville. It is largely commercial and centred upon East River Road (signed as Route 348). The Aberdeen Hospital, New Glasgow business park, New Glasgow Police headquarters, North Nova Education Centre and the Aberdeen Shopping Centre are situated here as well as a residential area. ;Downtown Located on the east bank of the East River and centred on the George Street Bridge, the downtown core has a central business district along Provost Street and Archimedes Street. Banks, insurance companies, law firms, accounting firms, engineering companies, restaurants and independent retailers are located in historic buildings along these streets. Formerly industrial, the downtown area along the river has undergone a waterfront revitalization in recent decades as factories and foundries closed and were replaced by a performing arts centre, office buildings and a marina. Currently, only one foundry and several warehouses and a cement plant remain along the rail corridor in this area. ;East Side The east end is the area east of downtown and is bordered on the east by the unincorporated communities of Frasers Mountain and Linacy. It is largely residential. ;North End The northeastern part of the town stretches along the east bank of the East River from the downtown to the border with Trenton. ;West Side The west side of the town is located on the west bank of the East River, consists of a residential area north of George Street through to the unincorporated community of Abercrombie. The area of the West Side southwest of George Street along Westville Road is a commercial area and includes the Highland Square Mall as well as a district of big box stores. This part of the town borders the town of Stellarton to the south and the Town of Westville to the southwest. Westville Road leads to the town of Westville, about beyond Exit 23 at the Trans Canada Highway.

Economy

Major employers in the area include the Aberdeen Hospital, a

Michelin Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...

tire plant in nearby Granton and the headquarters of

Sobeys Sobeys Inc. is a national supermarket chain in Canada with over 1,500 stores operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than C$25.1 bil ...

, a national grocery chain, in nearby Stellarton. However, New Glasgow and Pictou County have suffered the closure of many large employers, including

Convergys Convergys Corporation was a corporation based in Cincinnati, Ohio, that sold customer management and information management products, primarily to large corporations. Customer management products included agent assisted, self-service and care soft ...

(~200 jobs), the Northern Pulp Nova Scotia pulp mill in nearby Abercrombie (~300 jobs). New Glasgow's historic downtown core is home to several shops and services. Including restaurants, pubs, cabarets, clothing stores, gift shops, furniture department stores, a marina on the riverfront, government offices and banks. A major revitalization plan was recently announced for the downtown core. A large sum of the funds will be provided by the federal government. Among the projects are a walking bridge that will connect the riverfront marina with the Samson Trail on the west side, improvements to the historic town hall, an updated and possibly expanded library, and beautification of public spaces and storefronts. New Glasgow is the commercial hub of northeastern Nova Scotia. The Westville Road/Highland Square Mall area has seen significant commercial growth in recent years. A new

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

opened next to Highland Square in early 2007, replacing the smaller location in the mall. Canadian Tire relocated to Walmart's old location in the spring of 2008, making it the second-largest Canadian Tire store in Nova Scotia. Winners opened in Spring 2009, in Canadian Tire's former location. Future Shop has built a new store next to the new Canadian Tire, which opened in Spring 2009 but has since closed. SportChek opened a new store inside the mall in Fall 2009. About a minute away from the Westville Road commercial district, on the opposite side of the Trans Canada Highway in Stellarton, a new business park is currently being developed. The

Holiday Inn Express Holiday Inn Express by IHG is an American-based mid-priced hotel chain within the IHG Hotels & Resorts family of brands. Originally founded as an "express" hotel, their focus is on offering Hotel#Economy_and_limited_service, limited services at ...

Hotel Stellarton – New Glasgow was the first confirmed business for the park. It officially opened on July 25, 2008. The New Glasgow Farmers Market expanded into an additional, heated facility in November 2015 with the financial assistance of ACOA, The Market is now open every Saturday from 9am until 1pm and boasts more than 70 vendors and more than 1,800 weekly visitors during the peak season from May until October. On July 1, 2017, the New Glasgow Farmers Market will unveil a new community garden project titled The Giving Garden. The project was completed by Market volunteers with the financial grants from the province's Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage through the 150 Forward Fund and a Wellness grant from the Pictou County Health Authority.

Culture

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Museums in New Glasgow include the Carmichael Stewart House Heritage Museum, local Military Museum, and local Sports Hall of Fame. Glasgow Square Theatre, located on the downtown riverfront, is a 285-seat auditorium that hosts year-round concerts, plays, and other community functions. The theatre can be transformed into an outdoor amphitheatre, one of the few theatres in Canada (if not the only) that can do that. During the summer it hosts celebrations for Canada Day on June 30, the New Glasgow Riverfront Jubilee during the first weekend in August, and the Race on the River Dragon Boat Festival in mid-August. The New Glasgow Jubilee features local and national musical acts. The Race on the River features teams representing local companies and organizations paddling along the East River to raise money for local charities. New Glasgow's oldest summer event, The Festival of the Tartans, is a celebration of the town's Scottish roots.

Sports

In December 1906, the

New Glasgow Cubs The New Glasgow Cubs, later the New Glasgow Black Foxes, were a professional ice hockey team from New Glasgow, Nova Scotia in Canada. The team played for three seasons in the Maritime Professional Hockey League (MaPHL), between 1911 and 1914. In ...

challenged the

Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...

for the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

. The Cubs were defeated in the two game total goals contest, losing 10–3 on December 27 and 7–2 on December 29. New Glasgow's John Brother MacDonald Stadium (formerly New Glasgow Stadium) used to be home to the Pictou County Crushers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League and the Weeks Major Midgets of the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League. The team now plays at the Pictou County Wellness Centre. The Crushers were based in Halifax and known as Team Pepsi until 2004 when the Weeks Hockey Organization bought the club and moved it to New Glasgow. After struggling to attract fans in Halifax's crowded hockey market, the team is now one of the league's top draws. New Glasgow hosted the 2005 MJAHL All Star game and the 2006 MJAHL Entry Draft. It was announced on December 29, 2006, that New Glasgow would host the 2008 Fred Page Cup, where the Crushers defeated the defending FPC winners from

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke ( ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River (Ontario), Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley, northwest of Ottawa. Though containing the administrative headquarters of Renfre ...

in the championship game. The town hosted the

Telus Cup The Telus Cup is Canada's national Minor hockey, under-18 ice hockey club championship. It is an annual event, held by Hockey Canada each April. From 1979 to 2003, the national championship was sponsored by Air Canada. The current champions ...

(then Air Canada Cup), in 1997 and the 2001 World Under 17 Hockey Championships (co-hosted with

). In 2007, New Glasgow hosted its first Major Junior hockey game ( St. John's Fog Devils vs P.E.I. Rocket). On February 9, 2008, New Glasgow was one of six communities across Canada selected to be showcased on

CBC Sports CBC Sports is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for English-language sports broadcasting. The CBC's sports programming primarily airs on CBC Television, CBCSports.ca, and CBC Radio One. (The CBC's French-languag ...

' day-long '' Hockey Day in Canada'' The New Glasgow segments featured hometown NHL player Jon Sim and the town's annual Westside winter carnival.

Johnny Miles Running Event

The Johnny Miles Marathon is a set of road races held each year on the third Sunday of June. It was founded in 1975 by local physician Dr. Johnny Miles Williston. Williston named the race after Johnny Miles, the legendary Nova Scotia marathoner for whom he was named. Williston served as co-director of the race until 2000. He died in December 2005. The "Johnny Walk," which is part of the event activities, is named for both Johnny Miles and Johnny Miles Williston. On June 20, 2010, the 35th Annual Johnny Miles Marathon and Running Event was held in New Glasgow with a record participation of over 2000 runners. In 2012 the event was named as Run Nova Scotia's event of the year. The popular event sold out in both 2012 and 2013. The event weekend features multiple races including a 5K, 10K, half-marathon and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. There is also a 5K kids race and a walking event called the "Johnny Walk." David MacLennan of Scotsburn, Nova Scotia holds the record for the most wins at the marathon distance, winning his 9th Johnny Miles Marathon in 2012.

Education

There are five schools in New Glasgow; including three primary-to-six elementary schools, a junior high school and a high school. The junior high school is made up of grades seven to nine. North Nova Education Centre, which opened its doors in 2003, is made up of grades nine to twelve, and has students from four ‘feeder’ schools, East Pictou Middle School, Trenton Middle School, New Glasgow Junior High School and Thorburn Consolidated.

Notable residents

* Dr. Carrie Best, journalist, publisher, activist * * George Canyon, country singer who was the runner-up in the USA Network's '' Nashville Star'' 2 in 2004 * Kori Cheverie, 2014 Clarkson Cup champion * J.D. Fortune, former lead singer of Australian rock band

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

. He was chosen as their new singer after winning CBS's '' Rock Star: INXS'' in 2005. * Graham Fraser, 19th-century

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

, Founder of the Nova Scotia Steel Company and mayor of New Glasgow * John James Grant,

Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia () is the representative in Nova Scotia of the monarch, who Monarchy in Nova Scotia, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other jurisdictions of ...

* Scott Jones, writer and filmmaker * Peter MacKay, federal Conservative politician, formerly served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General * Lisa MacLeod, Ontario cabinet minister * Pearleen Oliver, anti racism advocate (1917''–''2008) * Perry F. Rockwood (1917-2008), radio evangelist * Jon Sim, professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player with the

Bridgeport Sound Tigers The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the franchise. The team started in 200 ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

, won the Stanley Cup in 1999 with the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

. * Mike Smith, actor known primarily for his role as "Bubbles" in ''

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary television sitcom 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 park resi ...

''. * Derrick Walser, professional

player with the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

. * Colin White, Retired NHL player, won the Stanley Cup in 2000 and 2003 with the New Jersey Devils. * John Wilson, internationally renowned sculptor.

Media

Radio * FM 88.7: CBAF-10 ( Première Chaîne) * FM 89.5: CBHN (

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

) * FM 94.1: CKEC ''East Coast FM'' (

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

) * FM 97.9: CKEZ ''(

Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...