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Nova Scotia Provincial Overview

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Location

Nova Scotia's 580-kilometres-long peninsula is surrounded by water (see Provincial Map). With an area of 55,491 square kilometres and average width of 128 kilometres, no part of the province is far from the sea. From Nova Scotia you can catch ferries to PEI, Newfoundland, New Brunswick and the American state of Maine.

Its geographic location, together with large, ice-free, deep-water harbours, have been key factors in the province's economic development. The province's largest city is Halifax (a recent amalgamation into a Regional Municipality of formerly spearate Halifax, Dartmouth and several other smaller municipalities)

History

The Micmac Indians inhabited Nova Scotia long before the first settlers arrived from Europe. The first visitors, however, were Norsemen in the early 11th century. In the 1600s century, the French settled the region called Acadia, which included all of Nova Scotia, as well as parts of Quebec, New Brunswick and Maine. In 1763 it became a British colony and a favourite settlement for those of Scottish descent. In 1848, Nova Scotia was granted responsible government, and in 1867 became one of the four provinces that create the Dominion of Canada.

At that time, the province was on the forefront of international shipbuilding and the lumber and fishing trades. The First and Second World Wars emphasized the importance of Halifax, Nova Scotia's capital, as one of the world's major military ports. (In fact, an accident caused a munitions ship to explode in Halifax Harbour in 1917 creating the largest pre-atomic explosion in the world, killing thousands). Halifax was the marshalling point for ships crossing the North Atlantic in convoys during World War II.

The Economy

People

The province has a population of 909,000 people, of which 332,000 live in the Regional Municipality of Halifax, which now includes the former populations of Halifax, Darmouth, Bedford and Sackbille.