Nova Scotia - History, Government, Geography, Demographics and statistics, Other facts

pop (2000e) 1 050 000; area 55 490 km²/21 424 sq mi. Province in SE Canada; boundaries include the Atlantic Ocean (E, S, W), Bay of Fundy (W), Northumberland Strait (N), and Gulf of St Lawrence (NE); includes Cape Breton I to the NE, separated by the Strait of Canso, 3 km/1¾ mi wide, connected by causeway; province linked to the Canadian mainland by the isthmus of Chignecto; deeply indented coastline, low hill ranges, many lakes and small rivers; capital, Halifax; other chief towns, Dartmouth, Sydney, Glace Bay, Truro, New Glasgow; dairy farming, fruit, fishing (especially lobster), timber, coal, gypsum, tin, tourism; home to the Micmac nation; probably visited by Vikings and European fishermen; settled by the French as Acadia, 16045; mainland assigned to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Cape Breton I remaining French until seized in 1758; many United Empire Loyalists settled here after the American Revolution; Cape Breton I a separate province from 1784, re-incorporated into Nova Scotia, 1820; joined the Canadian federation, 1867; governed by a lieutenant-governor and an elected 52-member House of Assembly.

Portions of the summary below have been contributed by Wikipedia.

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Flag of Nova Scotia	Coat of arms of Nova Scotia

Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (Latin: One defends and the other conquers)

Official languages

none
(English, French, Gaelic de facto)

Flower

Trailing arbutus

Tree

Red Spruce

Bird

Osprey

Capital

Halifax

Largest city

Halifax

Lieutenant-Governor

Mayann E. Francis

Premier

Rodney MacDonald (PC)

Parliamentary representation
- House seat
- Senate seats

11
10

Area
Total
- Land
- Water (% of total)

Ranked 12th
55,283 km²
53,338 km²
1,946 km² (3.5%)

Population
- Total (2006)
- Density

Ranked 7th
934,405
16.94/km²

GDP (2005)
- Total
- Per capita

$31.451 billion (7th)
$33,533 (11th)

Confederation

July 1, 1867 (1st)

Time zone

UTC-4

Abbreviations
- Postal
- ISO 3166-2
- Postal Code Prefix

NS
CA-NS
B

Website

www.gov.ns.ca

All rankings include the territories

Nova Scotia (Latin for New Scotland, Nouvelle-Écosse in French, Alba Nuadh in Gaelic) is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast.

Nova Scotia's economy is traditionally largely resource-based, but has in recent decades become more diverse. Nova Scotia was one of the founding four provinces to join Confederation with Canada in 1867;

History

See also: Category:History of Nova Scotia

Paleo-Indians camped at locations in present-day Nova Scotia approximately 11,000 years ago.

Some believe that the Vikings may have settled in Nova Scotia at some time, though there is little evidence of this and claim is deeply disputed.

In 1627, there was a wider uptake of baronetcies, and thus more settlers available to go to Nova Scotia. The colony's charter, in law, made Nova Scotia (defined as all land between Newfoundland and New England) a part of mainland Scotland, this was later used to get around the English navigation acts.

Thus mainland Nova Scotia became a British colony in 1713, although Samuel Vetch had a precarious hold on the territory as governor from the fall of Acadian Port-Royal (Annapolis Royal) in October 1710. In 1763 Cape Breton Island became part of Nova Scotia. Cape Breton would again became a separate colony in 1784 only to be returned to Nova Scotia in 1820. Several years later, approximately 30,000 United Empire Loyalists (American Tories) settled in Nova Scotia (when it comprised present-day Maritime Canada) following the defeat of the British in the American Revolutionary War.

Nova Scotia was the first colony in British North America and in the British Empire to achieve responsible government in January-February 1848 and become self-governing through the efforts of Joseph Howe. Pro-Confederate premier Charles Tupper led Nova Scotia into the Canadian Confederation in 1867, along with New Brunswick and the Province of Canada.

— from Address to the Crown by the Government (Journal of the House of Assembly, Province of Nova Scotia, 1868)

A motion passed by the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1868 refusing to recognize the legitimacy of Confederation has never been rescinded.

Government

The government of Nova Scotia is a parliamentary democracy.

Nova Scotia has elected three minority governments over the last decade. Rural mainland Nova Scotia has largely been aligned behind the Progressive Conservative Party, Halifax Regional Municipality has overwhelmingly supported the New Democrats, with Cape Breton voting for Liberals with a few Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats.

The last election on June 13th 2006 elected 23 Progressive Conservatives, 20 New Democrats and 9 Liberals, leaving Nova Scotia with a Progressive Conservative minority government.

See also: List of Nova Scotia Premiers

Geography

See also: Category:Geography of Nova Scotia

The province's mainland is a peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, including numerous bays and estuaries. Nova Scotia is Canada's second smallest province in area (after Prince Edward Island), and no point in Nova Scotia is more than 56 km from the sea.

Ten largest municipalities

Municipality	2001	1996
Halifax	359,111	342,851
Cape Breton	105,968	114,733
Lunenburg County	47,591	47,561
Kings County	47,159	47,486
Pictou County	46,965	22,671
Colchester County	35,641	35,161
Yarmouth County	26,843	25,467
East Hants	20,821	19,767
Annapolis County	18,429	18,937
Cumberland County	16,183	17,738

Demographics and statistics

Population of Nova Scotia since 1851

Year	Population	Five Year % change	Ten Year % change	Rank Among Provinces
1851	276,854	n/a	n/a	3
1861	330,857	n/a	19.5	3
1871	387,800	n/a	17.2	3
1881	440,572	n/a	13.6	3
1891	450,396	n/a	2.2	3
1901	459,574	n/a	2.0	3
1911	492,338	n/a	7.1	4
1921	523,837	n/a	6.4	7
1931	512,846	n/a	-2.1	7
1941	577,962	n/a	12.7	7
1951	642,584	n/a	11.2	7
1956	694,717	8.1	n/a	7
1961	737,007	6.1	14.7	7
1966	756,039	2.6	8.8	7
1971	788,965	4.4	7.0	7
1976	828,570	5.0	9.6	7
1981	847,442	2.3	7.4	7
1986	873,175	3.0	5.4	7
1991	899,942	3.1	6.2	7
1996	909,282	1.0	4.1	7
2001	908,007	-0.1	0.9	7
2006*	934,405	2.9	2.8	7

*Preliminary 2006 census estimate.

Population

Nova Scotia is the seventh most populated province in Canada with an estimated 936,988 residents as of January 1, 2006.

Employment

As of September 2006, Nova Scotia unemployment has dipped below the national average for the first time in recent history to 6.9 per cent.

Gross Domestic Product

Nova Scotia GDP is presently approximately $33 billion (Can) annually.

Other facts

Nova Scotia is in the Atlantic Standard Time zone.

The schooner Bluenose, which appears on the back of the Canadian ten-cent piece (dime) and current Nova Scotia licence plate was built in Lunenburg, a town on the South Shore.

There has been talk that Nova Scotia might invite Turks and Caicos Islands to join the province, should these Caribbean islands ever become part of Canada.

In 1621, King James I granted Sir William Alexander, the land between New England and Newfoundland as New Scotland (Nova Scotia).

At 2:00AM on Sunday, April 15, 1923 all drivers on Nova Scotia roads switched from driving on the left side to driving on the right. The "Foreign Protestants" and the Settlement of Nova Scotia: The History of a Piece of Arrested British Colonial Policy in the Eighteenth Century. (1961). Forestkeeping: A History of the Department of Lands and Forests in Nova Scotia, 1926-1969. Halifax: Nova Scotia Dept. The Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, 1754-2004: From Imperial Bastion to Provincial Oracle U. Forests of Nova Scotia: A History. Tantallon: Nova Scotia Dept. 438 pp

Official links

Government of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia - Come To Life (Main gateway website for tourism, immigration, business, etc. links) Tourism Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Provincial Parks Complete government directory Nova Scotia weather