List of counties of Nova Scotia

Last updated

Counties of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia counties 2015.png
Location Province of Nova Scotia
Number18
Populations7,373 (Guysborough) – 440,072 (Halifax)
Areas1,246.08 km² (Richmond) – 5,477.53 km² (Halifax)
Government
Subdivisions
Counties of Nova Scotia (1862) with township subdivisions Nova Scotia 1862 0450001.jpg
Counties of Nova Scotia (1862) with township subdivisions

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has a historical system of 18 counties that originally had appointed court systems for local administration before the establishment of elected local governments in 1879. The historical counties continue as census divisions used by Statistics Canada in administering the Canadian census.

Contents

History

Before the establishment of rural municipalities in the form of county municipalities and district municipalities in 1879, local government in the historical counties was administered by appointed courts of sessions including justices appointed by the Crown with support from local proprietors selected to grand juries. [2] These courts of sessions met "in the counties to hear cases, make regulations, authorize assessments, and appoint local officers." [2] On April 17, 1879, the original non-elected courts of sessions were abolished in favour of elected councils when The County Incorporation Act came into force, which stated

The Inhabitants of every County and Sessional District in this Province ... shall be a body corporate under the name of the Municipality of the respective county or district, as the case may (be), ... [2]

As a result, 12 county municipalities were established, while the remaining 6 counties, which were previously divided into districts for court sessional purposes, were established as district municipalities. [2] Today, 9 of the original 12 remain incorporated as county municipalities, with 3 eventually becoming regional municipalities in 1995 and 1996, [3] while Statistics Canada uses all 18 historical counties as census divisions for statistical purposes in the Canadian census. [4] County municipalities and district municipalities provide local government to the residents of the historical counties living outside of incorporated towns and regional municipalities. [2] [3]

List

County [5] County seat [6] EstablishedOrganization of countyPopulation
(2021) [7] 		Population
(2016) [7] 		Change
[7] 		Land area
(km²) [7] 		Population
density [7] 		Map
Annapolis Annapolis Royal 1759 County municipality 21,25220,591+3.2%3,183.23 AnnapolisCounty.png
Antigonish Antigonish 1785 County municipality 20,12919,301+4.3%1,456.42 AntigonishCounty.png
Cape Breton a Sydney 1765 Regional municipality 98,31898,722−0.4%2,457.21 CapebretonCounty.png
Colchester Truro 1835 County municipality 51,47650,585+1.8%3,627.50 ColchesterCounty.png
Cumberland Amherst 1759 County municipality 30,53830,005+1.8%4,275.77 CumberlandCounty.png
Digby Digby 1837 District municipality 17,06217,323−1.5%2,512.28 DigbyCounty.png
Guysborough Guysborough 1836 District municipality 7,3737,625−3.3%4,037.16 GuysboroughCounty.png
Halifax b Halifax 1759 Regional municipality 440,072403,390+9.1%5,477.53 HalifaxCountyHRM.png
Hants Windsor 1781 District municipality 45,14042,558+6.1%3,049.18 HantsCounty.png
Inverness Port Hood 1835 County municipality 17,34617,235+0.6%3,817.61 InvernessCounty.png
Kings Kentville 1759 County municipality 62,91460,600+3.8%2,120.31 KingsCountyNS.png
Lunenburg Lunenburg 1759 District municipality 48,59947,126+3.1%2,906.47 LunenburgCounty.png
Pictou Pictou 1835 County municipality 43,65743,748−0.2%2,844.10 PictouCounty.png
Queens c Liverpool 1762 Regional municipality 10,50110,351+1.4%2,393.44 QueensCounty.png
Richmond Arichat 1835 County municipality 8,9148,964−0.6%1,246.08 RichmondCounty.png
Shelburne Shelburne 1784 District municipality 13,70413,966−1.9%2,462.58 ShelburneCounty.png
Victoria Baddeck 1851 County municipality 7,4417,089+5.0%2,836.19 VictoriaCounty.png
Yarmouth Yarmouth 1836 District municipality 24,94724,419+2.2%2,121.64 YarmouthCounty.png
Total counties———969,383923,598+5.0%52,824.71

a county boundaries contiguous with those of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
b county boundaries contiguous with those of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
c county boundaries contiguous with those of the Region of Queens Municipality.

See also

References

  1. ↑ County government has been defunct since 1879 for 6 counties now administered by district municipalities, and since 1995/1996 for 3 counties now administered by regional municipalities.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Establishment of Elective Rural Municipal Government in Nova Scotia" (PDF). Government of Nova Scotia: Department of Municipal Affairs. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Nova Scotia Annual Report of Municipal Statistics for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014" (PDF). Department of Municipal Affairs. 2014. p. 12. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Population and dwelling count highlight tables, 2021 Census". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  5. ↑ "History of County Boundaries". Province of Nova Scotia: Department of Municipal Affairs. October 8, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  6. ↑ Foster Stockwell (2004). A Sourcebook for Genealogical Research: Resources Alphabetically by Type and Location. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 205. ISBN   9780786484386 . Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada and census divisions, 2021 and 2016 censuses – 100% data". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2025.
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