List of towns in Nova Scotia

Distribution of Nova Scotia's 25 towns by population

A town is a type of municipality in the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia. Towns are incorporated by order by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board pursuant to sections 383 through 388 of Nova Scotia's Municipal Government Act. ^[1]

Nova Scotia had 25 towns at the time of the 2021 Census. In 2021, the towns had a cumulative population of 96,580. Nova Scotia's largest and smallest towns are Truro and Lockeport with populations of 12,954 and 476 respectively.

List

Name	Incorporation date [2]	2021 Census of Population [3]
		Population (2021)	Population (2016)	Change	Land area		Population density
					km2	sq mi	/km2	/sq mi
Amherst		December 18, 1889	9,404	9,713	−3.2%	12.07	4.66	779.1	2,018
Annapolis Royal	November 29, 1892	530	491	+7.9%	1.98	0.76	267.7	693
Antigonish	January 9, 1889	4,656	4,364	+6.7%	4.98	1.92	934.9	2,421
Berwick	May 25, 1923 [4]	2,455	2,509	−2.2%	6.53	2.52	384.2	995
Bridgewater	February 13, 1899	8,790	8,532	+3.0%	13.63	5.26	644.9	1,670
Clark's Harbour	March 4, 1919	725	758	−4.4%	2.82	1.09	257.1	666
Digby	December 18, 1890	2,001	2,060	−2.9%	3.16	1.22	633.2	1,640
Kentville	May 1, 1886	6,630	6,271	+5.7%	17.08	6.59	388.2	1,005
Lockeport	February 26, 1907	476	531	−10.4%	2.32	0.90	205.2	531
Lunenburg	October 29, 1888	2,396	2,263	+5.9%	4.04	1.56	593.1	1,536
Mahone Bay	March 31, 1919	1,064	1,036	+2.7%	3.12	1.20	341.0	883
Middleton	May 31, 1909	1,873	1,832	+2.2%	5.55	2.14	337.5	874
Mulgrave	December 1, 1923	627	722	−13.2%	17.83	6.88	35.2	91
New Glasgow	May 6, 1875	9,471	9,075	+4.4%	9.96	3.85	950.9	2,463
Oxford	April 19, 1904	1,170	1,190	−1.7%	10.68	4.12	109.6	284
Pictou	May 4, 1874	3,107	3,186	−2.5%	7.99	3.08	388.9	1,007
Port Hawkesbury	January 22, 1889	3,210	3,214	−0.1%	8.1	3.1	396.3	1,026
Shelburne	April 4, 1907 [5]	1,644	1,743	−5.7%	8.75	3.38	187.9	487
Stellarton	October 22, 1889	4,007	4,208	−4.8%	8.99	3.47	445.7	1,154
Stewiacke	August 30, 1906	1,557	1,373	+13.4%	17.62	6.80	88.4	229
Trenton	March 18, 1911	2,407	2,474	−2.7%	6.07	2.34	396.5	1,027
Truro	May 6, 1875	12,954	12,261	+5.7%	37.52	14.49	345.3	894
Westville	August 20, 1894	3,540	3,628	−2.4%	14.24	5.50	248.6	644
Wolfville	March 4, 1893	5,057	4,195	+20.5%	6.46	2.49	782.8	2,027
Yarmouth	August 6, 1890	6,829	6,518	+4.8%	10.57	4.08	646.1	1,673
Total	—	96,580	93,847	+2.9%	242.06	93.46	399.0	1,033
Province of Nova Scotia	—	969,383	923,598	+5.0%	52,824.71	20,395.73	18.35	47.5

Former towns

Name	Dissolution date	Population (2011) [6]	Population (2006) [6]	Change (%) [6]	Area [6]		Population density [6]
					km2	sq mi	/km2	/sq mi
Bedford	April 1, 1996 [7]	23,019	16,601	38.7
Bridgetown	April 1, 2015 [8]	949	972	−2.4	3.54	1.37	267.8	694
Canso	July 1, 2012 [8]	806	911	−11.5	5.42	2.09	148.8	385
Dominion	April 1, 1995 [7]	1,193	2,022	−3.4
Glace Bay	April 1, 1995 [7]	19,076	19,968	−4.7	35.15	13.57	542.7	1,406
Hantsport	July 1, 2015 [8]	1,159	1,191	−2.7	2.13	0.82	544.6	1,411
Inverness	[ citation needed ]	1,387	1,464	−5.5
Joggins	1949 [9]
Liverpool	April 1, 1996 [7]	2,653	2,759	−3.8	3.48	1.34	761.6	1,973
Louisbourg	April 1, 1995 [7]	946	988	−4.3	3.3	1.3	286.8	743
New Waterford	April 1, 1995 [7]	8,942	9,661	−7.4	20.81	8.03	429.7	1,113
North Sydney	April 1, 1995 [7]	6,048	6,552	−7.7
Parrsboro	November 1, 2016 [10]	1,305	1,401	−6.9	14.88	5.75	87.7	227
Port Hood	August 1946 [11]
Springhill	April 1, 2015 [8]	3,868	3,941	−1.9	11.15	4.31	346.8	898
Sydney Mines	April 1, 1995 [7]	14,135	15,500	−9.6
Wedgeport	December 22, 1947 [12]	1,180	1,207	−2.2	9.72	3.75	121.4	314
Windsor	April 1, 2020	3,648	3,785	+3.8%	9.11	3.52	400.4	1,037

See also

• Canada portal
• Nova Scotia portal
• Geography portal

• Demographics of Nova Scotia
• Geography of Nova Scotia
• List of communities in Nova Scotia
• List of counties of Nova Scotia
• List of municipalities in Nova Scotia
• List of villages in Nova Scotia
• List of ghost towns in Nova Scotia

References

1. "Municipal Government Act". Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly. June 19, 2012. Archived from the original on April 29, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
2. "Municipal Incorporation Timeline". Province of Nova Scotia. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
3. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2021 and 2016 censuses – 100% data (Nova Scotia)". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
4. Canadian Almanac & Directory. Scobie & Balfour. 2010. ISBN   978-1592374397.
5. "Shelburne's History: Settlement of Shelburne". Town of Shelburne. Retrieved January 2, 2017. It was incorporated as a town on April 4, 1907.
6. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses (Nova Scotia)". Statistics Canada. December 18, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
7. "Nova Scotia Annual Report of Municipal Statistics for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014" (PDF). Department of Municipal Affairs. 2014. p. 12. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
8. "Table 1: Nova Scotia, changes to Census Subdivisions in alphabetical order (with 8C & 9C) — Effective dates: From January 2nd, 2011 to January 1st, 2016". Statistics Canada. November 16, 2016. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
9. The Atlantic Provinces in Confederation - edited by E.R. Forbes, D.A. Muise
10. "Decision 2016 NSUARB 100 – M07110". Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. June 15, 2016. Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
11. How We Became a County Municipality of the County of Inverness
12. "Municipal Records: Town of Wedgeport Fonds (1890-1948)". argylecourthouse.com. Retrieved January 7, 2017.