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Create AccountTruro, Nova Scotia, incorporated as a town in 1875, population 12,954 (2021 census), 12,261 (2016 census). The Town of Truro is located along the Salmon River 100 km northeast of Halifax on Cobequid Bay, Minas Basin. The town derives its name from New England settlers and likely honours Truro in Cornwall, England.
Nova Scotia is part of the Appalachian region, one of Canada seven physiographic regions. The province is primarily a peninsula extending from the country’s mainland. At its northeastern end is Cape Breton Island. Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Nova Scotia is separated from Prince Edward Island by the Northumberland Strait and from New Brunswick by the Bay of Fundy.
Late in the evening on Saturday, 18 April 2020, a 51-year-old man assaulted his common-law wife in Portapique, Nova Scotia. He then began a 13-hour rampage in which he committed multiple shootings and set fire to several homes in 16 locations. Using a vehicle disguised as an RCMP police cruiser and wearing an old RCMP uniform for much of the time, the killer murdered 22 people and injured six others. He was shot and killed by two RCMP officers at a gas station south of Enfield, Nova Scotia, 100 km from where the violence began. It is the worst mass killing in modern Canadian history.
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The Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever (or toller) is one of five dog breeds recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club as uniquely Canadian (see also Dogs in Canada). Originally bred for tolling and retrieving waterfowl, the toller is a highly intelligent dog. It loves the outdoors and is easy to train. The Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever is the provincial dog of Nova Scotia — one of two Canadian dogs declared a provincial or territorial symbol (the other, the Canadian Inuit dog, is Nunavut’s official animal).
Around 400,000 households in Nova Scotia and 64,000 in southern New Brunswick were without power after Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Maritimes. No deaths or major injuries were reported, but high winds felled trees and caused extensive damage. A week later, many residents in the Annapolis Valley were still about two weeks away from having power restored.
Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, population centre, 17,556 (2016 census), 18,475 (2011 census). Glace Bay is a community located on the east coast of Cape Breton Island.
On 1 August 1995 Glace Bay lost its status as a town when it was combined with the city of Sydney and five other towns in the
area. Together, these municipalities formed the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Facing into the sun
and the Atlantic Ocean, the location was known to the Mi’kmaq as Wasokusegwom (“bright home”). The
French, who mined coal for Louisbourg from the cliffs, called the location “Baie de Glace.” The name was a reference to annual
drift ice from the Gulf of St. Lawrence (see also Gulf).
Stephen McNeil, business owner, politician, 28th premier of Nova Scotia, 2013–21 (born 10 November 1964 in Halifax, NS). Few observers expected much from refrigerator repairman Stephen McNeil when he was first elected to the Nova Scotia legislature in 2003. But he surprised pundits when he became leader of the Liberal Party, and was twice elected premier, winning majority governments in 2013 and 2017.
Louis Edouard Deveau, O.C., O.N.S, P.ENG, L.L.D. (Hon.), businessman and advocate (born 13 October 1931 in Salmon River, Digby County, NS). Deveau is the founder of Acadian Seaplants Limited, a company that specializes in the cultivation, manufacturing and processing of seaweeds for plant, animal and human use. (See also Aquaculture; Biotechnology.) Deveau became a leading figure in the modern seaweed industry and is recognized for promoting research and sustainable development in the field. The recipient of numerous awards and honours, Deveau is also recognized for his lifelong efforts to support and promote Acadian culture and French language education in Nova Scotia (see Acadian French; French Language in Canada).
Maud Lewis, artist (born 7 March 1903 in South Ohio, Nova Scotia; died 30 July 1970 in Digby, Nova Scotia).
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, metropolitan area, population (including Cole Harbour) 92,301 (2016 census), 91,212 (2011 census). Dartmouth is located on the eastern side of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality (incorporated in 1996).
Environmental racism is the disproportionate proximity and greater exposure of Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities to polluting industries and environmentally hazardous activities. In Canada, Indigenous and African Nova Scotian communities have been the most impacted by environmental racism. Examples of environmental racism in Nova Scotia include an open dump in Africville, landfills in Shelburne and Lincolnville, a pulp and paper mill in Pictou Landing First Nation, and a pipeline in Sipekne’katik First Nation. A pipeline also runs through Wet'suwet'en First Nation in British Columbia, while in Ontario there is mercury contamination in Grassy Narrows First Nation and over 60 petrochemical facilities surrounding Aamjiwnaang First Nation.
The most famous ship in Canadian history, the Bluenose was both a fishing and racing vessel in the 1920s and 1930s. The Nova Scotia schooner achieved immortality when its image was engraved onto the Canadian dime.
A major feature of the 1917 Halifax Explosion was the high loss of life among not just men but also women and children. The death of male heads of household, or of their wives, proved highly disruptive for family life and created a major challenge for those providing assistance to the survivors.
Veterinarians at Shubenacadie Wildlife Park near Halifax euthanized an unnamed, 30-year-old Sable Island Horse. It was the last of its kind in captivity. Its death reignited a longstanding debate about what to do with the 400 or so feral horses that live on Sable Island. The invasive species was introduced to the island — a remote spit about 300 km east of Nova Scotia — in the 1750s. They have stripped it of virtually all vegetation. About 10 per cent of the herd dies every year due to starvation.
In Richmond Prison, at the end of Gottingen Street, Halifax, the warden's young son was drawn to a window by a spectacular display of fireworks. Too sick to go to school that day he had gone to work with his dad.
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, incorporated as a town in 1888, population 2,263 (2016 census), 2,313 (2011 census). The town of Lunenburg, the seat of Lunenburg County, is located on Lunenburg Bay, 90 km southwest of Halifax.
William Pearly Oliver, CM, minister, army chaplain and community organizer (born 11 February 1912 in Wolfville, Nova Scotia; died 26 May 1989 in Lucasville). Oliver was a social activist, educator and minister. He cofounded the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NSAACP) and the Black United Front (BUF). He was also instrumental in the creation of the Black Cultural Society and the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia.
Soldiers rounding up terrified civilians, expelling them from their land, burning their homes and crops ‒ it sounds like a 20th century nightmare in one of the world's trouble spots, but it describes a scene from Canada's early history, the Deportation of the Acadians.
At the first elected legislative assembly in what is now Nova Scotia, only property-owning Protestant men over the age of 21 are eligible to vote. (See also Nova Scotia: The Cradle of Canadian Parliamentary Democracy.)
Though often considered Anglo-Canadians, the Scots have always regarded themselves as a separate people. The Scots have immigrated to Canada in steady and substantial numbers for over 200 years, with the connection between Scotland and Canada stretching farther — to the 17th century. Scots have been involved in every aspect of Canada's development as explorers, educators, businessmen, politicians, writers and artists. The Scots are among the first Europeans to establish themselves in Canada and are the third largest ethnic group in the country. In the 2016 Census of Canada, a total of 4,799,005 Canadians, or 14 percent of the population, listed themselves as being of Scottish origin (single and multiple responses).
