List of municipalities in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is the seventh-most populous province in Canada with 923,598 residents as of the 2016 Census of Population, and the second-smallest province in land area at 52,942 km² (20,441 sq mi).[1] Nova Scotia's 50 municipalities cover 99.8% of the territory's land mass, and are home to 98.9% of its population.[lower-alpha 1][2]

Location of Nova Scotia in Canada

Distribution of Nova Scotia's 50 municipalities by municipal status type

Unlike the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, which have two-tiered municipality systems, Nova Scotia has a one-tier system of municipalities[3] inclusive of four municipality types – regional municipalities, towns, county municipalities and district municipalities.[4] Regional municipalities may incorporate under the Municipal Government Act (MGA) of 1998, which came into force on April 1, 1999,[5] while towns, county municipalities and district municipalities are continued as municipalities under the MGA.[6] The MGA gives municipal councils the power to make bylaws for "health, well being, safety and protection of persons" and "safety and protection of property" in addition to a few expressed powers.[7]

Of its 50 municipalities, Nova Scotia has three regional municipalities, 26 towns, nine county municipalities and 12 district municipalities.[4] The regional municipality of Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of Nova Scotia by population with 403,131 residents representing 44% of the total population of the province and land area at 5,490.35 km² (2,119.84 sq mi).[2] Pictou was the first municipality to incorporate May 4, 1874, and the newest municipalities are Halifax and Region of Queens Municipality both amalgamating into their present regional municipality form of government April 1, 1996.[8]

Municipalities

Regional municipalities

Regional municipalities are incorporated under the authority of section 372 of Nova Scotia's Municipal Government Act. To consider the incorporation of a regional municipality, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB) must receive a request from all municipalities within a county. If the request is unanimous, the NSUARB commissions the preparation of a study to determine if the incorporation of "a regional municipality would be in the interests of the people of the county." Nova Scotia's Governor in Council can order the incorporation of a regional municipality if the results of the study are deemed to be in the best interests of the people, and if a plebiscite is undertaken that results in the majority of electors in the county voting in favour of incorporation of a regional municipality.[6]

Nova Scotia has three regional municipalities. The largest regional municipality by population is Halifax, which is the capital and largest municipality of Nova Scotia by population. Halifax's 403,131 residents represent 44% of the total population of the province. Halifax is also the largest municipality by land area at 5,490.35 km² (2,119.84 sq mi). Cape Breton Regional Municipality is the second largest municipality with a population of 94,285 and a land area of 2,430.06 km². The Region of Queens Municipality is Nova Scotia's smallest regional municipality both by population and land area at 10,307 residents and 2,392.63 km² (923.80 sq mi) respectively.[2]

Rural municipalities

A rural municipality in Nova Scotia provides local government for rural areas outside incorporated towns. Rural municipalities were established in 1879 and are inclusive of county municipalities and district municipalities. District municipalities are within historical counties that were previously subdivided into districts, whereas county municipalities are within historical counties that were not previously subdivided into districts.[9]

County municipalities

Distribution of Nova Scotia's 18 historical counties by municipal status

Nova Scotia's county municipalities originate from a historical system of 18 counties.[10] Prior to the establishment of rural municipalities in 1879, local government was administered by appointed courts of sessions.[9] 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.[9] 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.[9]

The province had 12 county municipalities for over a century until the mid-1990s when 3 became regional municipalities.[11] Its 9 remaining county municipalities were then continued as county municipalities in 1998 under the authority of the Municipal Government Act.[6] These county municipalities provide local government to the residents of their historical counties who live outside incorporated towns.[9]

Nova Scotia's largest county municipality by population is the Municipality of the County of Kings at 47,404 residents, while the largest by land area is the Municipality of the County of Cumberland at 4,255.04 km² (1,642.88 sq mi). The Municipality of the County of Victoria is the least populated county municipality at a population of 6,552. The Municipality of the County of Richmond is Nova Scotia's smallest county municipality by land area at 1,243.72 km² (480.20 sq mi).[2]

District municipalities

Prior to the establishment of elected rural local government in Nova Scotia, 6 of the 18 historical counties were divided into districts for court sessional purposes.[9] On April 17, 1879, these 6 historical counties were established as 12 district municipalities, rather than county municipalities, based on their previous district divisions.[9] The district municipalities provide local government to the residents of the 6 historical counties who live outside incorporated towns.[9] Nova Scotia's 12 district municipalities continue administratively as district municipalities under the authority of the Municipal Government Act of 1998.[6]

Nova Scotia's largest and smallest district municipalities by population are Lunenburg and St. Mary's with 24,863 and 2,233 residents respectively.[2] Nova Scotia's largest district municipality by land area is Guysborough at 2,116.86 km² (817.32 sq mi), while the smallest by land area is Yarmouth at 586.65 km² (226.51 sq mi).[2]

Towns

Distribution of Nova Scotia's 26 towns by population

Prior to mid-2015, towns were incorporated under the authority of sections 383 through 388 of Nova Scotia's Municipal Government Act (MGA).[12] To incorporate an area as a town, 100 electors within the area were required to prepare and submit an application to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (NSUARB).[12] Upon receiving the application, the NSUARB would undertake a hearing to solicit input from interested parties and determine if there were reasonable grounds to incorporate as a town.[12] The NSUARB would issue an incorporation order if the application was deemed reasonable.[12] On May 11, 2015, sections 383 through 388 of the MGA were repealed, thereby preventing further incorporations of towns.[13]

Nova Scotia had 27 towns at the time of the 2016 census.[2] This total has since been reduced to 26 due to the dissolution of the Town of Parrsboro.[14] In the 2016 census, the remaining 26 towns had a cumulative population of 97,495. Nova Scotia's largest and smallest towns by population are Truro and Annapolis Royal with 12,261 and 491 residents respectively.[2] These two towns are also Nova Scotia's largest and smallest by land area at 34.49 km² (13.32 sq mi) and 2.04 km² (0.79 sq mi) respectively.[2]

List of municipalities

• 
  Halifax is Nova Scotia's capital and largest municipality by population.
• 
  Harbour of Louisbourg in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia's second-most populated municipality
• 
  The Municipality of the County of Kings is Nova Scotia's largest county municipality by population.

Municipal type	Incorporation date[8]	2016 Census of Population[2]
		Population (2016)	Population (2011)	Change	Land area (km²)	Population density
Cape Breton	Regional municipality	August 1, 1995	94,285	97,398	−3.2%	2,430.06	38.8/km^2
Halifax	Regional municipality	April 1, 1996	403,131	390,086	+3.3%	5,490.35	73.4/km^2
Queens	Regional municipality	April 1, 1996	10,307	10,917	−5.6%	2,392.63	4.3/km^2
Annapolis[lower-alpha 2]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	18,252	18,526	−1.5%	3,178.21	5.7/km^2
Antigonish[lower-alpha 3]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	14,584	14,692	−0.7%	1,450.27	10.1/km^2
Colchester[lower-alpha 4]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	36,091	36,624	−1.5%	3,572.49	10.1/km^2
Cumberland[lower-alpha 5]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	19,402	20,485	−5.3%	4,255.04	4.6/km^2
Inverness[lower-alpha 6]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	13,190	13,781	−4.3%	3,815.59	3.5/km^2
Kings[lower-alpha 7]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	47,404	47,569	−0.3%	2,094.05	22.6/km^2
Pictou[lower-alpha 8]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	20,692	21,278	−2.8%	2,797.25	7.4/km^2
Richmond[lower-alpha 9]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	8,458	8,812	−4.0%	1,243.72	6.8/km^2
Victoria[lower-alpha 10]	County municipality	April 17, 1879	6,552	6,597	−0.7%	2,854.01	2.3/km^2
Argyle	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	7,899	8,252	−4.3%	1,528.17	5.2/km^2
Barrington	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	6,646	6,994	−5.0%	632.35	10.5/km^2
Chester	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	10,310	10,599	−2.7%	1,122.11	9.2/km^2
Clare	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	8,018	8,319	−3.6%	852.55	9.4/km^2
Digby	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	7,107	7,463	−4.8%	1,657.33	4.3/km^2
East Hants	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	22,453	22,111	+1.5%	1,786.56	12.6/km^2
Guysborough	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	4,670	4,995	−6.5%	2,116.86	2.2/km^2
Lunenburg	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	24,863	25,118	−1.0%	1,759.59	14.1/km^2
Shelburne	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879[9]	4,288	4,408	−2.7%	1,821.07	2.4/km^2
St. Mary's	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	2,233	2,354	−5.1%	1,909.47	1.2/km^2
West Hants	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879	15,368	15,324	+0.3%	1,244.09	12.4/km^2
Yarmouth	District municipality	align=center| April 17, 1879[9]	9,845	10,105	−2.6%	586.65	16.8/km^2
Amherst	Town	December 18, 1889	9,413	9,717	−3.1%	12.07	779.9/km^2
Annapolis Royal	Town	November 29, 1892	491	481	+2.1%	2.04	240.7/km^2
Antigonish	Town	January 9, 1889	4,364	4,524	−3.5%	5.01	871.1/km^2
Berwick	Town	May 25, 1923[15]	2,509	2,454	+2.2%	6.58	381.3/km^2
Bridgewater	Town	February 13, 1899	8,532	8,241	+3.5%	13.63	626.0/km^2
Clark's Harbour	Town	March 4, 1919	758	820	−7.6%	2.81	269.8/km^2
Digby	Town	December 18, 1890	2,060	2,152	−4.3%	3.15	654.0/km^2
Kentville	Town	May 1, 1886	6,271	6,094	+2.9%	17.26	363.3/km^2
Lockeport	Town	February 26, 1907	531	588	−9.7%	2.33	227.9/km^2
Lunenburg	Town	October 29, 1888	2,263	2,313	−2.2%	4.04	560.1/km^2
Mahone Bay	Town	March 31, 1919	1,036	943	+9.9%	3.12	332.1/km^2
Middleton	Town	May 31, 1909	1,832	1,749	+4.7%	5.57	328.9/km^2
Mulgrave	Town	December 1, 1923	722	794	−9.1%	17.83	40.5/km^2
New Glasgow	Town	May 6, 1875	9,075	9,562	−5.1%	9.96	911.1/km^2
Oxford	Town	April 19, 1904	1,190	1,151	+3.4%	10.76	110.6/km^2
Pictou	Town	May 4, 1874	3,186	3,437	−7.3%	8.01	397.8/km^2
Port Hawkesbury	Town	January 22, 1889	3,214	3,366	−4.5%	8.1	396.8/km^2
Shelburne	Town	April 4, 1907[16]	1,743	1,686	+3.4%	8.84	197.2/km^2
Stellarton	Town	October 22, 1889	4,208	4,485	−6.2%	8.99	468.1/km^2
Stewiacke	Town	August 30, 1906	1,373	1,438	−4.5%	17.62	77.9/km^2
Trenton	Town	March 18, 1911	2,474	2,616	−5.4%	6.07	407.6/km^2
Truro	Town	May 6, 1875	12,261	12,059	+1.7%	34.49	355.5/km^2
Westville	Town	August 20, 1894	3,628	3,798	−4.5%	14.23	255.0/km^2
Windsor	Town	April 4, 1878	3,648	3,785	−3.6%	9.11	400.4/km^2
Wolfville	Town	March 4, 1893	4,195	4,269	−1.7%	6.46	649.4/km^2
Yarmouth	Town	August 6, 1890	6,518	6,761	−3.6%	10.57	616.7/km^2
Total regional municipalities	—	—	507,723	498,401	+1.9%	10,313.04	49.2/km^2
Total county municipalities	—	—	184,625	188,364	−2.0%	25,260.63	7.3/km^2
Total district municipalities	—	—	123,700	126,042	−1.9%	17,016.8	7.3/km^2
Total towns	—	—	97,495	99,283	−1.8%	248.65	392.1/km^2
Total municipalities	—	—	913,543	912,090	+0.2%	52,839.12	17.3/km^2
Province of Nova Scotia	—	—	923,598	921,727	+0.2%	52,942.27	17.45/km^2

Former municipalities

Nova Scotia has undergone reforms to local government since the mid-1990s, which has seen various municipalities amalgamate to form larger municipalities or dissolve into surrounding municipalities.

Amalgamations

The Municipality of the County of Cape Breton, the City of Sydney, and the towns of Dominion, Glace Bay, Louisbourg, New Waterford, North Sydney, and Sydney Mines dissolved and amalgamated on April 1, 1995 to form the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. The City of Halifax along with the City of Dartmouth, the Town of Bedford and the Municipality of the County of Halifax also dissolved and amalgamated on April 1, 1996 to become the Halifax Regional Municipality. Also on April 1, 1996, the Municipality of the County of Queens amalgamated with the Town of Liverpool to form the Region of Queens Municipality.[11]

Dissolutions

Five towns have dissolved since 2011 and are now under the jurisdiction of their adjacent rural municipalities. Canso dissolved on July 1, 2012 to become part of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough.[4] On April 1, 2015, Bridgetown and Springhill dissolved to become parts of the Municipality of the County of Annapolis and the Municipality of the County of Cumberland respectively.[4] Hantsport became part of the Municipality of the District of West Hants on July 1, 2015.[4] Parrsboro dissolved to become part of the Municipality of the County of Cumberland on November 1, 2016.[14]

See also

• Demographics of Nova Scotia
• Geography of Nova Scotia
• List of census agglomerations in Atlantic Canada
• List of communities in Nova Scotia
• List of designated places in Nova Scotia
• List of population centres in Nova Scotia
• List of villages in Nova Scotia

Notes

1. The remaining 1.1% of Nova Scotia's population resides on Indian reserves, which occupy the remaining 0.2% of the province's land mass.[2]
2. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Annapolis are derived from summing the census results for its four county subdivisions (A, B, C and D).[2]
3. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Antigonish are derived from summing the census results for its two county subdivisions (A and B).[2]
4. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Colchester are derived from summing the census results for its three county subdivisions (A, B and C).[2]
5. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Cumberland are derived from summing the census results for its four county subdivisions (A, B, C and D) and the dissolved Town of Parrsboro.[2]
6. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Inverness are derived from summing the census results for its three county subdivisions (A, B and C).[2]
7. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Kings are derived from summing the census results for its four county subdivisions (A, B, C and D).[2]
8. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Pictou are derived from summing the census results for its three county subdivisions (A, B and C).[2]
9. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Richmond are derived from summing the census results for its three county subdivisions (A, B and C).[2]
10. Population and land area figures for the Municipality of the County of Victoria are derived from summing the census results for its two county subdivisions (A and B).[2]

References

1. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
2. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Nova Scotia)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2017.
3. Gonzalo Pineros (2015). "Upper Tier and Lower Tier Municipality Integration to Collaboratively Address Population Growth, Aging Infrastructure and Climate Change" (PDF). McMaster University. p. 7. Retrieved December 28, 2016. The Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia have two-tier municipality systems.
4. "Nova Scotia Annual Report of Municipal Statistics for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015" (PDF). Department of Municipal Affairs. 2015. p. 12. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
5. "Municipal History Highlights". Province of Nova Scotia Department of Municipal Affairs. October 8, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
6. "Municipal Government Act" (PDF). Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly. June 19, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
7. "Assessment of the Municipal Acts of the Provinces and Territories" (PDF). Federation of Canadian Municipalities. April 2004. p. 30. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
8. "Municipal Incorporation Timeline". Province of Nova Scotia. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
9. "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.
10. "History of County Boundaries". Province of Nova Scotia: Department of Municipal Affairs. October 8, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
11. "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.
12. "Municipal Government Act, Part XVII: Municipal Incorporation". Office of the Legislative Counsel. April 22, 1999. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
13. "Bill No. 103: An Act to Amend Chapter 18 of the Acts of 1998, the Municipal Government Act" (PDF). Government of Nova Scotia. May 11, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
14. "Decision 2016 NSUARB 100 – M07110". Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board. June 15, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
15. Canadian Almanac & Directory. Scobie & Balfour. 2010. ISBN 1592374395.
16. "Shelburne's History: Settlement of Shelburne". Town of Shelburne. Retrieved January 2, 2017. It was incorporated as a town on April 4, 1907.

External links

• Municipal – Provincial Relationships
• Nova Scotia Department of Municipal Affairs
• Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities