141-666: Recognized Regional Languages: Nova Scotia is a province of Canada , located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and most populous province in Atlantic Canada , with an estimated population of over 1 million as of 2024; it is also the second-most densely populated province in Canada, and second-smallest province by area. The province comprises the Nova Scotia peninsula and Cape Breton Island , as well as 3,800 other coastal islands. The province
282-411: A brackish lake named Lake Wallace existed in the centre of the south beach. At its largest, it extended for many miles; indeed, during World War II, amphibious aircraft landed on it. Over the years, the lake shrank with an infilling of sand, until in late 2011, it filled in entirely and disappeared. Since the south beach is subject to flooding during fall storms, photos often show water in the area around
423-589: A Canadian stamp and coin in 2005. In 1970 Stompin' Tom Connors published his song "Sable Island" in 1970's Stompin' Tom Meets Big Joe Mufferaw . Canadian folk singer Catherine McKinnon recorded a song arranged by Don Gillis also entitled "Sable Island" for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1975. The first line of the Buck 65 song "Blood of a Young Wolf" is "Ten thousand horses, Sable Island, endless summer." The island has been
564-535: A backpack version of the Street View car camera around an area on the centre of the island, part of Google's Trekker program which explores off-road scenic locations. The route follows a hiking route that Parks Canada staff uses to escort adventure tourists who visit the island. Sable Island is a narrow, crescent-shaped sandbar with a surface area estimated around 34 km (13 sq mi). Despite being approximately 43.15 km (26.81 mi) long, it
705-695: A balmy overnight low of 23.3 °C (73.9 °F) The province includes regions of the Mi'kmaq nation of Mi'kma'ki ( mi'gama'gi ), the territory of which extends across the Maritimes, parts of Maine , Newfoundland and the Gaspé Peninsula . The Mi'kmaq people are part of the large Algonquian-language family and inhabited Nova Scotia at the time the first European colonists arrived. Research published in 1871 as well as S. T. Rand's work from 1894 showed that some Mi’kmaq believed they had emigrated from
846-749: A base to the navy of an adversary), as well as to support amphibious operations throughout the region (such as the Chesapeake campaign during the American War of 1812 ). Bermuda was consequently the most important British naval and military base in the Americas. Canadian confederation resulted in the Canadian Militia becoming responsible for the defence of the Maritimes, the abolition of the British Army's commander-in-chief there, and
987-539: A direct translation of "New Scotland", while most other languages use direct transliterations of the Latin/English name. The province was first named in the 1621 Royal Charter granting to Sir William Alexander the right to settle lands as a Scottish colony, including modern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island , Prince Edward Island , New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula . Nova Scotia is Canada's second-smallest province in area, after Prince Edward Island . It
1128-665: A great deal of power relative to the federal government, with jurisdiction over many public goods such as health care, education, welfare, and intra-provincial transportation. They receive " transfer payments " from the federal government to pay for these, as well as exacting their own taxes. In practice, however, the federal government can use these transfer payments to influence these provincial areas. For instance, in order to receive healthcare funding under Medicare , provinces must agree to meet certain federal mandates, such as universal access to required medical treatment. Provincial and territorial legislatures have no second chamber like
1269-520: A lesser extent silica , peat and barite , is also a significant sector. Since 1991, offshore oil and gas has become an important part of the economy, although production and revenue are nowdeclining. However, agriculture remains an important sector in the province, particularly in the Annapolis Valley . Nova Scotia's defence and aerospace sector generates approximately $ 500 million in revenues and contributes about $ 1.5 billion to
1410-524: A lieutenant-general termed a general officer commanding and the Bermuda garrison becoming a command in its own right. Bermuda was consequently left out of the confederation of Canada, though it retained naval links with Halifax and the state church (or established church ), the Church of England , continued to place Bermuda under the bishop of Newfoundland until 1919 (Bermuda also remained linked to
1551-564: A permanently occupied station on Sable Island until August 20, 2019. In addition to weather studies, research on the island expanded to a range of ecological and wildlife studies due to its unique position in the Atlantic. Sable Island is specifically mentioned in the British North America Act 1867 , Part 4, Section 91 as being the special responsibility of the federal government ("the exclusive Legislative Authority of
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#17327581220011692-538: A population of 969,383. Of the 958,990 singular responses to the census question concerning mother tongue , the most commonly reported languages were: Figures shown are for the number of single-language responses and the percentage of total single-language responses. Nova Scotia is home to the largest Scottish Gaelic -speaking community outside of Scotland, with a small number of native speakers in Pictou County , Antigonish County , and Cape Breton Island , and
1833-656: A prolonged economic crisis , and the legislature turned over political control to the Newfoundland Commission of Government in 1933. Following Canada's participation in the Second World War , in a 1948 referendum , a narrow majority of Newfoundland citizens voted to join the Confederation, and on March 31, 1949, Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province. The province was officially renamed Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001. Bermuda ,
1974-464: A rapidly developing Information & Communication Technology (ICT) sector which consists of over 500 companies, and employs roughly 15,000 people. In 2006, the manufacturing sector brought in over $ 2.6 billion in chained GDP, the largest output of any industrial sector in Nova Scotia. Michelin remains by far the largest single employer in this sector, operating three production plants in
2115-667: A series of six wars took place between the English and the French , with Nova Scotia being a consistent theatre of conflict between the two powers. Hostilities between England and France in North America resumed from 1702 to 1713, known as Queen Anne's War . The siege of Port Royal took place in 1710, ending French rule in peninsular Acadia. The subsequent signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 formally recognized British rule in
2256-470: A single Scots pine . Although planted in the 1960s, it is only a few feet tall. It is decorated yearly as a Christmas tree in December as part of a tradition among the station staff. The island is home to over 550 free-roaming horses according to a 2016 report, protected by law from human interference. During a 2017–2018 study, the estimated population was 500 horses, up from the roughly 300 recorded in
2397-482: A weather station. Several generations of island staff were born and raised families of their own on the island, although a decline in shipwrecks gradually reduced the size of the lifesaving community. Only two people have been born on Sable Island since 1920. Improvements in navigation led to a dramatic drop in shipwrecks by the mid 20th century. As such, the rescue station on Sable was reduced and eventually closed in 1958. The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) first automated in
2538-416: A year, which is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, though October through January are the wettest months due to frequent and intense fall and winter storms. Being located in the path of major frontal storms and tropical cyclones year-round, most of the precipitation comes from these storms. Thunderstorms are occasional, and happen on an average of 11 days per year. There are frequent heavy fogs in
2679-699: Is Scottish (30.0%), followed by English (28.9%), Irish (21.6%), French (16.5%), German (10.7%), First Nations (5.4%), Dutch (3.5%), Métis (2.9%), and Acadian (2.6%). 42.6% of respondents identified their ethnicity as " Canadian ". As of the 2021 Canadian Census , the ten most spoken languages in the province included English (951,945 or 99.59%), French (99,300 or 10.39%), Arabic (11,745 or 1.23%), Hindi (10,115 or 1.06%), Spanish (8,675 or 0.91%), Mandarin (8,525 or 0.89%), Punjabi (6,730 or 0.7%), German (6,665 or 0.7%), Miꞌkmaq (5,650 or 0.59%), and Tagalog (5,595 or 0.59%). The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The 2021 Canadian census showed
2820-451: Is also a protected National Park Reserve and an Important Bird Area . The expedition of Portuguese explorer João Álvares Fagundes explored this region in 1520–1521 and his expedition was among the first Europeans to encounter the island. It is likely that he named the island "Fagunda" after himself. An island called Fagunda appears on later Portuguese maps placed to the southeast of Cape Breton, fairly near its present location; however,
2961-779: Is called the National Assembly . Ontario has a legislative assembly but its members are called members of the Provincial Parliament or MPPs. The legislative assemblies use a procedure similar to that of the House of Commons of Canada . The head of government of each province, called the premier , is generally the head of the party with the most seats. This is also the case in Yukon, but the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have no political parties at
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#17327581220013102-547: Is connected to the rest of Canada by the Isthmus of Chignecto , on which the province's land border with New Brunswick is located. Nova Scotia's capital and largest municipality is Halifax , which is home to over 45% of the province's population as of the 2021 census . Halifax is the twelfth-largest census metropolitan area in Canada, the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada , and Canada's second-largest coastal municipality after Vancouver . The land that makes up what
3243-501: Is famous for its large number of shipwrecks. An estimated 350 vessels are believed to have fallen victim to the island's sand bars. Thick fogs, treacherous currents, and the island's location in the middle of a major transatlantic shipping route and rich fishing grounds account for the large number of wrecks. The first recorded wreck was the English ship Delight (1583) in 1583, part of Humphrey Gilbert 's Newfoundland expedition. There were at least three incidents of ship-wrecks in
3384-824: Is featured at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, which includes two rescue boats from Sable and numerous name boards and figureheads from Sable Island wrecks. Another permanent exhibit about Sable Island, exploring its ecology and the on-island researchers' work, is found at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History . The horses were featured in a 1994 exhibit at the Equine Museum of Japan in Yokohama. On September 11, 2014, Don Connolly of CBC Radio's Information Morning broadcast part of
3525-485: Is home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna including a breed of the unique Sable Island horse . The park is also a breeding ground for marine life. In July 2016, a hike across Sable Island was added to Google Street View . Google worked with Parks Canada to add the interactive views of Sable and five other Canadian National Parks. The imagery was collected in September 2015 by a Parks Canada employee who carried
3666-556: Is midway between the Equator and the North Pole . The province contains 5,400 lakes. Nova Scotia lies in the mid-temperate zone and, although the province is almost surrounded by water, the climate is closer to continental climate rather than maritime . The winter and summer temperature extremes of the continental climate are moderated by the ocean. However, winters are cold enough to be classified as continental—still being nearer
3807-688: Is no permanent runway for fixed wing aircraft, which land instead on south beach in an area designated as the Sable Island Aerodrome (CSB2). Prior permission is required to land, as the area is often unusable due to changing sand conditions. The unique landscape, history of shipwrecks, and wildlife, especially horses, have made Sable Island an iconic place in Atlantic Canada and attracted considerable international following. Shipwreck survivors published early survival narratives about their experiences at Sable Island, beginning with
3948-501: Is not suitable in a protected region where ecological integrity should be preserved according to the National Parks Act. Harbour and grey seals breed on the island's shores. Seal counts from the 1960s for the grey seal population estimated 200–300 pups born at that time on the island, but surveys from as recent as 2016 estimated the number of pups born in that season at 87,500. The seals are occasionally preyed upon by
4089-451: Is now Nova Scotia was inhabited by the Miꞌkmaq people at the time of European colonization. In 1605, Acadia —France's first New France colony—was founded with the creation of Acadia's capital, Port Royal . The Scots, English, then British, fought France for the territory on numerous occasions for over a century afterwards, having gained it from them in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht , which ended
4230-470: Is often referred to as the Graveyard of the Atlantic , as it sits astride the great circle route from North America's east coast to Europe. The nearest landfall is 160 kilometres (99 mi) to the northwest near Canso , Nova Scotia. Sable Island is believed to have formed from a terminal moraine deposited on the continental shelf near the end of the last Ice Age. It is slowly moving as waves erode
4371-445: Is only 1.21 km (0.75 mi) across at its widest point. The maximum elevation is about 30 m (98 ft). The long crescent-shaped island rises gently from the shallows of the continental shelf approximately 285 km (177 mi) east of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its location, in tandem with the area's frequent fog and sudden strong storms (such as hurricanes and nor'easters ), have resulted in over 350 recorded shipwrecks. It
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4512-568: Is surrounded by four major bodies of water: the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the north, the Bay of Fundy to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southwest, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The province's mainland is the Nova Scotia peninsula and includes numerous bays and estuaries. Nowhere in Nova Scotia is more than 67 km (42 mi) from the ocean. Cape Breton Island , a large island to
4653-503: Is the only permanently staffed facility on the island. Climatological record-keeping on Sable Island began in 1871 with the establishment of the Meteorological Service of Canada , and ran continuously from 1891 until August 20, 2019. Sable Island has been the subject of extensive scientific research over the years. The Meteorological Service of Canada operated a wide range of manual and automated instruments, including
4794-506: Is unclear. The island was inhabited sporadically by sealers, shipwreck survivors, and salvagers known as " wreckers ". Troilus de La Roche de Mesgouez attempted to colonize the New World with convicts in 1598. When the convicts mutinied, they were left on the treeless and stoneless Sable Island. Most of the settlers died, but a few managed to survive in mud dwellings for five years before being returned to France in 1603. Sable Island
4935-625: The Alberta Party and Saskatchewan Party . The provincial political climate of Quebec is different: the main split is between sovereignty , represented by the Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire , and federalism , represented primarily by the Quebec Liberal Party . The Coalition Avenir Québec , meanwhile, takes an abstentionist position on the question and does not support or oppose sovereignty. Currently,
5076-835: The American Civil War (1861–1865), primarily on behalf of the North . The British Empire (including Nova Scotia) declared itself neutral in the conflict. As a result, Britain (and Nova Scotia) continued to trade with both the South and the North. Nova Scotia's economy boomed during the Civil War. Soon after the American Civil War, Pro-Canadian Confederation premier Charles Tupper led Nova Scotia into Canadian Confederation on 1 July 1867, along with New Brunswick and
5217-538: The Automated Weather Observing System , an aerology program measuring conditions in the upper atmosphere using a radiosonde carried aloft by a hydrogen-filled weather balloon to altitudes beyond 40 km (25 mi), and a program collecting data on background levels of carbon dioxide , which began there in 1974. Research was done to monitor the long-range transport of pollution aerosols. Fog chemistry has also been studied, examining
5358-544: The Azores and had been reported missing 18 June 2024. A series of life-saving stations were established on Sable Island by the governor of Nova Scotia, John Wentworth , in 1801. The rescue station began the continuous human presence on the island which continues today. Wentworth appointed James Morris, a Nova Scotian veteran of the British Royal Navy as the first superintendent of the island. Morris settled on
5499-511: The Bank of Nova Scotia , Cunard Line , Alexander Keith's Brewery, Morse's Tea Company (first tea company in Canada), among others. Nova Scotia became a world leader in both building and owning wooden sailing ships in the second half of the 19th century. Nova Scotia produced internationally recognized shipbuilders Donald McKay and William Dawson Lawrence . The fame Nova Scotia achieved from sailors
5640-484: The Bay of Fundy 's shores, has yielded an abundance of Carboniferous -age fossils. Wasson's Bluff, near the town of Parrsboro , has yielded both Triassic - and Jurassic -age fossils. The highest point is White Hill at 533 m (1,749 ft) above sea level, situated amongst the Cape Breton Highlands in the far north of the province. Nova Scotia is located along the 45th parallel north , so it
5781-576: The Canadian Senate . Originally, most provinces had such bodies, known as legislative councils , with members titled councillors. These upper houses were abolished one by one, Quebec's being the last in 1968. In most provinces, the single house of the legislature is known as the Legislative Assembly; the exceptions are Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, where the chamber is called the House of Assembly , and Quebec where it
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5922-559: The Colony of British Columbia . NWT included the northern two-thirds of Ontario and Quebec. After the province of Manitoba was established in 1870, in a small area in the south of today's province, almost all of present-day Manitoba was still contained in the NWT. (Manitoba expanded to its present size in 1912.) The British claims to the Arctic islands were transferred to Canada in 1880, adding to
6063-627: The Constitution Act are divided between the Government of Canada (the federal government) and the provincial governments to exercise exclusively. A change to the division of powers between the federal government and the provinces requires a constitutional amendment , whereas a similar change affecting the territories can be performed unilaterally by the Parliament of Canada or government. In modern Canadian constitutional theory ,
6204-550: The Halifax Explosion . In April 2004, the Nova Scotia legislature adopted a resolution explicitly inviting the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands to explore the possibility of joining Canada as part of that Province . In April 2020, a killing spree occurred across the province and became the deadliest rampage in Canada's history. According to the 2016 Canadian census the largest ethnic group in Nova Scotia
6345-650: The Hudson's Bay Company . In 1870, the company relinquished its claims for £300,000 (CND$ 1.5 million), assigning the vast territory to the government of Canada. Subsequently, the area was re-organized into the province of Manitoba and the North-West Territories. The North-West Territories encompassed all of current northern and western Canada, except for the British holdings in the Arctic islands and
6486-791: The Keewatin Region . It occupied the area that is now the Kenora District of Ontario, northern Manitoba, and mainland Nunavut. The government of Keewatin was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The territory did not have any representation in federal parliament. The vast majority of Canada's population is concentrated in areas close to the Canada–US border . Its four largest provinces by area ( Quebec , Ontario , British Columbia and Alberta ) are also (with Quebec and Ontario switched in order) its most populous; together they account for 86% of
6627-819: The Naval battle off Cape Breton (1781). After the Americans and their French allies won at the siege of Yorktown in 1781, approximately 33,000 Loyalists (the King's Loyal Americans, allowed to place " United Empire Loyalist " after their names) settled in Nova Scotia (14,000 of them in what became New Brunswick) on lands granted by the Crown as some compensation for their losses. (The British administration divided Nova Scotia and hived off Cape Breton and New Brunswick in 1784). The Loyalist exodus created new communities across Nova Scotia, including Shelburne , which briefly became one of
6768-561: The Port of Halifax received 261,000 passengers and Sydney 69,000. This industry contributes approximately $ 1.3 billion annually to the economy. A 2008 Nova Scotia tourism campaign included advertising a fictional mobile phone called Pomegranate and establishing website, which after reading about "new phone" redirected to tourism info about region. Provinces and territories of Canada Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under
6909-526: The Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec ), forming the Dominion of Canada. "Nova Scotia" is Latin for "New Scotland " and is the recognized Canadian English name for the province. In both Canadian French and Canadian Gaelic , the province is directly translated as "New Scotland" (French: Nouvelle-Écosse . Canadian Gaelic: Alba Nuadh ). In general, Latin and Slavic languages use
7050-623: The Province of Canada . The Anti-Confederation Party was led by Joseph Howe . Almost three months later, in the election of 18 September 1867, the Anti-Confederation Party won 18 out of 19 federal seats, and 36 out of 38 seats in the provincial legislature. Throughout the 19th century, numerous businesses developed in Nova Scotia became of pan-Canadian and international importance: the Starr Manufacturing Company (first ice skate manufacturer in Canada),
7191-579: The River St. Lawrence and Coast of America and North America and West Indies Station , the North America and Newfoundland Station , the North America and West Indies Station , and finally the America and West Indies Station ) main bases, dockyards, and Admiralty Houses. The squadron of the station was based at Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax , during the summers and Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda , in
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#17327581220017332-485: The Royal Navy failed to establish naval supremacy in the region. While the British captured many American privateers in battles such as the Naval battle off Halifax (1782), many more continued attacks on shipping and settlements until the final months of the war. The Royal Navy struggled to maintain British supply lines, defending British convoys from American and French attacks as in the fiercely fought convoy battle,
7473-494: The Siege of Saint John (1777) . Throughout the war, American privateers devastated the maritime economy by capturing ships and looting almost every community outside of Halifax. These American raids alienated many sympathetic or neutral Nova Scotians into supporting the British. By the end of the war, Nova Scotia had outfitted numerous privateers to attack American shipping. British military forces based at Halifax succeeded in preventing an American occupation of Nova Scotia, though
7614-445: The War of the Spanish Succession . In subsequent years, the British began settling " foreign Protestants " in the region and deported the French-speaking Acadians en masse . During the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), thousands of Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia. In 1848, Nova Scotia became the first British colony to achieve responsible government . In July 1867, Nova Scotia joined in Confederation with New Brunswick and
7755-429: The federal electoral district of Halifax , and the provincial electoral district of Halifax Citadel , although the urban area of Halifax proper is some 300 km (190 mi) away on the Nova Scotian mainland. Sable Island has an oceanic climate ( Köppen Cfb ) using the −3 °C isotherm, with its climate being strongly influenced by the sea. As such, winter temperatures average near freezing while during
7896-440: The world's second-largest country by area. The major difference between a Canadian province and a territory is that provinces receive their power and authority from the Constitution Act, 1867 (formerly called the British North America Act, 1867 ), whereas territories are federal territories whose governments are creatures of statute with powers delegated to them by the Parliament of Canada . The powers flowing from
8037-482: The 1700s. In 1736, a well-known Presbyterian preacher, the Irish-born Rev. Robert Dunlap (1715–1776), wrecked on the island on his way to America. Decades later, there were two major shipwrecks: In November 1760, Major Robert Elliot (1715 – after 1765) of the 43rd regiment was shipwrecked on Sable Island; he was rescued in January 1761. En route to Prince Edward Island under the command of Major Timothy Hierlihy , Lieutenant Anthony Kennedy and 25 men wrecked on
8178-491: The 1960s and eventually decommissioned the West light station in 2004 leaving only the East lighthouse active. However, during this period, the island's role in science grew, first in weather research. The Canadian government expanded the collection of weather data originally started by the rescue station into a full meteorological station operated by Environment Canada and Department of Fisheries and Oceans . The station conducted routine atmospheric and meteorological studies from
8319-407: The 1970s. Because of the harsh spring of 2017, the mortality rate was about 10% but the normal rate is about 1% annually, primarily due to starvation and hypothermia. This feral horse population is likely descended from horses confiscated from Acadians during the Great Expulsion and left on the island by Thomas Hancock , Boston merchant and uncle of John Hancock . In the early 1800s, many of
8460-438: The 60° parallel, Ontario's to Hudson Bay and Quebec's to encompass the District of Ungava . In 1869, the people of Newfoundland voted to remain a British colony over fears that taxes would increase with Confederation, and that the economic policy of the Canadian government would favour mainland industries. In 1907, Newfoundland acquired dominion status. In the middle of the Great Depression in Canada , Newfoundland underwent
8601-403: The Acadians and recruited New England Planters to resettle the colony. The 75-year period of war ended with the Halifax Treaties between the British and the Mi'kmaq (1761). After the war, some Acadians were allowed to return. In 1763, most of Acadia (Cape Breton Island, St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island), and New Brunswick) became part of Nova Scotia. In 1765, the county of Sunbury
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#17327581220018742-443: The Arctic , particularly as global warming could make that region more open to exploitation leading to more complex international waters disputes . Sable Island Sable Island ( French : île de Sable , literally "island of sand") is a small Canadian island situated 300 km (190 mi) southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia , and about 175 km (109 mi) southeast of the closest point of mainland Nova Scotia in
8883-415: The Canadian Government, under the Canada Shipping Act , gave the horse population full protection from human interference. This was partly motivated by a plan in the 1950s, eventually aborted due to public pressure, to remove the horses from the island, after some biologists reported that they were damaging the ecology of the land. Nonetheless, some continued to view the horses as an invasive species which
9024-415: The Canadian mainland (from those in James Bay to the Queen Elizabeth Islands ). The following table lists the territories in order of precedence (each province has precedence over all the territories, regardless of the date each territory was created). Another territory, the District of Keewatin , existed from October 7, 1876, until September 1, 1905, when it rejoined the Northwest Territories and became
9165-419: The Earth's magnetic field and increase the accuracy of the BGS Global Geomagnetic Model. Data from the geomagnetic observatory is used by the offshore energy industry for precise positioning activities such as directional drilling . Supplies are delivered to the Sable Island Station approximately twice a month by Sable Aviation using a Britten-Norman Islander . Although the island has a heliport (CST5), there
9306-562: The French government donated the land used for the Vimy Memorial "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada the free use of the land exempt from all taxes". The site of the Somme battlefield near Beaumont-Hamel site was purchased in 1921 by the people of the Dominion of Newfoundland . These sites do not, however, enjoy extraterritorial status and are thus subject to French law. Since Confederation in 1867, there have been several proposals for new Canadian provinces and territories. The Constitution of Canada requires an amendment for
9447-406: The Maine settlement the following year and, in 1605, established a settlement at Port Royal , which grew into modern-day Annapolis Royal . This would be the first permanent European settlement in what would later become Canada. The settlement was in the Mi'kmaw district of Kespukwitk and was the founding settlement of what would become Acadia . For the next 150 years, Mi'kmaq and Acadians would form
9588-451: The Maritimes under the Methodist and Roman Catholic churches). In 1903, resolution of the Alaska Panhandle Dispute fixed British Columbia's northwestern boundary. This was one of only two provinces in Canadian history to have its size reduced. The second reduction, in 1927, occurred when a boundary dispute between Canada and the Dominion of Newfoundland saw Labrador enlarged at Quebec's expense; this land returned to Canada, as part of
9729-442: The North Atlantic Ocean. The island is staffed year round by three Parks Canada staff, rising during summer months when research projects and tourism increase. Notable for its role in early Canadian history and the Sable Island horse , the island is protected and managed by Parks Canada , which must grant permission prior to any visit. Sable Island is part of District 7 of the Halifax Regional Municipality in Nova Scotia. The island
9870-450: The North, for organizational and economic purposes. For much of the Northwest Territories' early history it was divided into several districts for ease of administration. The District of Keewatin was created as a separate territory from 1876 to 1905, after which, as the Keewatin Region, it became an administrative district of the Northwest Territories. In 1999, it was dissolved when it became part of Nunavut. Theoretically, provinces have
10011-452: The Pacific Coast, and can have the warmest temperatures in the country on some occasions due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. Summers are among the coolest in southern Canada though. It is also the most hurricane-prone part of Canada, also due to the Gulf Stream, and is the only place where Category 3 hurricane-force winds are likely in all of Canada. The highest temperature recorded was 27.8 °C (82.0 °F) on August 27, 1951, while
10152-501: The Parliament of Canada extends to ... 9. Beacons, Buoys, Lighthouses, and Sable Island"). For this reason it is considered a separate amateur radio "entity" (equivalent to a country for award credit), and with visiting operations using the special callsign prefix CY0. Because it is a separate radio entity, Sable Island is a popular Dxpedition destination. Out of concern for preserving the island's frail ecology, all visitors to
10293-544: The Sable lifesaving station. After the 1991 Perfect Storm , the commercial fishing vessel Andrea Gail ' s emergency position-indicating radio beacon ( EPIRB ) was discovered on the shore of Sable Island on November 6, 1991, nine days after the last transmission from the crew. Other items found were fuel drums, a fuel tank, an empty life raft, and some other flotsam . No crew members have been found and are presumed to have perished. No further wrecks occurred until 1999, when
10434-465: The area due to the contrasting effects of the cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream : on average there are 127 days out of the year that have at least 1 hour of fog. This makes Sable Island the foggiest place in the Maritimes . The foggiest season is during the summer months where July averages 22 fog days. During the winter, Sable Island has the warmest temperatures in Canada apart from
10575-723: The capture of Port Royal in 1710, Francis Nicholson announced it would be renamed Annapolis Royal in honour of Queen Anne . As a result of Father Rale's War (1722–1725), the Mi'kmaq signed a series of treaties with the British in 1725. The Mi'kmaq signed a treaty of submission to the British crown. However, conflict between the Acadians, Mi'kmaq, French and the British persisted in the following decades with King George's War (1744–1748). Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) began when Edward Cornwallis arrived to establish Halifax with 13 transports on 21 June 1749. A General Court, made up of
10716-510: The country's population. The territories (the Northwest Territories , Nunavut and Yukon ) account for over a third of Canada's area but are only home to 0.3% of its population, which skews the national population density value. Canada's population grew by 5.0% between the 2006 and 2011 censuses. Except for New Brunswick , all territories and provinces increased in population during this time. In terms of percent change,
10857-411: The creation of a new province but the creation of a new territory requires only an act of Parliament , a legislatively simpler process. In late 2004, Prime Minister Paul Martin surprised some observers by expressing his personal support for all three territories gaining provincial status "eventually". He cited their importance to the country as a whole and the ongoing need to assert sovereignty in
10998-402: The daily current affairs program from Sable Island. It was the first ever live public radio broadcast from the island. In amateur radio , Sable Island is considered a separate country with the unique call sign prefix CY0. Since enthusiasts collect contacts from different countries and there are few inhabitants on Sable Island, a contact from there would be considered a "rare DX". As a result,
11139-555: The eastern tip and Sable Island West End Light (pyramidal skeletal tower built 1979 replacing earlier towers from 1873, 1903 and 1935) on the western end. Until the advent of modern ship navigation, Sable Island was home to the families of the life-saving crews and the lighthouse keepers. In the early 20th century, the Marconi Company established a wireless station on the island and the Canadian government similarly established
11280-521: The efforts of Joseph Howe . Nova Scotia had established representative government in 1758, an achievement later commemorated by the erection of Dingle Tower in 1908. Nova Scotians fought in the Crimean War of 1853–1856. The 1860 Welsford-Parker Monument in Halifax is the second-oldest war monument in Canada and the only Crimean War monument in North America. It commemorates the 1854–55 Siege of Sevastopol . Thousands of Nova Scotians fought in
11421-457: The establishment of a rescue station on the island. Canadian writer James MacDonald Oxley wrote a youth novel The Wreckers of Sable Island in 1897. Frank Parker Day 's 1928 novel Rockbound features a vivid depiction of the sinking of the schooner Sylvia Mosher during the 1926 August Gales at Sable Island. One of the island's most notable temporary residents was Nova Scotian author Thomas H. Raddall , whose early experiences working at
11562-483: The fastest-growing province or territory was Nunavut with an increase of 12.7% between 2011 and 2016, followed by Alberta with 11.6% growth, while New Brunswick's population decreased by 0.5%. Generally, Canadian provinces have steadily grown in population along with Canada. However, some provinces such as Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have experienced long periods of stagnation or population decline. Ontario and Quebec have always been
11703-408: The federal level, and as a result, have a commissioner that represents the federal government. There are three territories in Canada. Unlike the provinces, the territories of Canada have no inherent sovereignty and have only those powers delegated to them by the federal government. They include all of mainland Canada north of latitude 60° north and west of Hudson Bay and all islands north of
11844-465: The federal party. The Liberal Party of Canada shares such an organizational integration with Atlantic Canada provincial Liberals in New Brunswick , Newfoundland and Labrador , Nova Scotia , and Prince Edward Island . Other provincial Liberal parties are unaffiliated with their federal counterpart. Some provinces have provincial political parties with no clear federal equivalent, such as
11985-499: The former location of Lake Wallace; however, this flooded area is relatively shallow (only a few feet at most) and is not a remnant of the lake. The original lake was of a significant enough depth that even during times when the area was flooded, the lake could be seen in aerial photographs as a darker (deeper) patch in the middle of the flooded area. The island is a part of the Halifax Regional Municipality,
12126-535: The freezing point than inland areas to the west. The Nova Scotian climate is in many ways similar to the central Baltic Sea coast in Northern Europe, only wetter and snowier. This is true although Nova Scotia is some fifteen parallels further south. Areas not on the Atlantic coast experience warmer summers more typical of inland areas, and winter lows are a little colder. On 12 August 2020, the community of Grand Étang, famous for its Les Suêtes winds, recorded
12267-552: The geography and history of the island. Joshua Slocum describes Sable Island in Sailing Alone Around the World during his 1895 solo circumnavigation. The island has also inspired works of fiction beginning in 1802 when Nova Scotia author Thomas Chandler Haliburton published "The Sable Island Ghost", a story about a ghostly woman inspired by the loss of the brig Francis in 1798. His story helped raise support for
12408-735: The governor and the council, was the highest court in the colony at the time. Jonathan Belcher was sworn in as chief justice of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court on 21 October 1754. The first legislative assembly in Halifax, under the Governorship of Charles Lawrence , met on 2 October 1758. During the French and Indian War of 1754–1763 (the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War ), the British deported
12549-457: The horses were used by men patrolling the island, searching for ships in distress, and the animals also moved lifeboats and equipment to sites of shipwrecks. In 1879, 500 horses and cattle were estimated to live on the island, and the island vegetation was described as covered with grass and wild peas. In the past, excess horses were rounded up, shipped off the island, and sold, many used in coal mines on Cape Breton Island , Nova Scotia. In 1960,
12690-467: The identification of Sable Island with Fagunda is not certain. On the other hand, 16th-century Portuguese sources describe a fishing colony founded by the navigator in Cape Breton Island , further north. It is also possible that Fagundes sighted the island while heading southwest, reaching the Bay of Fundy , as the 1558 map of Diogo Homem and later Samuel de Champlain suggested, but this
12831-610: The indicia of sovereignty from the United Kingdom. Prior to this, Ontario and Quebec were united as the Province of Canada. Over the following years, Manitoba (1870), British Columbia (1871), and Prince Edward Island (1873) were added as provinces. The British Crown had claimed two large areas north-west of the Canadian colony, known as Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory , and assigned them to
12972-485: The island and studies the wild Sable Island horse . In the 1937 film Captains Courageous , the fishing boat passes Sable Island on the way to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland . Spencer Tracy 's character Manuel later says his father died off Cape Sable. Sable Island is briefly featured in the 2000 feature film The Perfect Storm , which depicts the sinking of the fishing vessel Andrea Gail near Sable, although
13113-478: The island in November 1778. The crew was stranded on the island for the winter. Two died, and the remainder were rescued and transported to Halifax the following April. It is likely that the construction of lighthouses on each end of the island in 1873 contributed to the decrease in shipwrecks. The last major shipwreck was the steamship Manhasset in 1947. Her crew were all saved, the last significant rescue of
13254-492: The island in October 1801 with his family. By the time Morris died on the island in 1809, he had built up the humanitarian settlement to include a central station, two rescue boat stations, several lookout posts and survivor shelters. The station's rescue equipment was upgraded in 1854 with the latest generation of self-bailing lifeboats and life cars through the fundraising efforts of social reformer Dorothea Dix who had visited
13395-473: The island in the previous year. The island became property of the federal government during Canadian Confederation in 1867, with the Island being specifically referenced in an appendix to the British North America Act . The federal government later added two lighthouses in 1872: Sable Island East End Light (cylindrical skeletal tower built 1980s, replacing earlier iterations from 1873, 1888, 1917 and 1951) on
13536-496: The island is erroneously portrayed with trees and a giant stone lighthouse. Sable Island is the setting for the 2002 film Touching Wild Horses starring Jane Seymour ; however, little attempt was made to mimic the natural landscape of Sable, with trees and rocks abounding in the background of most every scene. Instead, Sandbanks Provincial Park in Ontario stood in for the island in the film. A permanent exhibit about Sable Island
13677-509: The island, including recreational boaters, require specific permission from Parks Canada. Sable Island's heliport contains emergency aviation fuel for search and rescue helicopters, which use the island to stage further offshore into the Atlantic. When the Sable Offshore Energy Project was active, the island was designated as an emergency evacuation point for crews aboard nearby drilling rigs. In 2017, Exxon Mobil began
13818-589: The island, including the 2007 film Île de sable made by Jean-François Ducrocq and Malek Sahraoui for France 3 , French public television. In 2007, Matt Trecartin of Halifax directed Chasing Wild Horses , a documentary about photographer Roberto Dutesco and his photography of the Sable Island horses. The most recent effort is a Canadian documentary film by Jacquelyn Mills , titled Geographies of Solitude , released in 2022. The 103-minute film features Zoe Lucas, an environmentalist and naturalist who lives on
13959-628: The island, its horses and shipwrecks in 1898 for National Geographic during a visit with Alexander Graham Bell . A further National Geographic visit in the summer of 1964 yielded an article entitled Sable Island; Graveyard of the Atlantic . In more recent times, Roberto Dutesco , a fashion photographer, began taking photos of Sable horses in 1994 and features this work in a permanent photo exhibition entitled "Wild Horses of Sable Island" at his gallery in New York. Nova Scotian photographer Paul Illsley's photographs of Sable Island horses inspired both
14100-413: The island. These factors point toward Sable Island disappearing by the end of the century. Sable Island derived its name from the French word for "sand". It lacks natural trees, being covered instead with marram grass and other low-growing vegetation. In 1901, the federal government planted over 80,000 trees in an attempt to stabilize the soil; all died. Subsequent plantings resulted in the survival of
14241-551: The jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution . In the 1867 Canadian Confederation , three provinces of British North America — New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , and the Province of Canada (which upon Confederation was divided into Ontario and Quebec )—united to form a federation , becoming a fully independent country over the next century. Over its history, Canada's international borders have changed several times as it has added territories and provinces, making it
14382-415: The language is taught in a number of secondary schools throughout the province. In 2018 the government launched a new Gaelic vehicle licence plate to raise awareness of the language and help fund Gaelic language and culture initiatives. They estimated that there were 2,000 Gaelic speakers in the province. According to the 2021 census , religious groups in Nova Scotia included: According to the 2011 census,
14523-528: The larger British settlements in North America, and infused Nova Scotia with additional capital and skills. The migration caused political tensions between Loyalist leaders and the leaders of the existing New England Planters settlement. The Loyalist influx also pushed Nova Scotia's 2000 Mi'kmaq People to the margins as Loyalist land grants encroached on ill-defined native lands. As part of the Loyalist migration, about 3,000 Black Loyalists arrived; they founded
14664-501: The largest denominations by number of adherents were Christians with 78.2%. About 21.18% were non-religious and 1% were Muslims . Jews , Hindus , and Sikhs constitute around 0.20%. In 1871, the largest religious denominations were Presbyterian with 103,500 (27%); Roman Catholic with 102,000 (26%); Baptist with 73,295 (19%); Anglican with 55,124 (14%); Methodist with 40,748 (10%), Lutheran with 4,958 (1.3%); and Congregationalist with 2,538 (0.65%). Nova Scotia's per capita GDP in 2016
14805-576: The largest free Black settlement in North America at Birchtown , near Shelburne. There are several Black Loyalists buried in unmarked graves in the Old Burying Ground in Halifax. Many Nova Scotian communities were settled by British regiments that fought in the war . During the War of 1812 , Nova Scotia's contribution to the British war effort involved communities either purchasing or building various privateer ships to attack U.S. vessels. Perhaps
14946-632: The last British North American colony, which had been somewhat subordinated to Nova Scotia, was one of two Imperial fortress colonies in British North America ;– the other being Nova Scotia, and more particularly the city of Halifax. Halifax and Bermuda were the sites of the Royal Navy's North America Station (or, depending on the time period and the extent of the Western Hemisphere it included,
15087-723: The level of protection the island receives by transferring control from the Canadian Coast Guard to Parks Canada , which manages the island under the Canada National Parks Act . The establishment of the park reserve means that the island, and the surrounding area within 1 nautical mile (1.9 km; 1.2 mi), cannot be drilled for oil or natural gas. Sable Island became a National Park Reserve on June 20, 2013, with approval of Mi'kmaq stakeholders. Full national park status has yet to be achieved, pending settlement of Indigenous land claims. The park
15228-491: The lowest temperature recorded was −19.4 °C (−2.9 °F) on January 31, 1920. According to PlantMaps, Sable Island lies in Hardiness Zone 8a (10–15 °F or −12 – −9 °C) for plant hardiness. Being a large low-lying sandbar , Sable Island is vulnerable to sea level rise . This is further exacerbated by an ongoing increase in storm frequency and intensity caused by climate change , further eroding
15369-583: The majority of the population of the region. Warfare was a common in Nova Scotia during the 17th and 18th centuries. During the first 80 years the French and Acadians lived in Nova Scotia, nine significant military clashes took place as the English, Dutch, French and Mi'kmaq fought for possession of the area. These encounters happened at Port Royal, Saint John , Cap de Sable (present-day Pubnico to Port La Tour, Nova Scotia ), Jemseg (1674 and 1758) and Baleine (1629). The Acadian Civil War took place from 1640 to 1645. Beginning with King William's War in 1688,
15510-615: The most dramatic moment in the war for Nova Scotia occurred when HMS Shannon escorted the captured American frigate USS Chesapeake into Halifax Harbour in 1813. Many of the U.S. prisoners were kept at Deadman's Island . Nova Scotia became 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
15651-429: The northeast of the Nova Scotia mainland, is also part of the province, as is Sable Island , a small island notorious for being the site of offshore shipwrecks, approximately 175 km (110 mi) from the province's southern coast. Nova Scotia has many ancient fossil-bearing rock formations. These formations are particularly rich on the Bay of Fundy 's shores. Blue Beach near Hantsport , Joggins Fossil Cliffs , on
15792-742: The one minority provincial/territorial government is held by the Liberals in Yukon . They are in government with a formal confidence and supply agreement from the Yukon New Democratic Party . The Canadian National Vimy Memorial , near Vimy , Pas-de-Calais, and the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial , near Beaumont-Hamel , both in France, are ceremonially considered Canadian territory. In 1922,
15933-625: The plugging and abandonment of the production wells in the Thebaud field (the Sable Offshore Energy Project wells closest to Sable Island); all facilities were removed by November 2020. On October 17, 2011, the Nova Scotia government entered into an agreement with the federal government to eventually protect the island as a national park . The news followed an announcement made by the federal government in May 2010, increasing
16074-493: The possibility that Greenland sharks were to blame for the corkscrew lacerations on dead seals found washed up on the island. A recent work about Sable Island is the 2015 Canadian-produced film, "S(t)able Island: The Beauty of the Free", created by Rae-Anne LaPlante. The film explores in-depth the wild horse population that has called Sable Island its home for over 250 years. A number of international documentaries have also explored
16215-410: The province of Newfoundland, in 1949. In 1999, Nunavut was created from the eastern portion of the Northwest Territories. Yukon lies in the western portion of Northern Canada, while Nunavut is in the east. All three territories combined are the most sparsely populated region in Canada, covering 3,921,739 km (1,514,192 sq mi) in land area. They are often referred to as a single region,
16356-619: The province were also hit hard, particularly during the last two decades: coal mining in Cape Breton and northern mainland Nova Scotia has virtually ceased, and a large steel mill in Sydney closed during the 1990s. More recently, the high value of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar has hurt the forestry industry, leading to the shutdown of a long-running pulp and paper mill near Liverpool . Mining, especially of gypsum and salt and to
16497-401: The province. Michelin is also the province's largest private-sector employer. In July 2024, the provincial government committed CAD$ 18.6 million to build 27 new telecommunication towers to upgrade cellular service province-wide. The Nova Scotia tourism industry includes more than 6,500 direct businesses, supporting nearly 40,000 jobs. Cruise ships pay regular visits to the province. In 2010,
16638-475: The provinces are considered to be co-sovereign within certain areas based on the divisions of responsibility between the provincial and federal government within the Constitution Act, 1867 , and each province thus has its own representative of the Canadian Crown , the lieutenant governor . The territories are not sovereign, but instead their authorities and responsibilities are devolved directly from
16779-493: The provincial economy each year. To date, 40% of Canada's military assets reside in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia has the fourth-largest film industry in Canada hosting over 100 productions yearly, more than half of which are the products of international film and television producers. In 2015, the government of Nova Scotia eliminated tax credits to film production in the province, jeopardizing the industry given most other jurisdictions continue to offer such credits. The province also has
16920-466: The reduction of British military forces in the Maritimes to a small garrison for the protection of the Halifax dockyard, which would be withdrawn when that dockyard was handed over to the Dominion government in 1905 for use by the new Canadian naval service. Britain retained control of Bermuda as an imperial fortress, with the governor and commander-in-chief of Bermuda (a military officer previously ranking between lieutenant-colonel and major-general) becoming
17061-399: The region, while returning Cape Breton Island ( Île Royale ) and Prince Edward Island ( Île Saint-Jean ) to the French. Despite the British conquest of Acadia in 1710, Nova Scotia remained primarily occupied by Catholic Acadians and Mi'kmaq, who confined British forces to Annapolis and to Canso. Present-day New Brunswick formed a part of the French colony of Acadia. Immediately after
17202-506: The same name. For example, no provincial Conservative or Progressive Conservative Party shares an organizational link to the federal Conservative Party of Canada , and neither do provincial Green Parties to the Green Party of Canada . Provincial New Democratic Parties, on the other hand, are fully integrated with the federal New Democratic Party —meaning that provincial parties effectively operate as sections, with common membership, of
17343-769: The sinking of the Delight in 1583. The first formal history of the island, Sable Island: its History and Phenomena , was written in 1894 by George Patterson. Many other histories of the island and its shipwrecks have been published since, such as Lyall Campbell's two books – Sable Island, Fatal and Fertile Crescent in 1974 and Sable Island Shipwrecks: Disaster and Survival at the North Atlantic Graveyard in 1994 – and more recently, A Dune Adrift: The Strange Origins and Curious History of Sable Island , written in 2004 by Marq de Villiers . In his 1997 book, The Perfect Storm , Sebastian Junger briefly describes
17484-526: The size of the North-West Territories. In 1898 the Yukon Territory, later renamed "Yukon" in 2003, was carved from the area surrounding the Klondike gold fields . On September 1, 1905, a portion of the North-West Territories south of the 60th parallel north became the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1912, the boundaries of Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba were expanded northward: Manitoba's to
17625-574: The subject of many Canadian documentaries by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the National Film Board of Canada , beginning with the 1956 NFB film Sable Island by Allan Wargon, the 2003 NFB documentary Moving Sands by Phillipe Baylaucq, and more recently, an episode of Land and Sea . In 2002 a documentary was released called Catching a Killer: The Mystery of Sable Island which investigated
17766-468: The summer months, daily maximum temperatures average around 20 °C (68.0 °F). The average annual variation in temperature on Sable Island is only 18.6 °C (33.5 °F) owing to the influence from the sea compared to 24.3 °C (43.7 °F) at Halifax and 38.9 °C (70.0 °F) in Winnipeg. Generally, February is the coldest month while August is the warmest month. Sable Island averages 1,372 millimetres (54.0 in) of precipitation
17907-413: The territorial level. The King's representative in each province is the lieutenant governor . In each of the territories there is an analogous commissioner , but they represent the federal government rather than the monarch. Most provinces have rough provincial counterparts to major federal parties. However, these provincial parties are not usually formally linked to the federal parties that share
18048-451: The three crew members of the yacht Merrimac survived after their sloop ran aground due to a navigational error. Few of the wrecks surrounding the island are visible, as they are usually crushed and buried by the sand. On 12 July 2024 the bodies of Sarah Packwood and her Canadian husband Brett Clibbery were found in a lifeboat that washed up on Sable Island; they had left Nova Scotia 11 June 2024 on their sail yacht Theros trying to sail to
18189-738: The transport and composition of atmospheric toxins it carries. Tropospheric ozone was measured and analyzed by researchers in Canada and the United States along with 20 other North American sites. The upper-air aerology program ended on August 20, 2019. The installation of the BGS Magnetic Observatory on Sable Island was funded as a joint venture between the British Geological Survey, Sperry-Sun Drilling Services, and Sable Offshore Energy. The data it collects aid scientific research into rates of change of
18330-498: The two biggest provinces in Canada, with together over 60% of the population at any given time. The population of the West relative to Canada as a whole has steadily grown over time, while that of Atlantic Canada has declined. Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia were the original provinces, formed when several British North American colonies federated on July 1, 1867, into the Dominion of Canada and by stages began accruing
18471-600: The various shark species that inhabit the waters nearby. Unusual corkscrew bite wounds on dead seals suggest that the Greenland shark is probably responsible for most attacks here. Several large bird colonies are resident, including the Arctic tern and Ipswich sparrow, a subspecies of the Savannah sparrow which breeds only on the island. Many other species are resident, migratory, or transient, blown out to sea in storms and returned to land out of their natural range. It
18612-636: The west, and then lived alongside the Kwēdĕchk, the original inhabitants. The two tribes engaged in a war that lasted "many years", and involved the "slaughter of men, women, and children, and torture of captives", and the eventual displacement of the Kwēdĕchk by the victorious Mi’kmaq. The first Europeans to settle the area were the French, who sailed into the Annapolis Basin in 1604, but chose to settle at Saint Croix Island in Maine instead. They abandoned
18753-402: The western shore and new sand is added on the eastern shore, and continually changing shape through the effects of strong winds and violent ocean storms. The island has several freshwater ponds on the south side between the station and west light; however, in recent years their protecting dune-line has been eroded to such an extent that they are changing from one year to the next. In prior years,
18894-494: The winters until the 1820s, when Bermuda (which was better located to control the Atlantic Seaboard of the United States, impossible to attack over land, and almost impregnable against attack over water) became the main base year round. A large British Army garrison in Bermuda , which fell under the commander-in-chief in Nova Scotia , existed to defend the colony as a naval base (and to prevent it becoming as useful
19035-767: The wireless post there served as the inspiration for his 1950 novel The Nymph and the Lamp . In his novel The Templar Throne, published in June 2010, author Paul Christopher mentions the island as the final location of the Ark of the Covenant , the True Ark of the Christian Old Testament. The dunes and horses of Sable Island have drawn many photographers. Among the first was Arthur Williams McCurdy who photographed
19176-442: The world. Nevertheless, the province's imports far exceed its exports. While these numbers were roughly equal from 1992 until 2004, since that time the trade deficit has ballooned. In 2012, exports from Nova Scotia were 12.1% of provincial GDP, while imports were 22.6%. Nova Scotia's traditionally resource-based economy has diversified in recent decades. The rise of Nova Scotia as a viable jurisdiction in North America, historically,
19317-534: Was CA$ 44,924 , significantly lower than the national average per capita GDP of CA$ 57,574 . GDP growth has lagged behind the rest of the country for at least the past decade. As of 2017, the median family income in Nova Scotia was $ 85,970, below the national average of $ 92,990; in Halifax the figure rises to $ 98,870. The province is the world's largest exporter of Christmas trees , lobster , gypsum , and wild berries . Its export value of fish exceeds $ 1 billion, and fish products are received by 90 countries around
19458-549: Was assured in 1895 when Joshua Slocum became the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. International attention continued into the following century with the many racing victories of the Bluenose schooner. Nova Scotia was also the birthplace and home of Samuel Cunard , a British shipping magnate (born at Halifax , Nova Scotia) who founded the Cunard Line. In December 1917, about 2,000 people were killed in
19599-545: Was created. This included the territory of present-day New Brunswick and eastern Maine as far as the Penobscot River . In 1769, St. John's Island became a separate colony. The American Revolution (1775–1783) had a significant impact on shaping Nova Scotia, with the colony initially displaying ambivalence over whether the colony should join the revolution; Rebellion flared at the Battle of Fort Cumberland (1776) and at
19740-516: Was driven by the ready availability of natural resources, especially the fish stocks off the Scotian Shelf . The fishery was a pillar of the economy since its development as part of New France in the 17th century; however, the fishery suffered a sharp decline due to overfishing in the late 20th century. The collapse of the cod stocks and the closure of this sector resulted in a loss of approximately 20,000 jobs in 1992. Other sectors in
19881-480: Was formerly believed the freshwater sponge Heteromeyenia macouni was found only in ponds on the island. However, it is now considered to be the same species as Racekiela ryderi , found elsewhere. Rabbits , cattle , and goats were also released on the island, with little success, at one point. At one point, there was a walrus population on the island, until hunters drove it to extinction . The Sable Island Station, managed and staffed by Parks Canada ,
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