Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

is the seventh-most populous

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

in Canada with 969,383 residents as of the 2021 Census of Population, and the second-smallest province in land area at . Nova Scotia's 49

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

cover of the territory's land mass, and are home to of its population. Unlike the provinces of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, which have two-tiered municipal systems, Nova Scotia has a one-tier system of municipalities inclusive of four municipality types – regional municipalities, towns, county municipalities and district municipalities. Regional municipalities may incorporate under the ''Municipal Government Act'' (''MGA'') of 1998, which came into force on April 1, 1999, while towns, county municipalities and district municipalities are continued as municipalities under the ''MGA''. 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. Of its 49 municipalities, Nova Scotia has 4 regional municipalities, 25 towns, 9 county municipalities and 11 district municipalities. The regional municipality of Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of Nova Scotia by population with 439,819 residents representing of the total population of the province and land area at .

Pictou Pictou ( ; Canadian Gaelic: ''Baile Phiogto'') is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km (6 miles) north of the larger town of New Gla ...

was the first municipality to incorporate , and the newest municipality is

West Hants Regional Municipality West Hants, officially named the West Hants Regional Municipality, is a regional municipality in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It occupies the western half of Hants County, running from the Minas Basin to the boundary with Halifax Cou ...

that incorporated through an amalgamation of the Municipality of the District of West Hants and the Town of Windsor on .

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. Nova Scotia has four regional municipalities. The largest regional municipality by population is Halifax, which is the capital and largest municipality of Nova Scotia by population. Halifax's 439,819 residents represent of the total population of the province. Halifax is also the largest municipality by land area at .

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2016 the municipality has a population of 94,285. The ...

is the second largest municipality with a population of 93,694 and a land area of km². The Region of Queens Municipality is Nova Scotia's smallest regional municipality by population with 10,422 residents and

is the smallest by land area respectively. The province's newest regional municipality is West Hants Regional Municipality.

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.

County municipalities

Nova Scotia's county municipalities originate from a historical system of 18 counties. Prior to the establishment of rural municipalities in 1879, local government was administered by appointed courts of sessions. 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. 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. The province had 12 county municipalities for over a century until the mid-1990s when 3 became regional municipalities. Its 9 remaining county municipalities were then continued as county municipalities in 1998 under the authority of the ''Municipal Government Act''. These county municipalities provide local government to the residents of their historical counties who live outside incorporated towns. Nova Scotia's largest county municipality by population is the Municipality of the County of Kings at 47,918 residents, while the largest by land area is the Municipality of the County of Cumberland at . The Municipality of the County of Victoria is the least populated county municipality at a population of 6,750. The

Municipality of the County of Richmond The Municipality of the County of Richmond is a county municipality on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It provides local government to the eponymous historical county, except for the Chapel Island 5 reserve. The municipality also con ...

is Nova Scotia's smallest county municipality by land area at .

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. On April 17, 1879, these 6 historical counties were established as 12 district municipalities, rather than county municipalities, based on their previous district divisions. The district municipalities provide local government to the residents of the 6 historical counties who live outside incorporated towns. On April 1, 2020, the Municipality of the District of West Hants amalgamated with the Town of Windsor to become a regional municipality, reducing the number of district municipalities in Nova Scotia to 11. These continue administratively as district municipalities under the authority of the ''Municipal Government Act'' of 1998. Nova Scotia's largest and smallest district municipalities by population are Lunenburg and St. Mary's with 25,545 and 2,161 residents respectively. Nova Scotia's largest district municipality by land area is Guysborough at , while the smallest by land area is Yarmouth at .

Towns

Prior to mid-2015, towns were incorporated under the authority of sections 383 through 388 of Nova Scotia's ''Municipal Government Act'' (''MGA''). 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). 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. The NSUARB would issue an incorporation order if the application was deemed reasonable. On May 11, 2015, sections 383 through 388 of the ''MGA'' were repealed, thereby preventing further incorporations of towns. Nova Scotia had 27 towns at the time of the 2016 census. This total has since been reduced to 25 due to the dissolution of the Town of Parrsboro and the amalgamation of the Town of Windsor with the Municipality of the District of West Hants. In the 2021 census, the remaining 25 towns had a cumulative population of 96,580. Nova Scotia's largest and smallest towns by population are Truro and Lockeport with 12,954 and 476 residents respectively. Truro is also Nova Scotia's largest by land area at and

Annapolis Royal Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the ne ...

is the smallest by land area at .

List of municipalities

Halifax Canada Day 2007.jpg, alt=Skyline of Halifax, Halifax is Nova Scotia's capital and largest municipality by population. Louisbourg harbor, NS.jpg, alt=Louisbourg harbour, Harbour of

Louisbourg Louisbourg is an unincorporated community and former town in Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. History The French military founded the Fortress of Louisbourg in 1713 and its fortified seaport on the southwest part of the harbour ...

in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia's second-most populated municipality Minas Basin from lookoff.JPG, alt=Eastern Kings County, The Municipality of the County of Kings is Nova Scotia's largest county municipality by population.

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 The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...

, and the towns of

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

, Glace Bay,

, New Waterford, North Sydney, and

Sydney Mines Sydney Mines (Scottish Gaelic: ''Mèinnean Shidni'') is a community and former town in Canada's Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Founded in 1784 and incorporated as a town in 1889, Sydney Mines has a rich history in coal producti ...

dissolved and amalgamated on April 1, 1995 to form the

. The

City of Halifax A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...

. Also on April 1, 1996, the Municipality of the County of Queens amalgamated with the Town of

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

to form the Region of Queens Municipality. The latest amalgamation to occur involved the Town of Windsor and the Municipality of the District of West Hants merging to form the West Hants Regional Municipality on April 1, 2020.

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. 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. Hantsport became part of the Municipality of the District of West Hants on July 1, 2015. Parrsboro dissolved to become part of the Municipality of the County of Cumberland on November 1, 2016.

Notes

References

External links

Municipal – Provincial RelationshipsNova Scotia Department of Municipal AffairsUnion of Nova Scotia Municipalities
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Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...