The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has a historical system of 18 counties that originally had appointed court systems to administer local governance prior to the establishment of elected local governments in 1879. The historical counties continue as census divisions used by Statistics Canada for statistical purposes in administering the Canadian census.
Prior to the establishment of rural municipalities in the form of county municipalities and district municipalities in 1879, local government within these historical counties was administered by appointed courts of sessions including justices appointed by the Crown with support from local proprietors selected to grand juries.[2] These courts of sessions met "in the counties to hear cases, make regulations, authorize assessments, and appoint local officers."[2] 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, which stated
The Inhabitants of every County and Sessional District in this Province ... shall be a body corporate under the name of the Municipality of the respective county or district, as the case may (be), ...[2]
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.[2] Today, 9 of the original 12 remain incorporated as county municipalities, with 3 eventually becoming regional municipalities in 1995 and 1996,[3] while Statistics Canada uses all 18 historical counties as census divisions for statistical purposes in the Canadian census.[4] County municipalities and district municipalities provide local government to the residents of the historical counties living outside of incorporated towns and regional municipalities.[2][3]
Nova Scotia's 18 counties by government structure.
^ abcde"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.
^ ab"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 29, 2016.
^ abcdef"Population and dwelling count highlight tables, 2021 Census". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
^"History of County Boundaries". Province of Nova Scotia: Department of Municipal Affairs. October 8, 2015. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
^Foster Stockwell (2004). A Sourcebook for Genealogical Research: Resources Alphabetically by Type and Location. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 205. ISBN9780786484386. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
External linksedit
The County Incorporation Act and the Establishment of Municipal Government in Nova Scotia
Municipal History Highlights
Municipal Incorporation Timeline
November 15, 2023
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The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has a historical system of 18 counties that originally had appointed court systems to administer local governance prior to the establishment of elected local governments in 1879 The historical counties continue as census divisions used by Statistics Canada for statistical purposes in administering the Canadian census Counties of Nova ScotiaLocationProvince of Nova ScotiaNumber18Populations7 373 Guysborough 440 072 Halifax Areas1 244 24 km Richmond 5 495 71 km Halifax GovernmentCounty government defunct in 9 counties 1 SubdivisionsMunicipalitiesCounties of Nova Scotia 1862 with township subdivisions Contents 1 History 2 List 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editPrior to the establishment of rural municipalities in the form of county municipalities and district municipalities in 1879 local government within these historical counties was administered by appointed courts of sessions including justices appointed by the Crown with support from local proprietors selected to grand juries 2 These courts of sessions met in the counties to hear cases make regulations authorize assessments and appoint local officers 2 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 which stated The Inhabitants of every County and Sessional District in this Province shall be a body corporate under the name of the Municipality of the respective county or district as the case may be 2 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 2 Today 9 of the original 12 remain incorporated as county municipalities with 3 eventually becoming regional municipalities in 1995 and 1996 3 while Statistics Canada uses all 18 historical counties as census divisions for statistical purposes in the Canadian census 4 County municipalities and district municipalities provide local government to the residents of the historical counties living outside of incorporated towns and regional municipalities 2 3 nbsp Nova Scotia s 18 counties by government structure List editCounty 5 County seat 6 Established Organization of county Population 2021 4 Population 2016 4 Change 4 Land area km 4 Populationdensity 4 Annapolis Annapolis Royal 1759 County municipality 21 252 20 591 3 2 3 183 23 6 7 km2Antigonish Antigonish 1785 County municipality 20 129 19 301 4 3 1 456 42 13 8 km2Cape Bretona Sydney 1765 Regional municipality 98 318 98 722 0 4 2 457 21 40 0 km2Colchester Truro 1835 County municipality 51 476 50 585 1 8 3 627 50 14 2 km2Cumberland Amherst 1759 County municipality 30 538 30 005 1 8 4 275 77 7 1 km2Digby Digby 1837 District municipality 17 062 17 323 1 5 2 512 28 6 8 km2Guysborough Guysborough 1836 District municipality 7 373 7 625 3 3 4 037 16 1 8 km2Halifaxb Halifax 1759 Regional municipality 440 072 403 390 9 1 5 477 53 80 3 km2Hants Windsor 1781 District municipality 45 140 42 558 6 1 3 049 18 14 8 km2Inverness Port Hood 1835 County municipality 17 346 17 235 0 6 3 817 61 4 5 km2Kings Kentville 1759 County municipality 62 914 60 600 3 8 2 120 31 29 7 km2Lunenburg Lunenburg 1759 District municipality 48 599 47 126 3 1 2 906 47 16 7 km2Pictou Pictou 1835 County municipality 43 657 43 748 0 2 2 844 10 15 4 km2Queensc Liverpool 1762 Regional municipality 10 501 10 351 1 4 2 393 44 4 4 km2Richmond Arichat 1835 County municipality 8 914 8 964 0 6 1 246 08 7 2 km2Shelburne Shelburne 1784 District municipality 13 704 13 966 1 9 2 462 58 5 6 km2Victoria Baddeck 1851 County municipality 7 441 7 089 5 0 2 836 19 2 6 km2Yarmouth Yarmouth 1836 District municipality 24 947 24 419 2 2 2 121 64 11 8 km2Total counties 969 383 923 598 5 0 52 824 71 18 4 km2a county boundaries contiguous with those of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality b county boundaries contiguous with those of the Halifax Regional Municipality c county boundaries contiguous with those of the Region of Queens Municipality See also editAdministrative divisions of Canada Demographics of Nova Scotia Geography of Nova Scotia List of communities in Nova Scotia List of municipalities in Nova Scotia List of towns in Nova Scotia List of villages in Nova Scotia Subdivisions of CanadaReferences edit County government has been defunct since 1879 for 6 counties now administered by district municipalities and since 1995 1996 for 3 counties now administered by regional municipalities a b c d e 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 a b 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 29 2016 a b c d e f Population and dwelling count highlight tables 2021 Census Statistics Canada February 9 2022 Retrieved August 2 2023 History of County Boundaries Province of Nova Scotia Department of Municipal Affairs October 8 2015 Retrieved December 27 2016 Foster Stockwell 2004 A Sourcebook for Genealogical Research Resources Alphabetically by Type and Location McFarland amp Company Inc Publishers p 205 ISBN 9780786484386 Retrieved December 29 2016 External links editThe County Incorporation Act and the Establishment of Municipal Government in Nova Scotia Municipal History Highlights Municipal Incorporation Timeline Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of counties of Nova Scotia amp oldid 1176970473, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
