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This FB page posts a daily list of events going on in and around the Valley. Join them!

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Maritime Express Cider (THE WEDDING VENUE!!)

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Maritime Express Cider (THE WEDDING VENUE!!)

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Seeing as you're going to be eating dinner here for the wedding, you may want to skip it?! Or enjoy! 325 Main Street, Kentville. An award winning chef who specializes in fantastic woodland foraging, the charcuterie plate with a fleet of samples is delicious in the afternoon!

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Yes... the town becomes alive with Pumpkin People! In case you see these strange creatures being set up around the time of the wedding, here is what it's all about! Kentville’s Pumpkin People Festival | The Town of Kentville

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Visit Kentville in October to experience the magic of the Pumpkin People. You never know what kind of silly antics you'll see these gourd-headed guys getting up to!

The Pumpkin People really love exploring our world. And this year, Pumpkin People are taking a deep dive into the ocean! They'll explore, and meet all kinds of creatures from "Under the Sea". Turtles, Whales, Sharks and Seahorses are all on their way! We're keeping some of our other sea creature friends a surprise, but you can see them all in Kentville until October 29th.

While you're here, fuel up on Pumpkin dishes and drinks that come highly recommended by the Pumpkin People! Find their faves on the map and check out www.kentvillebusiness.ca for more details. (coming soon!)

Family fun is what we are all about! Check off the Pumpkin People Scavenger list as you visit the different displays! (coming soon!)

If you like a scare, check out the famous Phantom Freakshow Haunted House experience. It is, as advertised, the very best haunt experience around, only in Kentville! (coming soon!)

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October 7 - 29, 2023 Visit Kentville in October to experience the magic of the Pumpkin People. You never know what kind of silly antics you'll see these gourd-headed guys getting up to!

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10 minute walk to venue

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The Wickwire House - Information and our House Policies

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The Wickwire Bed & Breakfast is an award-winning, restored Victorian manor house located in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada.

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An incredibly beautiful location to have a sampling of local wines. The view has arguably the BEST view of the Bay of Fundy.

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Our focus on classic cool-climate vinifera includes CHARDONNAY, PINOT NOIR, RIESLING, and other German-styled whites specifically selected for our microclimates.

We're maximizing the expression of our wines by practicing biodynamic viticulture in some of the ANNAPOLIS VALLEY'S most favourable vineyard sites. Our intention from the beginning has been an unwavering dedication to quality throughout the wine's journey.

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Growing wines that faithfully express our terroir in Nova Scotia wine country

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Sample and Walk over to the UNESCO Heritage Site!

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Sample and Walk over to the UNESCO Heritage Site!

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A beautiful local winery. Their apple cram liqueur (Pomme d'Or) alone is worth the trip.

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Fine Nova Scotia wines. We work hard to develop special wines true to our province and unlike any others in the region at our family winery in Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. We are pleased to offer on-site tours, tastings, shopping, dining, and accommodations on our working farm winery.

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(YES!! This REALLY IS the view!!) From the View Park, on Old Post Road, you gaze over the 1,300-hectares of farm-fields, marshes and dykelands that comprise the Landscape of Grand-Pré.

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Grand-Pré National Historic Site is the gateway to the Landscape of Grand-Pré World Heritage Site.

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Ross Farm Museum (Think "Upper Canada Village")

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Ross Farm Museum (Think "Upper Canada Village")

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A beautiful restored vintage farm, including blacksmiths shop, the cooper, etc. One of the best collections of vintage farm implements and comprehensive history of farming in NS.

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Spend a day on the farm! Ross Farm Museum is a living, working, farm depicting over 150 years of agriculture here in Nova Scotia. We are a single-family upland farm on land originally granted to Captain William Ross, land that we continue to work with oxen, horses, and traditional hand implements just like the way it was done through the 1800s.

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Spend a day on the farm! Ross Farm Museum is a living, working, farm depicting over 150 years of agriculture here in Nova Scotia. We are a single-family upland farm on land originally granted to Captain William Ross, land that we continue to work with oxen, horses, and traditional hand implements just like the way it was done through the 1800s.

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17 minutes away from venue

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Accommodations and Rates | Blomidon Inn, Wolfville, NS

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Beautiful accommodations, suites, some with jacuzzi baths, in the historic Blomidon Inn, Wolfville, Annapolis Valley. Serving Windsor, New Minas, Kentville.

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5 minutes away from venue

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205 sq feet

Internet - Free WiFi

In Room Entertainment - 32-inch flat-screen TV with cable channels

Food and Beverages - Refrigerator, microwave, and coffee/tea maker

Restrooms & Showers - Private bathroom, a hair dryer, and a shower

Extra Features - Iron/ironing board, desk, and phone; rollaway/extra beds available on request

Pleasure - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping

Need to Know - Bed sheets not available

Non-Smoking, pet friendly

Amenities and Features

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205 sq feet Internet - Free WiFi In Room Entertainment - 32-inch flat-screen TV with cable channels Food and Beverages - Refrigerator, microwave, and coffee/tea maker Restrooms & Showers - Private bathroom, a hair dryer, and a shower Extra Features - Iron/ironing board, desk, and phone; rollaway/extra beds available on request Pleasure - Air conditioning and daily housekeeping Need to Know - Bed sheets not available Non-Smoking, pet friendly Amenities and Features

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Megara's mom & stepdad stayed here. Excellent & GREAT breakfast included! 14 minutes away from venue

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Bed And Breakfast Wolfville | Tattingstone Inn | Nova Scotia

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Tattingstone Inn - a local gem of traditional elegance and history, nestled on a quiet acre and half, in picturesque Wolfville, Nova Scotia. With a dedication to detail, and a friendly, gracious welcome, we make your getaway experience our priority.

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10 minutes away from venue

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Experience The Differencein Nature’s Valley Hotel

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Luckett Vineyards: Enjoy a glass of wine and call anywhere in the world!

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Luckett Vineyards: Enjoy a glass of wine and call anywhere in the world!

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A beautiful venue and the red phone booth actually works! You can call anywhere in the world for FREE!

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Luckett Vineyards - Wines of Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia

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An early champion of Nova Scotian red wine, Luckett Vineyards has become a diverse and innovative wine producer. As a family of grocers & farmers, lovers of food, the wines are constructed with unique profiles and intent. Rich Bay of Fundy Reds, Crisp Nova Scotian White, Traditional Sparkling, Rosé…

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To hang out, hike, camp, whatever! *Mushy beach

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Open May 19 to October 9, 2023

3138 Pereau Road, Canning, NS B0P 1H0

Telephone: (902) 582-7319

Download Park Map

Facilities and Services:

Accessible Features

Park office
Restrooms with showers
Look-off

94 Unserviced Campsites

A mixture of open, partially wooded and wooded campsites.
Parking, picnic table and campfire ring/grill.

Group Campsite

Contact the Natural Resources and Renewables Office in Kentville.

Restroom with Shower

Washroom facility with mens and womens washrooms with toilets and showers.
Parking area 30m from building with a gravel/grass path to entrance.
Level, concrete landing leads to doorway with 33" clear width and level thresholds.
Accessible toilet stall with grab bars.
Roll-in shower with mounted seat, grab bar, and a fixed showerhead.

Trailer Dump

Dump station available

Group Use Shelter

Emma Tichenor Campers' Centre

Wi-Fi

Available at the park office and surrounding area.

Beach Access

Saltwater on the Minas Basin. Tidal mud flats with sandstone and mudstone.
Parking, picnic tables, change house and trail access.

Hiking Trail

A 13.5 km system of interconnected trails provides access to a variety of habitats and
numerous scenic look-offs within the park.

Hiking at Blomidon
Trail Map

Playground

Centrally located near the Emma Tichenor Campers' Centre

For information about nearby attractions, please visit Tourism Nova Scotia

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Open May 19 to October 9, 2023 3138 Pereau Road, Canning, NS B0P 1H0 Telephone: (902) 582-7319 Reserve Online Download Park Map

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Halls Harbour Beach (and the Lobster Pound!)

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Halls Harbour Beach (and the Lobster Pound!)

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(Cross-referenced in Restaurants too!) Hall's Harbour Beach is a lovely rocky beach to explore with a great view. NOTE: You will lose cell service for about 3kms from Halls Harbour. Don't panic, it will come back when you need it for your GPS!)

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This is the official website for all Hall's Harbour community organizations

Enjoy Free Public Wifi in the Harbour during your visit

Hall's Harbour is a picturesque fishing community located along the shore of the Bay of Fundy, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It lends its name both to the small fishing hamlet and to the wider community which takes up an area roughly 5 kilometers square. On the south, the area overlooks the Annapolis Valley, on the north overlooks the Bay of Fundy, on the east Sheffield Vault and on the west Chipman Brook. The area is very scenic and the hamlet itself has been declared a Nova Scotia Tourism Destination Area. The Harbour boasts a fine restaurant and lobster pound, artists studios, antiques and artisans galleries.

The village is reputedly named after Samuel Hall, an American privateer in the American Revolution. Hall used the cove to raid settlements in the Annapolis Valley but was forced to flee and abandon his ship in the harbour by pursuing militia in 1779. Hall's Harbour was first settled in 1826 with the first wharf built in 1836. In later years, legend held that Hall left treasure behind, attracting treasure hunters who have left abandoned pits deep in the woods surrounding the harbour. A notable early resident was Ransford D. Bucknam (Jun 7, 1869 - May 27, 1915), a local mariner whose 19th century career took him all over the world, including a post as an admiral in the Turkish Navy where he was known as Bucknam Pasha.

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This is the official website for all Hall's Harbour community organizations Enjoy Free Public Wifi in the Harbour during your visit Hall's Harbour is a picturesque fishing community located along the shore of the Bay of Fundy, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

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All things lobster at a lobster pound, AND a great gift shop AND local little crafty gift shop too.

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Halls Harbour Lobster Pound, Restaurant and Gift shop > Home

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Enjoy a Nova Scotia lobster dinner in our dining room or patio paired with local wines and craft beer; or visit our Gift shop to find everything from socks, t-shirts and mugs where you will find the perfect gift for someone

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FOR THE ADVENTUROUS: You can hike part of the trail, and there's a shorter loop.

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Cape Split Provincial Park | Tourism Nova Scotia, Canada

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Experience the natural wonder of the Bay of Fundy from the dramatic cliffs of Cape Split. Hike through mixed forests to lookoffs with stunning views of the tide-swept coastline. At the peninsula tip, ...

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The Noodle Guy consistently wins "best of" awards for food and service in the Valley.

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Yes!  There is a Chez Cora in the Valley!

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Yes!  There is a Chez Cora in the Valley!

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EXACTLY what you'd expect!
9049 Commercial Street, New Minas
902-365-3335

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Shopping: Yes, although Megara works for B&B, she has a favorite NS candle company!

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Shopping: Yes, although Megara works for B&B, she has a favorite NS candle company!

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Amazing locally made candles. You can watch them make their candles while you shop!

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Soy Candles | New Scotland Candle Co. | Nova Scotia

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New Scotland Candle Co. 100% Soy Candles, hand crafted in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.

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Yes.... a beautiful converted church! Great food and options.

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The "Do Good" sandwich allows us to give back to the community that supports us. Each month, 1$ from each "Do Good" sandwich goes directly to a local NFPO in need of funding. We are proud and excited to continue working with and supporting our community to maintain a healthy economy and positive social environment.

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The Church Brewing Co | Craft Beer & Delicious Food in Wolfville, NS

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Looking for craft beer and delicious food in Wolfville, Nova Scotia? Visit The Church Brewing Co, where we offer a unique experience in a restored church building. Our menu features locally sourced ingredients and our beer is brewed on-site. Come join us for a pint and a bite today!

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It's golf!

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Greenwood Golf Club is nestled in the heart of Nova Scotia's beautiful Annapolis Valley which is home of the largest air base on the East Coast. The course winds its way around the Annapolis River and in & out of pine and oak forests. Greenwood Golf Club is a fair test of golf to players of all skill levels and is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Come give one of the Province's true hidden gems a try today!

Check out our competitive prices on green fees and other specials!

Affordable membership options for golfers of all ages!

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Greenwood Golf Club is nestled in the heart of Nova Scotia's beautiful Annapolis Valley which is home of the largest air base on the East Coast. The course winds its way around the Annapolis River and in & out of pine and oak forests.

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It's golf!

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Berwick Heights Golf Course - Weston, NS

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SET IN THE ANNAPOLIS VALLEY OF NOVA SCOTIA...The course is only a one hour drive from Halifax. It is a refreshing break, plays well, has many camera-worthy holes and boasts a fully automated fairway irrigation system that ensures the fairways are of top quality.

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Stop in for a sample flight. (Try Earl Blue: blueberry and Earl Grey tea cider!)

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© 2023, Annapolis Cider Company Theme by Safe As Milk. Powered by Shopify

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Crepes.... mmmmmmm!!

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The Real Scoop (non-dairy & vegan options too!)

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The Real Scoop (non-dairy & vegan options too!)

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A quant little ice cream shop. Vegan and non-dairy options too!

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OUR FLAVORS

The possibilities are endless

Ice Cream & Waffle Cones made on-site from scratch.

Pick your flavour;

Enjoy the flavours as they are or add one or more mix-in's to make it your own.

Choose from;

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FLOATS

Root Beer

Brown Cow

Shirley Temple

Hot Chocolate

Newfoundland Chocolate Co.

GIFT CARDS

$10.00 & UP

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Dessert Shop | The Real Scoop Ice Cream & Espresso Shop | Wolfville

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The Real Scoop Ice Cream & Espresso Shop Ice Cream made on-site from Scratch with Real Ingredients.

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A beautiful little town with lots to do all within walking distance. Some great little shops, plus all the main stores needed.

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5.7

Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929.

Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River which, downstream from Kentville, becomes a large tidal river at the Minas Basin. The riverbank at the current location of Kentville provided an easy fording point. The Mi'kmaq name for the location was "Penooek". The ford and later the bridge in Kentville made the area an important crossroads for other settlements in the Annapolis Valley. Kentville also marked the limit of navigation of sailing ships.

The area was first settled by Acadians, who built many dykes along the river to keep the high Bay of Fundy tides out of their farmland. These dykes created the ideal fertile soil that the Annapolis Valley is known for. The Acadians were expelled from the area in the Bay of Fundy Campaign (1755) by the British authorities because they would not swear allegiance to the British king. The area was then settled by New England Planters. Settlement was expedited by the United Empire Loyalists during the American Revolution.

The town was originally known as Horton's Corner, but was named Kentville in 1826 after Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (son of King George III and father of Queen Victoria), who resided in Nova Scotia from 1794 to 1800. The village was at first relatively small and dwarfed by larger valley towns with better harbours such as Canning and Wolfville. The crossroads location did attract early shopkeepers and several stagecoach inns. Small schooners were able to land cargos in the "Klondyke" neighhourhood by the Cornwallis River which marked the height of navigation. Kentville developed a reputation for rowdy drinking and horse races in the early 19th century, earning the nickname "The Devil's Half Acre." Celebrated local musician, Chase Ross, later released an album entitled "Devil's Half Acre" to critical acclaim in the early years of the new millennium.

Windsor and Annapolis Railway locomotive Gabriel in Kentville, c. 1870

When the Windsor and Annapolis Railway (later named Dominion Atlantic Railway) established its headquarters in Kentville in 1868 and began shipping Annapolis Valley apples to British markets, the community began to thrive. The railway not only employed a large number of people (up to a third of the town's population), but also attracted other industries such as mills, dairies, a large foundry, and a carriage works which even entered automobile production. A branch line of the Dominion Atlantic, the Cornwallis Valley Railway, was built north to Canning and Kingsport in 1889, further developing the apple industry and creating a suburban line for workers, shoppers and schoolchildren to commute to and from Kentville. The railway also attracted large institutional developments such as a regional TB hospital, the Kentville Sanitorium, a federal agricultural research station, and an army training base at Camp Aldershot.

Aberdeen Street, Kentville as passenger train arrives, c. 1910

The town became a major travel centre highlighted by the large Cornwallis Inn built at the town's centre by the railway. The town boomed during World War I and World War II with heavy wartime railway traffic on the Dominion Atlantic and the training of thousands of troops at Camp Aldershot. Many residents fought overseas in the local West Nova Scotia Regiment as well as other branches of service. A Royal Canadian Navy minesweeper HMCS Kentville was named after the town, and her crew often took leave in Kentville.

Kentville faced serious challenges after World War II. The dominant apple industry suffered severe declines due to the loss of its British export market. The nearby military training base at Camp Aldershot was significantly downsized and the town's major employer, the Dominion Atlantic Railway suffered serious declines with the collapse of the apple industry and the growth of highway travel. Further decline followed in the 1970s as the town lost its retail core to the growth of shopping malls and later "big box" stores in nearby New Minas. The town was also eclipsed in restaurant, upscale retail and cultural institutions by the nearby university town of Wolfville. Railway passenger service ended in 1990. Freight service ended in October 1993 and the Kentville rail shops were closed and moved to Windsor, Nova Scotia. Kentville lost many heritage buildings in the postwar period and is one of the only towns in Nova Scotia without a single designated heritage building. Major losses included the large railway station, one of the most historic in Canada which was demolished in 1990. In July 2007 the town demolished the last railway structure in town, the DAR Roundhouse, despite a province-wide protest, a move which earned the Town of Kentville a place on the "2008 Worst" List of the Heritage Canada Foundation.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Kentville had a population of 6,630 living in 2,956 of its 3,090 total private dwellings, a change of 5.7% from its 2016 population of 6,271. With a land area of 17.08 km ² (6.59 sq mi), it had a population density of 388.2/km ² (1,005.4/sq mi) in 2021.

Valley Regional Hospital

During the early part of the 20th century Kentville emerged as the business centre of Kings County and despite the post-war loss of commerce to other valley communities, it remains the professional centre of the Annapolis Valley. Kentville is home to numerous professional services such as lawyers offices, doctors, and investment firms. On the outskirts of the town is the Valley Regional Hospital, built in 1991. The town is also home to the Annapolis Valley Regional Industrial Park which employs numerous people in the area through a variety of different businesses.

Agriculture, especially fruit crops such as apples, remain a prominent industry in the Kentville area, and throughout the eastern part of the valley. Kentville is home to one of the largest agricultural research facilities in Nova Scotia founded in 1911, known to the locals as The Research Station. The site now employs over 200 people and sits on 473 acres (1.91 km ²) of the land at the east end of the town.

Kentville shares its northern boundary along the Cornwallis River with Camp Aldershot, a military training base founded in 1904. At its peak during World War II, the camp housed approximately 7000 soldiers. Kentville native Donald Ripley wrote a book chronicling Camp Aldershot and its effect on the town entitled On The Home Front. Today the camp functions as an army reserve training centre and is the headquarters of The West Nova Scotia Regiment.

Electric utility (sold 1997)

Kentville until 1997-8 was one of seven Nova Scotia towns (along with Riverport, Berwick, Canso, Antigonish, Lunenburg and Mahone Bay) to own its own electricity distribution utility within town limits - the Kentville Electric Commission. When the other six joined into the Municipal Electric Utilities of Nova Scotia in January 1998,[1] Kentville instead sold its utility to Nova Scotia Power, a privately owned generator and distributor whose service area covered the rest of the province.

The Apple Blossom Festival, founded in 1933 is held each May to celebrate the blossoming of local apple industry, one of the region's richest forms of agriculture.

Kentville is also well known for its Pumpkin People Festival.

Other Annual Festivals and Events hosted in Kentville: Devil's Half Acre Motorcycle Rally Valley Electronic Music and Art Expo (new in 2018) Open Street Chalk Art Festival Kentville Multicultural Festival (currently the largest Multicultural Festival in NS) Kentville Harvest Festival KBC's Great Big Country Fair

Kentville experiences a humid continental climate (). The highest temperature ever recorded in Kentville was 37.8 °C (100 °F) on 12 August 1944. The coldest temperature ever recorded was −31.1 °C (−24 °F) on 1 February 1920. Kentville's USDA Hardiness zone is 6a.

(From in or near Kentville, including the former Township of Cornwallis)

The Museum on Webster Street, Kentville.

Education in the area is serviced by Kings County Academy in Kentville, serving grades primary through eight, the local high school is Northeast Kings Education Centre, located 15-20 minutes away in Canning. There are also several post secondary institutions, the Kingstec campus of the Nova Scotia Community College is located on the northern fringe of the town and Acadia University[2], is located in nearby Wolfville. The town operates a library and C@P site. Kentville is also home to the Kings County Museum, located in Kentville's old courthouse. Other nearby elementary schools include the Aldershot Elementary School, and the Glooscap Elementary School.

Kentville also boasts a number of high quality recreational facilities. The Kentville Arena (now the Kentville Centennial Arena) is thought to have hosted the first ever summer ice hockey school. The town also houses a large indoor soccer arena and numerous other outdoor baseball and soccer fields, and playgrounds for local children. Kentville Memorial Park (considered to be one of the best baseball parks in Canada east of Montreal) is home to the Kentville Wildcats, a senior baseball team, who have won several NSSBL championships and one Canadian championship. Kentville swimming pool is home to the Kentville Marlins Swim Team.

The Devil's Half Acre: A Look at Kentville's Past Mable Nichols, Kentville Centennial Committee, 1968.

Historic Kentville Louis V. Comeau, Nimbus, 2003.

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5.7 Kentville is an incorporated town in Nova Scotia. It is the most populous town in the Annapolis Valley. As of 2021, the town's population was 6,630. Its census agglomeration is 26,929. Kentville owes its location to the Cornwallis River which, downstream from Kentville, becomes a large tidal river at the Minas Basin.

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Home of Acadia University. A cute adorable university town with beautiful old homes and quaint places to visit.

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Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School.

The town is a tourist destination due to its views of Cape Blomidon, the Bay of Fundy and Gaspereau Valley, as well as its wine industry. The downtown portion of Wolfville is home to pubs, bars, cafes and shops. Wolfville is also home to the Acadia Cinema Cooperative, a non-profit organization that runs the local movie/performance house. In the past few years, several Victorian houses in Wolfville have been converted to bed and breakfast establishments.

From ancient times,[vague ] the area of Wolfville was a hunting ground for First Nations peoples, including the Clovis, Laurentian, Bear River, and Shields Archaic groups. They were attracted by the salmon in the Gaspereau River and the agate stone at Cape Blomidon, with which they could make stone tools.

Many centuries[vague ] before European contact, Mi'kmaq people, related to the Algonquin and Ojibwe peoples, migrated into Nova Scotia. The Mi'kmaq were seasonal hunters, using dogs and traveling on webbed snowshoes to hunt deer. They used the various semi-precious stones (including jasper, quartz, and even amethyst) from the Blomidon area to make arrowheads.

After an initial effort in 1604 by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons and his cartographer Samuel de Champlain to establish a colony at Saint Croix Island, the colony was relocated to the Habitation at Port-Royal. The French and the Mi'kmaq quickly established a reciprocal trading relationship which continued to serve both peoples well until the mid eighteenth-century. The French found the area to be rich in furs and fine fertile land. Reports sent to France by individuals such as Samuel de Champlain, Marc Lescarbot and Nicolas Denys proclaimed the rich bounty to be found in the Annapolis Valley area.

French settlement efforts continued in fits and starts. By 1636 under Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, Port Royal was reestablished after Acadia/Nova Scotia was transferred from England to the French under the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The progeny of these settlers, as well as the second wave of settlers under Hector d'Andigné de Grandfontaine, would eventually become known as the Acadians. By the late 1690s their population numbered about 350.

French settlement in the Wolfville area began in about 1680, when Pierre Melanson established his family at Grand-Pré. The Acadians prospered as farmers by enclosing the estuarine salt marshes with dykes, and successfully converting the reclaimed lands into fertile fields for crops and pasturage. In 1710, however, Acadia was lost by the French crown after the English laid siege to Port Royal/ Annapolis Royal. Under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, signed at the close of the War of the Spanish Succession, Acadia was ceded for the final time to the British.

For the next thirty-six years, until the establishment of Halifax in 1749, the British remained at Annapolis Royal and Canso. The French-speaking Catholic population grew over the intervening years to well over 10,000 and the Minas region (Wolfville and environs) quickly became the principal settlement. Acadia was a borderland region between two empires, and this caused a complex socio-political environment to develop for the Acadians. Both the British and the French coaxed and threatened the Acadians in attempts to secure their loyalty as is evidenced by the various oaths of allegiance each side attempted to extract from them. This complex situation led many Acadians to attempt to maintain a neutral path; while others openly supported either the French or the British. During the War of the Austrian Succession, the Acadians in the Wolfville area were implicated in the Battle of Grand Pré, during which a French Canadian military force, reinforced by Mi'kmaq and Acadians, defeated a British force.

With the onset of the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, the Acadians in the Wolfville area, along with all Acadians in peninsular Nova Scotia, suffered under the deportations that took place during the British Expulsion of the Acadians (see also the Bay of Fundy Campaign). Beginning in September 1755 and continuing into the fall, approximately 2,000 Acadians were deported from the area around Wolfville. The villages lying beyond Grand-Pré were burned by the British forces, and still more buildings were destroyed by both sides during the guerrilla war that took place until 1758.

Wolfville, 1897

Around 1760, the British government in Nova Scotia made several township plots of land available in the Annapolis Valley for colonization by English settlers. Horton Township was created in the Grand-Pré/Wolfville Area. Because of pressure on agricultural lands in New England, Anglophone farmers moved north in search of fertile land at a reasonable price. It is thought that between 1760 and 1789, more than 8,000 people known as New England Planters immigrated to the land around the Annapolis Valley. In 1763, there were 154 families living in the area of Horton Township.

The New England Planters set up a primarily agricultural economy, exporting cattle, potatoes, and grain, and later apples, as well as developing lumbering and shipbuilding. They settled and re-used the same dyke-lands as the Acadians had used before them, repairing and later expanding the agricultural dykes. They developed a major expansion in 1808, the three-mile-long Wickwire Dyke, which connected the Wolfville and Grand Pre dykes. This allowed the agricultural development of an additional 8,000 acres. The town site for Horton was initially surveyed in the Grand-Pré area at Horton Landing near the mouth of the Gaspereau River. However, the town developed around the sheltered harbour on the Cornwallis River at Wolfville, at first known as Mud Creek.

The first official record of a Baptist church in Canada was that of the Horton Baptist Church (now Wolfville), established on October 29, 1778. The church was established with the assistance of the New Light evangelist Henry Alline. The Baptist movement remained strong in the area. In 1838 Acadia University was founded as a Baptist college.

In 1830, the town of Mud Creek changed its name to Wolfville, in honour of Elisha DeWolf, the town's postmaster at the time. In the mid-19th century, Wolfville was renowned as the world's smallest port. The town became part of Canada with Confederation in 1867.

The Windsor and Annapolis Railway arrived in 1868, later becoming the Dominion Atlantic Railway. Wolfville became a seaport devoted principally to the export of apples from the orchards of the fertile Annapolis Valley. Wolfville Harbour was also a terminus of the MV Kipawo ferry, the last of a long succession of ferries that connected Wolfville, Kingsport and Parrsboro for 200 years. The harbour, which empties twice a day due to the high tides of the Bay of Fundy, was once described by Robert Ripley as the smallest in the world. On March 20, 1893, the Town was incorporated, with E. Perry Bowles elected as its first mayor.

In 1985, the town was declared a nuclear free zone. Wolfville was declared Canada's first fair trade town on April 17, 2007. In May 2016, Wolfville was designated as the third Cittaslow in Canada.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wolfville had a population of 5,057 living in 2,441 of its 2,856 total private dwellings, a change of 20.5% from its 2016 population of 4,195. With a land area of 6.46 km ² (2.49 sq mi), it had a population density of 782.8/km ² (2,027.5/sq mi) in 2021.

With Acadia University having a full time student population of 3,765, the population can fluctuate greatly with the school semesters.

The Acadia University Art Gallery and The Festival Theatre are both located on Main Street, along with many bistros and boutiques. The town's history is presented at the Randall House Museum, operated by the Wolfville Historical Society. Each year, the Annapolis Valley Music Festival is held at Acadia Campus, where musicians from across the valley compete. Wolfville hosts two annual arts festivals, the Deep Roots Music Festival in September and Devour! The Food Film Fest in late October.

The Al Whittle Theatre operated by the Acadia Cinema Cooperative has for generations served as a nexus of culture and entertainment for the town's populace. Opened in 1911 and operating as an opera house until 1923 when it became a community theater and cinema, the theater underwent various changes in ownership until 1997 under the management of Acadia Cinems. With the retirement of its long-serving manager Al Whittle (1929-2021), the theater closed in 2000. In 2004, the theater was re-opened by the Acadia Cinema Cooperative Ltd. and named in honour of Al Whittle. The theater has continued to serve as a local gathering place and centre for the arts ever since, from hosting local theater productions to screening international independent films.

Wolfville has a farmers market located in the DeWolfe building, a former apple packing warehouse. In July 2022, the town will host the first ever Annapolis Valley Pride Festival.

The library is Wolfville Memorial Library.

Canada Parks

Lumsden Pond Provincial Park

Reservoir Park

Rotary Park

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Wolfville is a Canadian town in the Annapolis Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia, located about 100 kilometres (62 mi) northwest of the provincial capital, Halifax. The town is home to Acadia University and Landmark East School. The town is a tourist destination due to its views of Cape Blomidon, the Bay of Fundy and Gaspereau Valley, as well as its wine industry.

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More of the "shopping centre" of the Valley. You'll find all major groceries and shopping (Chapters/Indigo in the mall, movie theatre, Walmart, etc.) You've never encountered friendlier staff than Michael's and Giant Tiger in New Minas! They're renowned!

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New Minas is a village located in the eastern part of Kings County in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. As of 2011, the population was 5,135.

New Minas borders the town of Kentville to the west and the unincorporated community of Greenwich to the east. The town of Wolfville is further east on the other side of Greenwich. New Minas is approximately 100 km northwest of Halifax. The village is located along the south bank of the Cornwallis River occupying the lower slopes of the South Mountain. Nova Scotia's Highway No. 1 runs through the village forming the main street.

New Minas was founded in 1682 by Acadians from the Grand Pré area, the largest of the settlements known as Les Mines or Minas after the French copper mines explored at Cape d'Or at the entrance to the Minas Basin in the 1600s. As the Minas settlement grew, families moved westward up the Cornwallis River led by Pierre Terriot and founded a new settlement which came to be known to English surveyors as "New Minas". The Acadians knew their settlement as St. Antoine. It was built beside a tidal island in the bend of the river, later known as Oak Island. They repeated the pattern of the Grand Pré settlement by connecting dykes to Oak Island to turn tidal marshland into productive farmland. The settlement grew to include a mill, chapel and burial ground at Oak Island. However the Acadians were expelled and the settlement was destroyed during the Bay of Fundy Campaign of the Acadian Expulsion in 1755. New England Planters resettled the area in 1760s as part of Horton Township but built their farms further from the river along the Old Post Road, later Nova Scotia's Highway No. 1.

New Minas was the site of one of the first accounts of a UFO sighting in North America on October 12, 1796. The diary of a merchant in Liverpool, Nova Scotia named Simeon Perkins reported that stories were circulating of ships flying in the air which "were said to be seen at one Mr. Ratchfords in New Minas" by a young woman and two men who at sunrise saw as many as fifteen "ships in the air ... and a man forward with his hand stretched out." Perkins continued, "the story did not obtain universal credit but some people believed it."

New Minas remained a predominantly farming and agricultural community between the towns of Kentville and Wolfville. The Dominion Atlantic Railway operated a gravel quarry at Oak Island in New Minas and served a growing number of food and bulk feed plants at New Minas in the mid 19th Century. However development increased with the construction of the Highway 101 expressway in the 1970s. With the village's low tax rate and the location between the population centres of Kentville and Wolfville, New Minas soon saw a shopping centre and numerous big box retail outlets and fast food shops established to make the village the retail centre for the eastern Annapolis Valley.

Over the past ten years, New Minas has been witness to a commercial boom which has seen many large retail outlets set up shop, while pre-existing retailers and many others have rebuilt into larger venues. One of the woes of the village is its heavy concentration of minimum-wage, service industry jobs. Other similarly sized communities nearby have a much wider range of income opportunities: Wolfville is an area supported by higher-education jobs with Acadia University, and Kentville is an area which supports itself with an industrial park, hospital and an orientation toward professional centers. Due to New Minas having no hospital of its own, citizens must travel to Kentville by way of public transit or by use of their own vehicles to go to the hospital.

In recent years, New Minas has been lampooned by many of its citizens and tourists as having notoriously poor side-roads. However, in the last 2-3 years, the Village of New Minas has been working on coercing the Province of Nova Scotia to focus on repairing these roads.

New Minas played host to the film crew of the popular television show Call Me Fitz. Where the filming took place used to be the old home of the local Kia Motors, but the local branch had moved to the other end of the town, so the showroom was converted into Fitzpatrick Motors.

Recently, a rotary was installed in the middle of New Minas to accommodate the increasing number of businesses and the new highway off-ramp from the nearby Highway 101 which has since finished construction as of 2018.

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From their website: We are a network of owner-operated micro-roasters and cafés that are committed to providing our customers with ethically-sourced and superior-grade fair trade products.

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T.A.N. Fair Trade Products Limited has operated micro-roasters and cafés since November 2007, beginning in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The concept of T.A.N Coffee is to create the shortest supply chain between the producers and the consumers while retaining the best possible quality and, therefore, the best price to the producers and the best value to the consumers. T.A.N Coffee is organized as a network of micro-coffee roasters to import directly and market 100% organic and fairly traded coffees directly to consumers.

The cafés sell freshly roasted coffee by the pound and offer brewed and specialty coffees, a wide variety of loose-leaf teas, in-house prepared food, and other products, including coffee and tea accessories for home use, T.A.N merchandise, and more. The cafés are community-focused, offering organic, fair trade, and local products and free wireless internet, and each café is a venue for gathering friends, families, students, tourists, and those wishing to use the café as a meeting space.

Currently, T.A.N Coffee now has four running cafés in the Annapolis Valley but offers their coffee through over three dozen vendors, including online shopping with pickup hubs all over the province. T.A.N Coffee also offers catering and coffee supplies for many community markets, meetings and social activities.

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Micro Roasters and Cafés in Nova Scotia - T.A.N. Coffee

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We carefully source and roast small batches of premium beans to bring out their unique flavours. Visit us to enjoy a gourmet coffee experience.

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A little farther out... but gorgeous in any season!

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Tangled Garden | Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

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Located in the heart of the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Tangled Garden has been creating award-winning specialty herb jellies, delicious jams, chutneys, mustards, vinegars and liqueurs for over 30 years. Our one-of-a-kind garden provides the perfect backdrop for a weekend experience, wedding or s

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28 minutes away from venue

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An indoor swimming pool and a hot tub are featured at this Windsor motel.

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Variety of Cottages (just expedia search!)

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Variety of Cottages (just expedia search!)

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This one sleeps 8!

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Founded by New England Planter families, known as the "Apple Capital of Nova Scotia", and once the leading Canadian exporter of apples globally.

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Berwick is a Canadian town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. The town is located in the eastern part of the Annapolis Valley on the Cornwallis River. The town site stretches south from the river and Exit 15 of Highway 101 to Highway 1. Berwick occupies 6.80 km ² (2.6 sq mi) and has an elevation of 43 m (141 ft) above sea level.

As the headwaters of the Cornwallis River, Berwick was used by Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaq people and later Acadians as a crossing place between the Cornwallis and the Annapolis River which rises to the west. Acadians built a rough road between the two rivers just to the south of the town, a route which after British settlement became The Post Road or Highway No. 1 the main road connecting western communities in Nova Scotia.

The Berwick area was granted to several New England Planter families in 1760 but the community was not settled until 1810 when Benjamin Congdon built on the townsite. It was known progressively as the "Congdon Settlement", "Curry's Corner", and "Davison's Corner" after various prominent families and storekeepers. Residents decided in 1851 to name it Berwick after the English town of Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Berwick became a station on the Windsor and Annapolis Railway in 1869. The railway radically transformed the town, moving the centre of business a mile south away from the original Main Street by the Cornwallis River with the town centre organized along Commercial Street which led to the businesses which grew around the tracks. The railway, which became known as the Dominion Atlantic Railway in 1894, created a large export market for apples which attracted warehouses and spin-off industries to Berwick. Berwick had rail service until the Dominion Atlantic Railway abandoned the former W&AR main line through town in March 1990.

Berwick was incorporated as a town on May 25, 1923. It built its own hydro electric power dam in 1921 which is still owned and operated by the town. Its capacity is 520 kVa.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Berwick had a population of 2,455 living in 1,044 of its 1,080 total private dwellings, a change of -2.2% from its 2016 population of 2,509. With a land area of 6.53 km ² (2.52 sq mi), it had a population density of 376.0/km ² (973.7/sq mi) in 2021.

Berwick's official slogan is the "Apple Capital of Nova Scotia", honouring the importance of the apple industry as a major economic force in developing the town. Following the collapse of the traditional European market for apples during and after World War II, area farmers began diversifying their operations throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Despite the decline of the apple industry since the 1950s, there are still some apple orchards to be found in the surrounding agricultural districts. A large apple sculpture is found in the centre of town to commemorate the importance of this historic industry.

Until recently a number of regionally successful small manufacturers related to agriculture prospered in Berwick, including the M.W. Graves food processing plant, the Berwick Fruit Co-op, Graham's Meat Market, Berwick Bakery and Larsen's Meats. However centralization of Canada's food industry led each firm to be bought out and eventually closed by the late 1990s. Losses included the Avon Foods (the former Graves Plant) which closed in March 2005 and the Larsen's pork processing plant, which closed in April 2011. Other employers include the Easson's trucking firm, the Michelin tire plant in nearby Waterville and the military base at CFB Greenwood. The town functions as a service centre for adjacent areas of Kings County with a number of small retailers. The town has an independent electrical utility which generates 10-15 per cent of its own needs from a hydro generator in Factorydale, purchasing the balance from Nova Scotia Power. In 2015, the Berwick Electric Utility combined with electrical utilities in Mahone Bay and Antigonish to build four-turbine wind farm in Ellershouse, Nova Scotia. The new wind farm known as the Alternative Energy Resource Authority supplies 20% of Berwick's electricity.

Berwick's late 19th and early 20th century prosperity driven by the apple industry left the town with many fine homes and classic wooden Victorian storefronts. However most of the historic commercial buildings on Berwick's main thoroughfare of Commercial Street were demolished in the 1980s and 1990s by commercial expansion of Berwick businesses seeking to compete with such retail centres as New Minas by building large parking lots. Berwick's town centre resembles a typical North American retail strip with low strip malls and expanses of asphalt.

The town still retains many fine Victorian and Edwardian houses on tree-lined streets. However some of these homes now face demolition. The Bethune House, an Arts and Crafts style home of a noted early 20th century regional photographer was demolished in 2008 to create a parking lot. In 2009 two of Berwick's most historic homes, the Patterson and Keith houses, were proposed for demolition to provide a driveway for a duplex housing development. The proposed demolitions led to a protest by citizens concerned about the economic and cultural loss of attractive heritage properties and the lack of any heritage planning in Berwick, which is one of the only municipalities in Nova Scotia which lacks a policy to develop or preserve heritage buildings. Both buildings have since been demolished.

A large new fire hall was constructed in 2008 for the Berwick Volunteer Fire Department. In 2009, construction plans were announced for a large new arena, recreation and community centre nicknamed "The Apple Dome". The building has been officially named the "Kings Mutual Century Centre". The arena includes a 200-metre running track and an ice rink that are partially lit with natural light.

Margaret Marshall Saunders, author of the 1894 children's book, Beautiful Joe spent most of her childhood in Berwick where her father served as Baptist minister. Christy Ann Conlin, author of the 2002 novel Heave grew up just outside Berwick and critics have noted that the fictional town of "Foster" in her book was inspired by Berwick.

Berwick operates a museum (the Apple Capital Museum) and a seasonal tourism bureau. A branch of the Annapolis Valley Regional Library, with public Internet access, is located in the town hall. Berwick has been home since the 1860s to a summer religious retreat operated by the United Church of Canada known as Berwick Camp, located in a picturesque grove of old-growth pines and hemlock trees at the south end of the town.

A homeless man named Harley Lawrence was found dead in a burned-out bus shelter in Berwick in October 2013. Two Berwick men were charged with his murder in April 2014 and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges in February 2015.

Ronald E. Illsley Berwick (Illsley Family Kentville: 2008)

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Berwick is a Canadian town in Kings County, Nova Scotia. The town is located in the eastern part of the Annapolis Valley on the Cornwallis River. The town site stretches south from the river and Exit 15 of Highway 101 to Highway 1.

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Variety of price points.

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Kentville B&B: Find the Best Bed and Breakfast from CA $162 | Expedia.ca

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Find your ideal Bed and Breakfast in Kentville - only with Expedia. Read reviews, search by map and book one of many B&B in Kentville with Expedia.ca.

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18 minutes from Kentville. Try the Union Street Burger, and the Loaded Fries. Yum!

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Food, Music, Live Music, Berwick, Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia

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18 Minutes from Kentville. The cran-rasperry seltzer is delicious!  Always something seasonal and reasonably-priced flights.

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18 minutes from Kentville. Locally sourced, delicious food!

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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Tours & Tastings. A great place for a sample!

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HOW TO FIND US

OUR VINEYARD

1966 WHITE ROCK ROAD
GASPEREAU VALLEY
NOVA SCOTIA
75 MIN FROM HALIFAX

Have a question? Check out our FAQ section below.

OUR HOURS

Tours & Tastings: Currently by appointment year-round

Retail Shop & By-the-Glass: Seven days a week, 11 am - 6 pm

Office: Monday to Friday, 9 am - 5 pm

Holidays: December 24, 25, 26

Last updated Sept 4, 2023

GENERAL INQUIRIES

For general questions, phone the winery at 902-542-1560 or email us at wines@benjaminbridge.com

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ORDERING ONLINE

Our site stores your name, contact details, and order history. We do not store any payment information on our site, except transaction codes. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy.

Gift cards can be used in person and online! Gift cards do not expire and cannot be redeemed for cash. Any returns of purchases made by gift card will be refunded to a gift card.

Card user must be of legal drinking age. For more information, please call us at (902) 542-1560.

We offer complimentary delivery in the Halifax Metro and Wolfville areas. Our team delivers twice weekly, typically on Tuesdays and Fridays. If you have a specific delivery request, we are delighted to assist, please email shop@benjaminbridge.com.

We offer shipping via Canada Post: Regular, Xpresspost, and Priority. We ship all orders within 2 business days.

CUSTOMER CARE

Supply of Benjamin Bridge products is seasonal and limited, therefore, availability from the winery and retailers varies throughout the year. Please visit our Stockists page to find Retailers near you!

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Designated driver! Let them take you on a wine tour of the beautiful Annapolis Valley!

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COME ALONG ON AN ENCHANTING NOVA SCOTIA WINE TOUR EXPERIENCE WITH US

Hop On - Hop Off Tour

It's Back - set your own pace - the return of the adored Hop On-Hop Off Tour

$85.00 Book your tour

WEDNESDAY Only

Day-Long Transportation on board a British Double-Decker

Four Incredible Wineries - Tastings Included

A Guide to Curate your Journey

Tidal Bay Express Tour

Enjoy ultimate comfort and Nova Scotia's appellation wine on the Tidal Bay Express Tour

$117.00 Book your tour

THURSDAY & SATURDAY Only

Day-Long Transportation on board a Luxury Coach

Three Wineries and Farm Craft Brewery - Tastings & Small Plates Included

A Guide to Curate Your Journey

Magic Winery Bus Tour

Discover Nova Scotia Wine Country on board our charming British Double Decker Bus

$117.00 Book your tour

FRIDAY & SUNDAY only

Day-Long Transportation on board a British Double-Decker

Four Incredible Wineries - Tastings & Lunch included

A Guide to Curate your Journey

All Wrapped Up Tour

Let the merry making begin with some Holiday Magic

Coming Soon Book your tour

DETAILS TO COME

November and December Departure dates

Why Choose the Magic Winery Bus

Incredible wineries with unforgettable experiences.

Magic Winery Bus is North America's only wine tour experience on board a traditional British double-decker bus - and so much more. It's visiting captivating destinations in one day and learning from local winemakers. It's tasting fabulous wines and discovering the miraculous terroirs they call home. And - to toot our own horn - it's a Destination Canada bucket list experience. Find unforgettable views and unmatched hospitality on Magic Winery Bus.

We also offer charter tour packages for the corporate sector, conferences, and large groups.

What to Expect on the Magic Winery Bus

Believe in the magic. We'll take care of the rest.

On Magic Winery Bus, we take care of the details so you can relax and savour your way through the day. Our guides will elevate your experience. They're here to share the unique stories of the wine region, answer questions and help you create a phenomenal day, at your own pace.

Here's what to expect on a Magic Winery Bus tour:

1.

Hop Aboard

Meet the double-decker bus or coach at the pickup location listed on the Routes & Schedules page. Our friendly staff will help you get settled.

2.

Tour & Taste

Get comfortable on the charming British double-decker or luxury coach and leave your worries behind. You'll have plenty of time to enjoy wine tastings and explore the wine shops, at your pace.

3.

Explore More

At the end of the journey, the bus will return to the pickup location where unique shops, delicious eats and outdoor adventure awaits. Make it a weekend trip and stay the night at a local hotel, historic inn or exquisite B&B.

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Magic Winery Bus - Wine Tours | Wolfville, NS & Niagara, ON

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Experience the wine regions of Nova Scotia and Ontario on the Magic Winery Bus - a hop-on, hop-off tour of some of Canada's most incredible wineries!

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Annapolis Valley has it's own appellation!  Tidal Bay wine (who needs "Champagne"!)

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Annapolis Valley has it's own appellation!  Tidal Bay wine (who needs "Champagne"!)

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An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication primarily used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, such as what grapes may be grown, maximum grape yields, alcohol level, and other quality factors may also apply before an appellation name may legally appear on a wine bottle label. The rules that govern appellations are dependent on the country in which the wine was produced. On June 11, 2012, Nova Scotia launched its first appellation, Tidal Bay.

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Standards

To obtain the Tidal Bay designation, all wines must be made from specific grape varieties, include 100% Nova Scotia-grown grapes, follow a strict set of standards, and be approved every year by an independent blind tasting panel.

These standards were created by a committee of winemakers, sommeliers, and wine experts and are strictly enforced throughout the winemaking process, from growing to bottling.

Wines can be a combination of the approved grape varieties but must demonstrate the distinctive taste profile that reflects the classic Nova Scotian style: lively fresh green fruit, dynamic acidity, and characteristic minerality. Tidal Bay wines must also be relatively low in alcohol and no more than 11%.

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Tidal Bay - Nova Scotia's Signature Wine

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Nova Scotia's signature wine. Tidal Bay brilliantly reflects the terroir, coastal breezes, and cooler climate of its birthplace.

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We acknowledge that we live in Mi’kma’ki, the homeland of the Mi’kmaq. We acknowledge the Treaties of Peace and Friendship and we thank the Mi’kmaw people for their generosity in sharing their homeland with us. (In process.)

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The Mi'kmaq (also Mi'gmaq, Lnu, Miꞌkmaw or Miꞌgmaw; MIG-mah; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as Native Americans in the northeastern region of Maine. The traditional national territory of the Mi'kmaq is named Miꞌkmaꞌki (or Miꞌgmaꞌgi).

There are 66,748 Mi'kmaq people in the region as of 2023, (including 25,182 members in the more recently formed Qalipu First Nation in Newfoundland.) According to the Canadian 2021 census, 9,245 people claim to speak Miꞌkmaq, an Eastern Algonquian language. Once written in Miꞌkmaw hieroglyphic writing, it is now written using most letters of the Latin alphabet.

The Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Pasamaquoddy nations signed a series of treaties known as the Covenant Chain of Peace and Friendship Treaties with the British Crown throughout the eighteenth century; the first was signed in 1725, and the last in 1779. The Miꞌkmaq maintain that they did not cede or give up their land title or other rights through these Peace and Friendship Treaties. The landmark 1999 Supreme Court of Canada decision in R v Marshall upheld the 1752 Peace and Friendship Treaty "which promised Indigenous Peoples the right to hunt and fish their lands and establish trade."

Historically the Santé Mawiómi, or Grand Council, which was made up of chiefs of the district councils of Miꞌkmaꞌki, was the traditional senior level of government for the Miꞌkmaw people. The 1876 Indian Act disrupted that authority, by requiring First Nations to establish representative elected governments along the Canadian model, and attempting to limit the Council's role to spiritual guidance.

Grand Council Santé Mawiómi

On August 30, 2010, the Miꞌkmaw Nation and the Nova Scotia provincial government reached an historic agreement, affirming that the Miꞌkmaw Grand Council was the official consultative authority that engages with the Canadian federal government and the provincial government of Nova Scotia. The Miꞌkmaq-Nova Scotia-Canada Tripartite Forum preceded the agreement. The August 2010 agreement is the first such collaborative agreement in Canadian history; it includes representation for all the First Nations within the entire province of Nova Scotia.

Historically the Santé Mawiómi, or Grand Council, which was made up of chiefs of the district councils of Miꞌkmaꞌki, was the traditional senior level of government for the Miꞌkmaw people. The 1876 Indian Act disrupted that authority, by requiring First Nations to establish representative elected governments and attempting to limit the Council's role to that of spiritual guidance.

In addition to the district councils, the Mꞌikmaq have been traditionally governed by a Grand Council or Santé Mawiómi. The Grand Council was composed of Keptinaq ("captains" in English), who were the district chiefs. There were also elders, the putús ( wampum belt readers and historians, who also dealt with the treaties with the non-natives and other Native tribes), the women's council, and the grand chief. The grand chief was a title given to one of the district chiefs, who was usually from the Miꞌkmaw district of Unamáki or Cape Breton Island. This title was hereditary within a clan and usually passed on to the grand chief's eldest son.

On June 24, 1610, Grand Chief Membertou converted to Catholicism and was baptised. He concluded an alliance with the French Jesuits. The Miꞌkmaq, as trading allies of the French, were amenable to limited French settlement in their midst.

Chief Gabriel Sylliboy - first to fight for Treaty Rights in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, 1929

In 1927, Grand Chief Sylliboy was charged by Nova Scotia with hunting muskrat pelts out of season. He was the first to use the rights defined in the Treaty of 1752 in his court defence. He lost his case. In 1985, the Supreme Court of Canada finally recognized the 1752 treaty rights for indigenous hunting and fishing in their ruling on . On the 50th anniversary of Sylliboy's death, the Grand Council asked the Nova Scotia government for a pardon for the late Grand Chief. Premier Stephen McNeil granted the posthumous pardon in 2017. Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia, John James Grant, McNeil, and the Justice Minister Diana Whalen, pardoned Sylliboy and issued a formal apology: it was the "second posthumous pardon in Nova Scotia's history". His grandson, Andrew Denny, now the Grand Keptin of the Council, said that his grandfather had "commanded respect. Young people who were about to get married would go and ask for his blessing. At the Chapel Island Mission boats would stop if he was crossing."

Traditionally, the Grand Council met on a small island, Mniku, on the Bras d'Or lake in Cape Breton. In the early 21st century, this site is now within the reserve known as Chapel Island or Potlotek. The Grand Council continues to meet at Mniku to discuss current issues within the Miꞌkmaq Nation.

Taqamkuk (Newfoundland) was historically defined as part of Unamaꞌkik territory. (Later the large island was organized as a separate district in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.)

The Mi'kmaq language was written using Miꞌkmaq hieroglyphic writing. Today it is written mainly using letters of the Latin alphabet.

At the Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, petroglyphs of "life-ways of the Mi'kmaw", include written hieroglyphics, human figures, Mi'kmaq houses and lodges, decorations including crosses, sailing vessels, and animals, etched into slate rocks. These are attributed to the Mi'kmaw, who have continuously inhabited the area since prehistoric times. The petroglyphs date from the late prehistoric period through the nineteenth century.

Jerry Lonecloud (1854 - 1930, Mi'kmaq) is considered the "ethnographer of the Micmac nation". In 1912, he transcribed some of the Kejimkujik petroglyphs, and donated his works to the Nova Scotia Museum. He is credited with the first Mi'kmaq memoir, which was recorded from his oral history in the 1920s.

In the late 1670s, French missionary Chrestien Le Clercq, who was working in the Gaspé Peninsula, was inspired by hieroglyphics made by a young Mi'kmaq using charcoal on birchbark. Leclercq adopted the use of Mi'kmaq hieroglyphs to teach Catholic prayers and hymns to the people in their own form of language.

The Holy Mary Rosary prayer in Mi'kmaq hieroglyphics by Christian Kauder, 1866

Christian Kauder was a missionary in from 1856 to 1871. He included samples of Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing, such as the Holy Mary Rosary prayer and the Lord's Prayer, in his German Christian catechism published in 1866.

David L. Schmidt and Murdena Marshall published some of the prayers, narratives, and liturgies represented in hieroglyphs-pictographic symbols in a 1995 book. As noted, the pre-contact Mi'kmaq developed these hieroglyphs. French Jesuit missionaries adopted their use to teach Catholic prayers and religion to the Mi'kmaw. Schmidt and Marshall showed that these hieroglyphics served as a fully functional writing system. They assert it is the oldest writing system for an indigenous language in North America north of Mexico.

Etymology of the word Miꞌkmaq

By the 1980s, the spelling of the ethnonym Miꞌkmaq, which is preferred by the Miꞌkmaw people, was widely adopted by scholarly publications and the media. It replaced the previous spelling Micmac. Although this older spelling is still in use, the Miꞌkmaq consider the spelling "Micmac" to be "tainted" by colonialism. The "q" ending is used in the plural form of the noun, and Miꞌkmaw is used as singular of Miꞌkmaq. It is also used as an adjective, for example, "the Miꞌkmaw nation".

The Miꞌkmaq prefer to use one of the three current Miꞌkmaq orthographies when writing the language. Other spellings used by Mi'kmaq people include Miꞌkmaq (singular Miꞌkmaw) in Prince Edward Island ( Epekw'itk), Nova Scotia ( Mi'kma'ki-Unama'ki) and Newfoundland ( K'taqamkuk); Miigmaq ( Miigmao) in New Brunswick ( Sipekni'katik); Miꞌgmaq by the Listuguj Council in Quebec ( Kespek); and Mìgmaq ( Mìgmaw) in some native literature.

Lnu (the adjectival and singular noun, previously spelled "L'nu"; the plural is Lnúk, Lnuꞌk, Lnuꞌg, or Lnùg) is the term the Miꞌkmaq use for themselves, their autonym, meaning "human being" or "the people". Members of the Miꞌkmaq historically referred to themselves as Lnu, but used the term níkmaq (my kin) as a greeting.

The French initially referred to the Miꞌkmaq as Souriquois and later as Gaspesiens. Adopting a term from the English, they referred to them as Mickmakis. The British originally referred to the people as Tarrantines, which appears to have a French basis.

Various explanations exist for the rise of the term Miꞌkmaq. The Miꞌkmaw Resource Guide says that "Miꞌkmaq" means "the family". The Anishinaabe refer to the Miꞌkmaq as Miijimaa(g), meaning "The Brother(s)/Ally(ies)", with the use of the nX prefix m-, opposed to the use of n1 prefix n- ( i.e. Niijimaa(g), "my brother(s)/comrade(s)") or the n3 prefix w- ( i.e., Wiijimaa(g), "brother(s)/compatriot(s)/comrade(s)").

Charles Aubert de La Chesnaye was documented as the first European to record the term "Micmac" for the people, using it in his 1676 memoir. Marion Robertson stated this in the book Red Earth: Tales of the Mi'kmaq (1960s), published by the Nova Scotia Museum, Robertson cites Professor Ganong, who suggested that "Micmac" was derived from the Mi'kmaq word megamingo (earth). Marc Lescarbot had also suggested this.

The Mi'kmaq may have identified as "the Red Earth People, or the People of the Red Earth". Megumaagee, the name the Mi'kmaq used to describe their land, and Megumawaach, what they called themselves, were linked to the words megwaak, which refers to the colour red, and magumegek, "on the earth". Rand translated megakumegek as "red on the earth", "red ground", or "red earth". Other suggestions from Robertson include its origin in nigumaach, which means "my brother" or "my friend", or a term of endearment. Stansbury Hagar suggested in Micmac Magic and Medicine that the word megumawaach is from megumoowesoo, in reference to magic.

Miꞌkmaꞌki: Divided into seven districts. Not shown is Taqamgug/Tagamuk, the eighth district that includes the entire island of Newfoundland.[34] Taqamgug was historically part of Onamag before the 1800s.

Miꞌkmaw Country, known as Miꞌkmaꞌki, is traditionally divided into seven districts. Prior to the imposition of the Indian Act, each district had its own independent government and boundaries. The independent governments had a district chief and a council. The council members were band chiefs, elders, and other worthy community leaders. The district council was charged with performing all the duties of any independent and free government by enacting laws, justice, apportioning fishing and hunting grounds, making war and suing for peace.

The eight Miꞌkmaw districts (including Ktaqmkuk which is often not counted) are Epekwitk aq Piktuk (Epegwitg aq Pigtug), Eskikewaꞌkik (Esgeꞌgewaꞌgi), Kespek (Gespeꞌgewaꞌgi), Kespukwitk (Gespugwitg), Siknikt (Signigtewaꞌgi), Sipekniꞌkatik (Sugapuneꞌgati), Ktaqmkuk (Gtaqamg), and Unamaꞌkik (Unamaꞌgi). The orthography between parentheses is the Listuguj orthography used in the Gespeꞌgewaꞌgi area.

On September 17, 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the treaty rights of Miꞌkmaw Donald Marshall Jr. its landmark R v Marshall ruling, which "affirmed a treaty right to hunt, fish and gather in pursuit of a 'moderate livelihood'." The Supreme Court also cited Section 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act in their 1999 ruling that resulted in Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Peskotomuhkati people the "right to hunt, fish and gather in pursuit of a 'moderate livelihood' from the resources of the land and waters." The legal precedent had previously been established in the Treaty of 1752, one in a series of treaties known as the Peace and Friendship Treaties, but was not being respected prior to R v Marshall. This resulted in the 1993 charges laid against Marshall Jr. for "fishing eels out of season, fishing without a licence, and fishing with an illegal net". In the 2018 publication, Truth and conviction: Donald Marshall Jr. and the Mi'kmaw quest for justice, Marshall was quoted as saying, "I don't need a licence. I have the 1752 Treaty." The 1989 Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr. Prosecution resulted in a compensation to Marshall of a lifetime pension of $1.5 million. Marshall used the financial compensation to finance the lengthy and costly Supreme Court case. When Marshall won, 34 Mi'kmaw and Maliseet First Nations bands were affected in the provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and the Gaspé region of Quebec. The West Nova Fishermen's Coalition submitted an appeal asking for the Marshall decision to be set aside. In November 17, 1999, released a new ruling (Marshall 2) to clarify that the DFO had the power to regulate the fishery for conservation purposes if it "consulted with the First Nation and could justify the regulations".

Soon after the September 17 decision, Miramichi Bay-"one of Canada's most lucrative lobster fisheries"-[citation needed ]became the site of a violent conflict between Mi'kmaw fishers and non-Mi'kmaw commercial fishers. Immediately after the ruling, Mi'kmaw fishers began to lay lobster traps out of season. Incidents such as the Burnt Church Crisis were widely covered by the media from 1999 and 2002. On October 3, 1999, non-Indigenous commercial fishers in 150 boats destroyed hundreds of Mi'kmaw lobster traps, then returned to shore and vandalized fishing equipment, as well as three fish plants. This was captured and documented in the 2002 National Film Board feature-length documentary Is the Crown at war with us? by Alanis Obomsawin. The documentary also described how Ocean and Fisheries department officials seemed to "wage a war" on the Mi'kmaw fishermen of Burnt Church, New Brunswick with "helicopters, patrol boats, guns, with observation by airplanes and dozens of RCMP officers". The documentary asks why the fishers were being harassed for "exercising rights that had been affirmed by the highest court in the land." Following lengthy negotiations with the Mi'kmaq, the DFO developed the $160 million Marshall Response Initiative, which operated until 2007, through which the DFO offered to purchase over 1,000 commercial fishing licences, including boats and gear, to support the expansion of the Mi'kmaw lobster fishery. By mid-2000, about 1,400 commercial fishermen stated their intention to retire over 5,000 licences. On August 20, 2001, the DFO issued a temporary license to Burnt Church Mi'kmaw fishers while negotiations for a more permanent agreement were underway. The DFO license had restrictions that some Burnt Church fishers refused: the fishers could not sell their lobsters, they could only use them for food, social, and ceremonial (FSC) purposes. The "Aboriginal right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes (FSC)" was confirmed in the landmark 1990 R. v. Sparrow Supreme Court case which cited section 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act, 1982. In May 2003, the House of Commons' Standing Committee On Fisheries And Oceans chaired by MP Tom Wappel, submitted its report on fisheries issues, which "recommended that all charges stemming from the [confrontation over the lobster fisheries]" be dropped and that the fishers should be compensated by federal government for "their lost traps and boats." The report said that Mi'kmaw fishers have the "same season as non-native fishermen" and could not therefore, fish in the fall. It recommended that "native bands be issued licences, which they would distribute to native fishermen."

On the tenth anniversary of the benchmark decision, CBC News reported that "Maritime waters" were "calm a decade after Marshall decision."

However, by 2020, the Fish Buyers' Licensing and Enforcement Regulations, under the 1996 N.S. Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act, remains in effect-as it does in other Atlantic provinces. These regulations do not mention the Mi'kmaq or the Marshall decision. These regulations prevent Mi'kmaw lobster fishers from selling their lobster to non-Mi'kmaq. Mi'kmaw fishers say that this does not align with the Marshall decision. In 2019, the government of the Listuguj First Nation in the Bay of Chaleur developed their own self-regulated lobster fisheries management plan and opened their own lobster fishery in the fall of 2020. Under the existing Fish Buyers' Licensing Regulations the self-regulated Listuguj fisheries can harvest, but can only use the lobster for "food, social and ceremonial purposes".

On November 9, 2020, a group of Miꞌkmaq First Nations and Premium Brands Holdings Corporation announced their $1 billion purchase of Clearwater Seafoods, which was finalised on January 25, 2021. The group of First Nations includes Sipekne'katik, We'koqma'q, Potlotek, Pictou Landing, and Paqtnkek First Nations, and is led by Membertou and Miapukek First Nations. The purchase represents the "largest investment in the seafood industry by a Canadian Indigenous group". The harvest of non-Indigenous fishermen in the region will now be purchased by Clearwater Seafoods' Miꞌkmaq part owners.

Starting in September 2020, there has been an ongoing highly-charged conflict in St. Marys Bay, Nova Scotia-the Kespukwitk (also spelled Gespogoitnag) district of Mi'kma'ki-between Miꞌkmaw and non-Miꞌkmaw lobster fishers engaged in the inshore fishery, that is rooted in the Marshall decision, and exacerbated by decades of various levels of government and authorities, mishandling and neglecting local concerns, according to the media. The inshore fishery is the last small-scale fishery in Nova Scotia.[citation needed ] St. Marys Bay is part of Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 34, making it the "largest lobster fishing area in Canada with more than 900 licensed commercial fishermen harvesting from the southern tip of Nova Scotia up to Digby in the Bay of Fundy." It is also "one of the most lucrative fishing areas in Canada". DFO reported that as of December 2019, there were 979 commercial lobster licenses in LFA 34. In September 2020, following the opening of their own fishery, Sipekne'katik First Nation had issued seven lobster licenses to band members; each license has 50 tags, representing a combined total of 350 tags. One commercial lobster license represents 350 tags.

On September 17, Sipekne'katik launched a "moderate livelihood fishery" with a ceremony at the Saulnierville wharf, the first lobster fishery regulated by Miꞌkmaq in Nova Scotia. On September 18, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Miꞌkmaw Chiefs declared a province-wide state of emergency in response to threats by commercial and non-indigenous fishers, including some that had cut the Miꞌkmaw lobster traps. On September 25, the Sipekne'katik fishery released its proposed regulations allowing the legal sale of seafood harvested under the fishery to Indigenous and non-Indigenous consumers and wholesalers. However, at the time of the announcement, Nova Scotia's Fisheries and Coastal Resources Act prohibited anyone in Nova Scotia from purchasing fish from "a person who does not hold a valid commercial fishing license issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada," which would include the fishery.

On October 1, Potlotek First Nation and Eskasoni First Nation launched their own moderate livelihood fishery in a celebration at Battery Provincial Park that coincided with Mi'kmaq Treaty Day. The management plan behind this fishery had been in development for three months, prompted by the seizure of lobster traps by DFO officials. Community licenses issued through this fishery will entitle fishers to 70 tags, and boats will be allowed to carry up to 200 lobster traps each. At the time of the launch of the Potlotek fishery, Membertou was also planning on launching their own fishery, following a similar plan. After the launch of this fishery, DFO officers continued to seize Mi'kmaw traps.

Harassment around the Sipekne'katik fishery continued through October. On October 5, Sipekne'katik fisher Robert Syliboy, a holder of one of the moderate livelihood fishery's licenses, found his boat at the Comeauville wharf destroyed in a suspicious fire. On the evening of October 13, several hundred non-Indigenous fishers and their supporters raided two storage facilities in New Edinburgh and Middle West Pubnico that were being used by Miꞌkmaw fishers to store lobsters. During the raids, a van was set aflame, another vehicle was defaced and damaged, lobsters being stored in the facilities were destroyed, and the New Edinburgh facility was damaged, while a Miꞌkmaw fisher was forced to barricade himself inside the facility in Middle West Pubnico. Indigenous leaders called the raids racist hate crimes and called on the RCMP to intervene, citing their slow response on the evening and lack of arrests even a day after the police claimed they "witnessed criminal activity". Social media posts from the commercial fishers and their supporters claimed that the lobsters taken in the raids were removed as they represented "bad fishing practices" on the part of the Miꞌkmaq, but Sipekne'katik Chief Mike Sack and a worker at the Middle West Pubnico facility claimed the lobsters that were stored there were caught by the commercial fishers, not Miꞌkmaw. Assembly of First Nations national chief Perry Bellegarde, federal Fisheries minister Bernadette Jordan, and Colin Sproul, president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen's Association, all condemned the violence. Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil maintained his position that this issue must be solved federally when asked about it at a press conference. Several months later, in January 2021, the manager of the Middle West Pubnico facility, James Muise, made a public post in a Facebook group for commercial fishers, claiming that he gave the people involved in the raids permission to enter the facility and take the lobsters. Muise offered to work with people charged with offenses connected to the raids and try to get those charges dropped.

On October 15, the Miꞌkmaq Warrior Peacekeepers arrived at the Saulnierville wharf with the intention of providing protection to Miꞌkmaq who were continuing to fish amid the violence.

Three days after the initial raids on the storage facilities, on the evening of October 16, the Middle West Pubnico facility was destroyed in a large fire, deemed "suspicious" by the RCMP. One man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after the fire, but the RCMP did not provide details regarding the man's association to the lobster pound, other than that he was not an employee. The destruction led to further calls from Chief Sack for increased police presence, as well as an appeal from the Maritime Fisherman's Union for the federal government to appoint an independent mediator.

On October 16, Mi'kmaw lobster fishers from the Sipekne'katik First Nation quickly sold all their lobsters after setting up shop in front of the Province House in Halifax with potential customers lined up around the block. The fishers said they were putting pressure on Premier McNeil to act.

On October 21, Sipekne'katik managed to secure an interim injunction against the restriction of band members' access to the Saulnierville and Weymouth wharves, as well as the New Edinburgh lobster pound. The motion for the injunction was filed due to the urgency of the situation, as the band was struggling to sell any of their catch in the midst of the violence and protests. The injunction will remain in place until December 15, 2020.

Intimidation over the fishery dispute has continued into 2021. In mid-January, lobster harvester and Sipekne'katik citizen Jolene Marr, whose brother was surrounded in the West Pubnico lobster pound on October 13, was sent a seven second-long close-up video of a man's face that included what "sounds like a racial slur and six gunshots in the background."

On March 26, 2021, 43 Mi'kmaw lobster fishers from the Sipekne'katik First Nation filed a statement of claim against the attorney general of Canada, the RCMP, the DFO, and 29 non-Indigenous fishers including the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen's Association (BFIFA). The claim alleges that the non-Indigenous fishers named as defendants took the law into their own hands and engaged in violence against the moderate livelihood fishery, that they were encouraged to do so by BFIFA, and that the DFO and RCMP contributed to the harm by not intervening in the foreseeable violence.

Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan sent a letter to Chief Mike Sack on March 3, 2021, outlining the terms under which a moderate livelihood fishery could be negotiated, and what the federal government would be "prepared" to allow; the letter proposed balancing "additional First Nations access through already available licences" and stated that "these fisheries will operate within established seasons." These terms were rejected by Chief Sack, who stated that "we have a management plan that is better for conservation than theirs is, so we're going to follow our own plan."

In 2005, Nova Scotian Miꞌkmaw Nora Bernard led the largest class-action lawsuit in Canadian history, representing an estimated 79,000 survivors of the Canadian Indian residential school system. The Government of Canada settled the lawsuit for upwards of CA$5 billion.

In autumn 2011, there was an Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission that travelled to various communities in Atlantic Canada, who were all served by the Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, the sole residential school for the region. In his 2004 book entitled Legacies of the Shubenacadie Residential School, journalist Chris Benjamin wrote about the "raw wounds" of Miꞌkmaw children who attended the Shubenacadie institution in the period spanning over three decades, from 1930 to 1967.

The first Miꞌkmaq-operated school in Nova Scotia-the Miꞌkmaq Kinaꞌ matnewey -was established in 1982 he result of a collaboration between the Miꞌkmaw community and the Nova Scotia government. The school is the most successful First Nation Education Program in Canada, according to Benjamin.

By 1997, all Miꞌkmaq on reserves were given the responsibility for their own education. By 2014, there were 11 band-run schools in Nova Scotia, and the province has the highest rate of retention of aboriginal students in schools in Canada. More than half the teachers are Miꞌkmaq. From 2011 to 2012 there was a 25% increase in Miꞌkmaw students going to university. Atlantic Canada has the highest rate of aboriginal students attending university in the country.

Miꞌkmaq Women Selling Baskets, Halifax, Nova Scotia, by Mary R. McKie c. 1845

In southwestern Nova Scotia, there is archaeological evidence that traces traditional land use and resources to at least 4,000 years. In Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site, there are canoe routes that have been used for thousands of years by Indigenous people travelling from the Bay of Fundy to the Atlantic ocean. Research published in 1871 showed that some Mi'kmaq believed they had emigrated from the west, and then lived alongside the Kwēdĕchk. According to Mi'kmaw traditions recorded by S. T. Rand, the Kwēdĕchk were the original inhabitants of the land. 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.

In his Memorial University Masters thesis, Mi'kmaw elder, Roger Lewis, investigated how pre-contact Mi'kmaq populations had a reciprocal relationship with the environment that was reflected in subsistence fishing, hunting and gathering, as well as in settlement locations. Lewis, who has held the position of ethnology curator at the Nova Scotia Museum in Halifax, since 2007 focused his MA research specifically on pre-contact fish weirs in southwestern Nova Scotia.

In the chapter "Late Prehistory of the East Coast" in the Smithsonian's 1978 Handbook of North American Indians, archaeologist Dean Snow says that the fairly deep linguistic split between the Miꞌkmaq and the Eastern Algonquians to the southwest suggests the Miꞌkmaq developed an independent prehistoric cultural sequence in their territory. It emphasized maritime orientation, as the area had relatively few major river systems. In the chapter "Early Indian-European Contact" in the 1978 Handbook, ethnologist T. J. Brasser, described how pre-contact small semi-nomadic bands of a few patrilineally related families indigenous people who lived in a climate unfavorable for agriculture, had subsisted on fishing and hunting. Developed leadership did not extend beyond hunting parties. In the same 1978 Handbook, anthropologist Philip Bock described the annual cycle of seasonal movement of precontact Miꞌkmaq. Bock wrote that the Mi'kmaq had lived in dispersed interior winter camps and larger coastal communities during the summer. The spawning runs of March began their movement to converge on smelt spawning streams. They next harvested spawning herring, gathered waterfowl eggs, and hunted geese. By May, the seashore offered abundant cod and shellfish, and coastal breezes brought relief from the biting black flies, deer flies, midges and mosquitoes of the interior. Autumn frost killed the biting insects during the September harvest of spawning American eels. Smaller groups would disperse into the interior where they hunted moose and caribou. The most important animal hunted by the Miꞌkmaq was the moose, which was used in every part: the meat for food, the skin for clothing, tendons and sinew for cordage, and bones for carving and tools. Other animals hunted/trapped included deer, bear, rabbit, beaver and porcupine.

Braser described the first contact between the Mi'kmaq and early European fishermen. These fishermen salted their catch at sea and sailed directly home with it, but they set up camps ashore as early as 1520 for dry-curing cod. During the second half of the century, dry curing became the preferred preservation method. Brasser said that, trading furs for European trade goods had changed Miꞌkmaw social perspectives. Desire for trade goods encouraged the men devoting a larger portion of the year away from the coast trapping in the interior. Trapping non-migratory animals, such as beaver, increased awareness of territoriality. Trader preferences for good harbors resulted in greater numbers of Miꞌkmaq gathering in fewer summer rendezvous locations. This in turn encouraged their establishing larger bands, led by the ablest trade negotiators.

Miꞌkmaw territory was the first portion of North America that Europeans exploited at length for resource extraction. Reports by John Cabot, Jacques Cartier, and Portuguese explorers about conditions there encouraged visits by Portuguese, Spanish, Basque, French, and English fishermen and whalers, beginning in the 16th century.

European fishing camps traded with Miꞌkmaw fishermen; and trading rapidly expanded to include furs, according to Thomas B. Costain, (1885-1965), a journalist who wrote historical novels. By 1578, some 350 European ships were operating around the Saint Lawrence estuary. Most were independent fishermen, but increasing numbers were exploring the fur trade.

In the wake of King Philip's War between English colonists and Native Americans in southern New England (which included the first military conflict between the Miꞌkmaq and New England), the Miꞌkmaq became members of the Wapnáki ( Wabanaki Confederacy), an alliance with four other Algonquian-language nations: the Abenaki, Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Maliseet. The Wabanaki Confederacy was allied with the Acadian people.

Over a period of seventy-five years, during six wars in Miꞌkmaꞌki, the Miꞌkmaq and Acadians fought to keep the British from taking over the region (See the four French and Indian Wars as well as Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War). France lost military control of Acadia in 1710 and political claim (apart from Cape Breton) by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht with England.

But the Miꞌkmaq were not included in the treaty, and never conceded any land to the British. In 1715, the Miꞌkmaq were told that the British now claimed their ancient territory by the Treaty of Utrecht. They formally complained to the French commander at Louisbourg about the French king transferring the sovereignty of their nation when he did not possess it. They were informed that the French had claimed legal possession of their country for a century, on account of laws decreed by kings in Europe, that no land could be legally owned by any non-Christian, and that such land was therefore freely available to any Christian prince who claimed it. Miꞌkmaw historian Daniel Paul observes that, "If this warped law were ever to be accorded recognition by modern legalists they would have to take into consideration that, after Grand Chief Membertou and his family converted to Christianity in 1610, the land of the Miꞌkmaq had become exempt from being seized because the people were Christians. However, it's hard to imagine that a modern government would fall back and try to use such uncivilized garbage as justification for non-recognition of aboriginal title."

Along with Acadians, the Miꞌkmaq used military force to resist the founding of British (Protestant) settlements by making numerous raids on Halifax, Dartmouth, Lawrencetown, and Lunenburg. During the French and Indian War, the North American front of the Seven Years' War between France and Britain in Europe, the Miꞌkmaq assisted the Acadians in resisting the British during the Expulsion. The military resistance was reduced significantly with the French defeat at the Siege of Louisbourg (1758) in Cape Breton. In 1763, Great Britain formalized its colonial possession of all of Miꞌkmaki in the Treaty of Paris.

Miꞌkmaw Encampment by Hibbert Newton Binney, c.1791

Between 1725 and 1779, the Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqey (Maliseet), and Peskotomuhkati (Passamaquoddy) signed numerous treaties, commonly referred to as the Covenant Chain of Peace and Friendship Treaties, through which they entered into a "peaceful relationship with the British Crown." The Mi'kmaq assert that through these treaties-which were referenced as legal precedent by the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Marshall -the Mi'kmaq "did not cede or give up their land title and other rights."

The 1752 Peace and Friendship Treaty Between His Majesty the King and Jean-Baptiste Cope, on behalf of the Shubenacadie Miꞌkmaq has been cited in the Supreme Court of Canada's 1985 decision in R. v. Simon. In his 2002, book on the Marshall case, historian William Wicken said that there is no written documentation to support this assertion that Cope made the treaty on behalf of all the Miꞌkmaq. has been cited in the Supreme Court of Canada's 1985 decision in R. v. Simon. With the signing of various treaties, the 75 years of regular warfare ended in 1761 with the Halifax Treaties.

Although the treaties of 1760-61 contain statements of Miꞌkmaw submission to the British crown, later statements made by Miꞌkmaw reveal that they intended a friendly and reciprocal relationship, according to the 2009 book, Nova Scotia: a pocket history, by Saint Mary's University history professor, John G. Reid and Brenda Conroy. In the early 1760s, there were approximately 300 Miꞌkmaw fighters in the region and thousands of British soldiers. The goals of the Miꞌkmaw treaty negotiators engaged in the 1760 Halifax treaty negotiations, were to make peace, establish secure and well-regulated trade in commodities such as furs, and begin an ongoing friendship with the British crown. In return, the Mi'kmaq offered friendship and tolerance of limited British settlement, although without any formal land surrender, according to Reid and Connor. To fulfill the reciprocity intended by the Miꞌkmaq, that any additional British settlement of land would have to be negotiated, and accompanied by giving presents to the Miꞌkmaq. The documents summarizing the peace agreements failed to establish specific territorial limits on the expansion of British settlements, but assured the Miꞌkmaq of access to the natural resources that had long sustained them along the regions' coasts and in the woods. Their conceptions of land use were quite different. In his 2003 book about the British expulsion of the Acadians, University of Cincinnati history professor, Geoffrey Plank, described the relationship between the Mi'kmaq and Acadians as strong. The Miꞌkmaq believed they could share their traditional lands with both the British and the Acadians-with the Mi'kmaq hunting as usual, and getting to the coast for seafood.

The arrival of the New England Planters and United Empire Loyalists in greater number put pressure on land use and the treaties. This migration into the region created significant economic, environmental and cultural pressures on the Miꞌkmaq. The Miꞌkmaq tried to enforce the treaties through threat of force. At the beginning of the American Revolution, many Miꞌkmaw and Maliseet tribes supported the Americans against the British. They participated in the Maugerville Rebellion and the Battle of Fort Cumberland in 1776. Miꞌkmaw delegates concluded the first international treaty, the Treaty of Watertown, with the United States soon after it declared its independence in July 1776. These delegates did not officially represent the Miꞌkmaw government, although many individual Miꞌkmaq did privately join the Continental Army as a result. In June 1779, Miꞌkmaq in the Miramichi valley of New Brunswick attacked and plundered some of the British in the area. The following month, British Captain Augustus Harvey, in command of HMS Viper, arrived and battled with the Miꞌkmaq. One Miꞌkmaw was killed and 16 were taken prisoner to Quebec. The prisoners were eventually taken to Halifax. They were released on 28 July 1779 after signing the Oath of Allegiance to the British Crown.

As their military power waned in the beginning of the 19th century, the Miꞌkmaw people made explicit appeals to the British to honor the treaties and reminded them of their duty to give "presents" to the Miꞌkmaq in order to occupy Miꞌkmaꞌki. In response, the British offered charity or, the word most often used by government officials, "relief". The British said the Miꞌkmaq must give up their way of life and begin to settle on farms. Also, they were told they had to send their children to British schools for education.

Monument to the Treaty of 1752, Shubenacadie First Nation, Nova Scotia

Gabriel Sylliboy was the first Miꞌkmaw elected as grand chief in 1919 and the first to fight for treaty recognition-specifically, the Treaty of 1752-in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia.

In 1986, the first Treaty Day was celebrated by Nova Scotians on October 1, 1986 in recognition of the treaties signed between the British Empire and the Miꞌkmaw people.

The treaties were only formally recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada once they were enshrined in Section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982. The first Treaty Day occurred the year after the Supreme Court upheld the Peace Treaty of 1752 signed by Jean-Baptiste Cope and Governor Peregrine Hopson.

Bromley's attitudes towards the Indians were singularly enlightened for his day. ... Bromley totally dismissed the idea that native people were naturally inferior and set out to encourage their material improvement through settlement and agriculture, their talents through education, and their pride through his own study of their languages.

Silas Tertius Rand in 1849 help found the Micmac Missionary Society, a full-time Miꞌkmaw mission. Basing his work in Hantsport, Nova Scotia, where he lived from 1853 until his death in 1889, he travelled widely among Miꞌkmaw communities, spreading the Christian faith, learning the language, and recording examples of the Miꞌkmaw oral tradition. Rand produced scriptural translations in Miꞌkmaq and Maliseet, compiled a Miꞌkmaq dictionary and collected numerous legends, and through his published work, was the first to introduce the stories of Glooscap to the wider world. The mission was dissolved in 1870. After a long period of disagreement with the Baptist church, he eventually returned to the church in 1885.

Miꞌkmaq making hockey sticks from hornbeam trees (Ostrya virginiana) in Nova Scotia c. 1890.

The Miꞌkmaq practice of playing ice hockey appeared in recorded colonial histories from as early as the 18th century. Since the nineteenth century, the Miꞌkmaq were credited with inventing the ice hockey stick. The oldest known hockey stick was made between 1852 and 1856. Recently, it was sold for US$2.2 million. The stick was carved by Miꞌkmaq from Nova Scotia, who made it from hornbeam, also known as ironwood.

In 1863, the Starr Manufacturing Company in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, began to sell the Mic-Mac hockey sticks nationally and internationally. Hockey became a popular sport in Canada in the 1890s. Throughout the first decade of the 20th century, the Mic-Mac hockey stick was the best-selling hockey stick in Canada. By 1903, apart from farming, the principal occupation of the Miꞌkmaq on reserves throughout Nova Scotia, and particularly on the Shubenacadie, Indian Brook, and Millbrook Reserves, was producing the Mic-Mac hockey stick. The department of Indian Affairs for Nova Scotia noted in 1927 that the Miꞌkmaq remained the "experts" at making hockey sticks. The Miꞌkmaq continued to make hockey sticks until the 1930s, when the product was industrialized.

In 1914, over 150 Miꞌkmaw men signed up during World War I. During the First World War, thirty-four out of sixty-four male Miꞌkmaq from Lennox Island First Nation, Prince Edward Island enlisted in the armed forces, distinguishing themselves particularly in the Battle of Amiens. In 1939, over 250 Miꞌkmaq volunteered in World War II. (In 1950, over 60 Miꞌkmaq enlisted to serve in the Korean War.)

Miꞌkmaq of Newfoundland

When Newfoundland joined Canada in confederation in 1949, political leader (later Premier) Joey Smallwood declared that there were "no Indians in Newfoundland." This ultimately led to the Miꞌkmaq people of Newfoundland not receiving indian status or recognition as First Nations that other indigenous groups in Canada did in the years following.

The federal government approved only the petition for recognition made by the Mi'kmaq at Conne River. In 1987, the Miawpukek Mi'kmaq First Nation was recognized under the Indian Act, and their community of Conne River was classified as reserved land for the Mi'kmaq.

In 2011, the Government of Canada announced recognition by an order-in-council to a group in Newfoundland and Labrador called the Qalipu First Nation. The new band, which is landless, had accepted 25,000 applications to become part of the band by October 2012. In total over 100,000 applications were sent in to join the Qalipu, equivalent of one-fifth of the province's population. In response, parliament passed Bill C-25, authorizing it to review all applications and retroactively reject some, based on criteria similar to those used in the R v Powley case that defined rights for the Métis people. Several Miꞌkmaw institutions, including the Grand Council, had argued that the Qalipu Miꞌkmaq Band did not have legitimate aboriginal heritage and was accepting too many members.

In 2017, only 18,044 people were eligible for Band membership. In 2018, the Qalipu First Nation announced that the updated Founding Members List for the Band had been adopted by way of an Order in Council which came into effect on June 25, 2018. The 2018 Band list included 18,575 members. In November 2019, after concerns about legitimacy had been addressed, the Qalipu First Nation was accepted by the Miꞌkmaq Grand Council as being part of the Miꞌkmaq Nation. Qalipu Chief Mitchell stated, "Our inclusion into the AFN, APC and acknowledgement by the Miꞌkmaq Grand Council are important to us; it is part of our reconciliation as Miꞌkmaq people. Friendships are being formed, and relationships are being established. It is a good time for the Qalipu First Nation." By 2021, nearly 24,000 people were recognized as founding members, in 67 Newfoundland communities and abroad.

A dancer in the Miꞌkmaq celebration

Some Miꞌkmaw people practice the Catholic faith while some only practice traditional Miꞌkmaw beliefs. However, many have adopted both because of the compatibility between both systems.

The Miꞌkmaw people had very little in the way of physical recording and storytelling; petroglyphs, while used, are believed to have been rare. In addition, it is not believed that pre-contact Miꞌkmaq had any form of written language. As such, almost all of Miꞌkmaw traditions were passed down orally, primarily via storytelling. There were traditionally three levels of oral traditions: religious myths, legends, and folklore. This includes Miꞌkmaw creation stories and myths which account for the organization of the world and society; for instance, how men and women were created and why they are different from one another. The most well known Miꞌkmaw myth is that of Glooscap. Good storytellers are highly prized by the Miꞌkmaq, as they provide important teachings that shape who a person grows to be, and are sources of great entertainment.

One myth explains that the Miꞌkmaq once believed that evil and wickedness among men is what causes them to kill each other. This causes great sorrow to the creator-sun-god, who weeps tears that become rains sufficient to trigger a deluge. The people attempt to survive the flood by traveling in bark canoes, but only a single old man and woman survive to populate the earth.

Abies balsamea (balsam fir) is traditionally used for a variety of purposes by the Miꞌkmaq. They use the buds, cones and inner bark for diarrhea; the gum for burns, colds, fractures, sores and wounds; the cones for colic; the buds as a laxative; and the bark for gonorrhea. They use the boughs to make beds, the bark to make a beverage, and the wood for kindling and fuel.

Miꞌkmaw names in the following table are spelled according to several orthographies. The Miꞌkmaw orthographies in use are Miꞌkmaw hieroglyphic writing, the orthography of Silas Tertius Rand, the Pacifique orthography, and the most recent Smith-Francis orthography. The latter has been adopted throughout Nova Scotia and in most Miꞌkmaw communities.

The pre-contact population is estimated at 3,000-30,000. In 1616, Father Biard believed the Miꞌkmaw population to be in excess of 3,000, but he remarked that, because of European diseases, there had been large population losses during the 16th century. Smallpox and other endemic European infectious diseases, to which the Miꞌkmaq had no immunity, wars and alcoholism led to a further decline of the native population. It reached its lowest point in the middle of the 17th century. Then the numbers grew slightly again, before becoming apparently stable during the 19th century. During the 20th century, the population was on the rise again. The average growth from 1965 to 1970 was about 2.5%.

The Miꞌkmaw people have been commemorated in numerous ways, including HMCS Micmac (R10), and place names such as Lake Micmac, and the Mic Mac Mall.

Anna Mae Aquash, activist (1946-1976)

J. Kevin Barlow, health campaigner

Nora Bernard, Canadian Indian residential school system activist

Donald Marshall, Jr., wrongly convicted of murder; later, fought for Mi'kmaw fishing rights

Daniel N. Paul, Elder, author, tribal historian, columnist, and human rights activist

Gabriel Sylliboy, Grand Chief of the Miꞌkmaq Nation, 1918 to 1964

Maps showing the approximate locations of areas occupied by members of the Wabanaki Confederacy (from north to south):

1. ^ Lockerby, Earle (2004). "Ancient Miꞌkmaq Customs: A Shaman's Revelations" (PDF). The Canadian Journal of Native Studies. 24 (2): 403-423. see page 418, note 2

2. ^ Julien, Donald M. (October 2007). Kekina'muek (learning)Learning about the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia (PDF). Eastern Woodland Print Communication. p. 11.

3. ^ Julien, Donald M. (October 2007). Kekina'muek (learning)Learning about the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia (PDF). Eastern Woodland Print Communication. p. 11.

4. Paul, Daniel N. (2000). We Were Not the Savages: A Miꞌkmaq Perspective on the Collision Between European and Native American Civilizations (2nd ed.). Fernwood. ISBN 978-1-55266-039-3.

5. Wappel, Tom (November 2003). Report Of The Standing Committee On Fisheries And Oceans, May 2003, Atlantic Fisheries Issues (Report). Ottawa, Ontario: Report Of The Standing Committee On Fisheries And Oceans, House Of Commons.

6. The allied tribes occupied the territory which the French named ^ Acadia. The tribes ranged from present-day northern and eastern New England in the United States to the Maritime Provinces of Canada. At the time of contact with the French (late 16th century), they were expanding from their maritime base westward along the Gaspé Peninsula /St. Lawrence River at the expense of Iroquoian-speaking tribes. The Miꞌkmaq name for this peninsula was Kespek (meaning "last-acquired").

7. ^ Patterson, Stephen (2009). "Eighteenth-Century Treaties:The Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy Experience" (PDF). Native Studies Review. 18 (1).

8. ^ Wicken, William C. (2002). Miꞌkmaq Treaties on Trial: History, Land and Donald Marshall Junior. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0-8020-7665-6.

9. ^ Patterson, Stephen (2009). "Eighteenth-Century Treaties:The Miꞌkmaq, Maliseet, and Passamaquoddy Experience" (PDF). Native Studies Review. 18 (1).

10. Among the annual festivals of the old times, now lost, was the celebration of St. Aspinquid's Day; he was known as the Indian Saint. ^ St. Aspinquid appeared in the Nova Scotia almanacks from 1774 to 1786. The festival was celebrated on or immediately after the last quarter of the moon in the month of May, when the tide was low. The townspeople assembled on the shore of the North West Arm and shared a dish of clam soup, the clams being collected on the spot at low water. There is a tradition that in 1786, soon after the American Revolutionary War, when there were threats of American invasion of Canada, agents of the US were trying to recruit supporters in Halifax. As people were celebrating St. Aspinquid with wine, they suddenly hauled down the Union Jack and replaced it with the Stars and Stripes [US flag]. This was soon reversed, but public officials quickly left, and St. Aspinquid was never after celebrated at Halifax. (See Akins. History of Halifax, p. 218, note 94)

11. Cutherbertson, Brian (2005). "The Starr Manufacturing Company: Skate Exporter to the World". Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society. 8.

12. ^ Battiste, Jaimie. "Nova Scotia Chiefs Raise Concerns over Qalipu Miꞌkmaq Band" (PDF). mikmaqrights.com. Miꞌkmaq Rights Initiative. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2019.

13. ^ "Statement to United Nations Special Rapporteur Anaya" (PDF). Grand Council of Micmacs. 4 October 2013.

14. ^ Battiste, Jaime. "Defining Aboriginal Identity: What the Courts Have Stated" (PDF). Mikmaqrights.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 January 2019.

15. ^ Canada's First Nations - Native Creation Myths Archived 2014-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, University of Calgary

Davis, Stephen A. (1998). Míkmaq: Peoples of the Maritimes. Nimbus Publishing.

Joe, Rita; Choyce, Lesley (2005). The Míkmaq Anthology. Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 1-895900-04-2.

Johnston, A.J.B.; Francis, Jesse (2013). Niꞌn na L'nu: The Miꞌkmaq of Prince Edward Island. Charlottetown: Acorn Press. ISBN 978-1-894838-93-1.

Magocsi, Paul Robert, ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Prins, Harald E. L. (1996). The Míkmaq: Resistance, Accommodation, and Cultural Survival. Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology. Wadsworth.

Speck, Frank (1922). Beothuk and Micmac.

Whitehead, Ruth Holmes (2004). The Old Man Told Us: Excerpts from Míkmaq History 1500-1950. Nimbus Publishing. ISBN 0-921054-83-1.

In chronological order

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The Mi'kmaq (also Mi'gmaq, Lnu, Miꞌkmaw or Miꞌgmaw; MIG-mah ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland, and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as Native Americans in the northeastern region of Maine.

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Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the COlonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia during the 18th and early 19th centuries

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Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the 18th and early 19th centuries. As of the 2021 Census of Canada, 28,220 Black people live in Nova Scotia, most in Halifax. Since the 1950s, numerous Black Nova Scotians have migrated to Toronto for its larger range of opportunities. Before the immigration reforms of 1967, Black Nova Scotians formed 37% of the total Black Canadian population.

The first recorded free African person in Nova Scotia, Mathieu da Costa, a Mikmaq interpreter, was recorded among the founders of Port Royal in 1604. West Africans escaped slavery by coming to Nova Scotia in early British and French Colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Many came as enslaved people, primarily from the French West Indies to Nova Scotia during the founding of Louisbourg. The second major migration of people to Nova Scotia happened following the American Revolution, when the British evacuated thousands of slaves who had fled to their lines during the war. They were given freedom by the Crown if they joined British lines, and some 3,000 African Americans were resettled in Nova Scotia after the war, where they were known as Black Loyalists. There was also the forced migration of the Jamaican Maroons in 1796, although the British supported the desire of a third of the Loyalists and nearly all of the Maroons to establish Freetown in Sierra Leone four years later, where they formed the Sierra Leone Creole ethnic identity.

In this period, British missionaries began to develop educational opportunities for Black Nova Scotians through the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts ( Bray Schools). The decline of slavery in Nova Scotia happened in large part by local judicial decisions in keeping with those by the British courts of the late 18th century.

The next major migration of Blacks happened during the War of 1812, again with African Americans escaping slavery in the United States. Many came after having gained passage and freedom on British ships. The British issued a proclamation in the South promising freedom and land to those who wanted to join them. Creation of institutions such as the Royal Acadian School and the African Baptist Church in Halifax, founded in 1832, opened opportunities for Black Canadians. During the years before the American Civil War, an estimated ten to thirty thousand African Americans migrated to Canada, mostly as individual or small family groups; many settled in Ontario. A number of Black Nova Scotians also have some Indigenous heritage, due to historical intermarriage between Black and First Nations communities.

In the 20th century, Black Nova Scotians organized for civil rights, establishing such groups as the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, the Black United Front, and the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia. In the 21st century, the government and grassroots groups have initiated actions in Nova Scotia to address past harm done to Black Nova Scotians, such as the Africville Apology, the Viola Desmond Pardon, the restorative justice initiative for the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, and most recently the official apology to the No. 2 Construction Battalion.

According to the 2021 Census, 59.1% of African Nova Scotians are Christian, especially Baptist, and 38.1 % are irreligious. 86.4% of African Nova Scotians are born to Canadian-born parents and 12% of them are born to at-least one immigrant parent.

Map of Halifax Census Tracts by percent of population who identify as African Nova Scotian in 2021.

Black Nova Scotians were initially established in rural settings, which usually functioned independently until the 1960s. Black Nova Scotians in urban areas today still trace their roots to these rural settlements. Some of the settlements include: Gibson Woods, Greenville, Weymouth Falls, Birchtown, East Preston, Cherry Brook, Lincolnville, Upper Big Tracadie, Five Mile Plains, North Preston, Tracadie, Shelburne, Lucasville, Beechville, and Hammonds Plains among others. Some have roots in other Black settlements located in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island including Elm Hill, New Brunswick, Willow Grove (Saint John, NB) and The Bog (Charlottetown, PEI).

Prominent Black neighbourhoods exist in most towns and cities in Nova Scotia including Halifax, Truro, New Glasgow, Sydney, Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth. Black neighbourhoods in Halifax include Uniacke Square and Mulgrave Park. The ethnically diverse Whitney Pier neighborhood of Sydney has a significant Black population, first drawn there by the opening of the Dominion Iron and Steel Company steel mill in the early 20th century.

Over 100,000

Over 10,000

Over 5,000

Over 1,000

Black Nova Scotians by share of overall Black Canadian population:

The first recorded Black person in Canada was Mathieu da Costa. He arrived in Nova Scotia sometime between 1605 and 1608 as a translator for the French explorer Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts. The first known Black person to live in Canada was an enslaved person from Madagascar named Olivier Le Jeune (who may have been of partial Malay ancestry).

Advertisement for Slaves, Halifax Gazette, 30 May 1752 p. 2[25]

Of the 10,000 French living at Louisbourg (1713-1760) and on the rest of Ile Royale, 216 were African-descended slaves. According to historian Kenneth Donovan, slaves on Ile Royal worked as "servants, gardeners, bakers, tavern keepers, stone masons, musicians, laundry workers, soldiers, sailors, fishermen, hospital workers, ferry men, executioners and nursemaids." More than 90 per cent of the enslaved people were Blacks from the French West Indies, which included Saint-Domingue, the chief sugar colony, and Guadeloupe.

Among the founders recorded for Halifax, were 17 free Black people. By 1767, there were 54 Blacks living in Halifax. When Halifax, Nova Scotia, was established (1749), some British people brought slaves to the city. For example, shipowner and trader Joshua Mauger sold enslaved people at auction there. A few newspaper advertisements were published for runaway slaves.

The first Black community in Halifax was on Albemarle Street, which later became the site of the first school for Black students in Nova Scotia (1786). The school for Black students was the only charitable school in Halifax for the next 26 years. Whites were not allowed to attend.

Prior to 1799, 29 recorded Blacks were buried in the Old Burying Ground; 12 of them were listed with both first and last names, seven of the graves are from the New England Planter migration (1763-1775), and 22 graves are from immediately following the arrival of the Black Loyalists in 1776. Rev. John Breynton reported that in 1783, he baptized 40 Blacks and buried many because of disease.

According to a 1783 report, 73 Blacks arrived in Halifax from New York. Of the 4007 Blacks who came to Nova Scotia in 1783 as part of promised resettlement by the Crown, 69% (2775) were free, 35% (1423) were former British soldiers, and 31% (1232) were slaves of white Loyalists. While 41 former slaves were sent to Dartmouth, none were sent to Halifax. 550 Jamaican Maroons lived in Halifax for four years (1796-1800); they were resettled in Freetown (now Sierra Leone). A return in December 1816 indicates there were 155 Blacks who migrated to Halifax during the War of 1812.

The British had promised enslaved people of rebels freedom if they joined their forces (See Dunmore's Proclamation and Philipsburg Proclamation). Approximately three thousand Black Loyalists were evacuated by ship to Nova Scotia between April and November 1783, traveling on Navy vessels or British chartered private transports. This group was made up largely of tradespeople and labourers. Many of these African Americans had roots in the American states of Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia and Maryland. Some came from Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York as well. Many of these African-American settlers were recorded in the Book of Negroes.

In 1785 in Halifax, educational opportunities began to develop with the establishment of Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts ( Bray Schools). In Halifax, for example, the first teacher was a "capable and serious Negroe woman". Initially, the school was in the Orphan House and had 36 Black children, six of whom were enslaved. She was followed by Reverend William Furmage (d. 1793), Huntingdonian Missionary who was buried in the Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia). After a year he was followed by Isaac Limerick. Limerick moved the school and went into debt to maintain it. The next teacher was a white woman, Mrs. Deborah Clarke (1793-1809), followed by Mary Fitzgerald. The school was dissolved in 1814 (when the Royal Acadian School was established for Blacks and whites).[page needed ] The next teacher was Daniel Gallagher, who held the position of schoolmaster for a long period. The school was in the Black community on Albemarle Street, where it served the people for decades under the son of Rev. Charles Inglis.

Black Pioneers

Many of the black Loyalists performed military service in the British Army, particularly as part of the only black regiment of the war, the Black Pioneers, while others served non-military roles. The soldiers of the Black Pioneers settled in Digby and were given small compensation in comparison to the white Loyalist soldiers. Many of the blacks settled under the leadership of Stephen Blucke, a prominent black leader of the Black Pioneers. Historian Barry Moody has referred to Blucke as "the true founder of the Afro-Nova Scotian community."

Blucke led the founding of Birchtown, Nova Scotia, in 1783. The community was the largest settlement of Black Loyalists and was the largest free settlement of Africans in North America in the 18th century. One of these Loyalists was a woman named Mary Postell, whose status as a free woman was contested. This eventually led to a court trial. The community was named after British Brigadier General Samuel Birch, an official who assisted in the evacuation of Black Loyalists from New York. (Also named after the general was a much smaller settlement of Black Loyalists in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia, called Birchtown.) The two other significant Black Loyalist communities established in Nova Scotia were Brindley town (present-day Jordantown) and Tracadie. Birchtown was located near the larger town of Shelburne, with a majority white population. Racial tensions in Shelburne erupted into the 1784 Shelburne riots, when white Loyalist residents drove Black residents out of Shelburne and into Birchtown. In the years after the riot, Shelbourne county lost population due to economic factors, and at least half of the families in Birchtown abandoned the settlement and emigrated to Sierra Leone in 1792. To accommodate these British subjects, the British government approved 16,000 pounds for the emigration, three times the total annual budget for Nova Scotia. They were led to Sierra Leone by John Clarkson and became known as the Nova Scotian Settlers.

Joe Izard, descendant of former enslaved man named Andrew Izard, Guysborough, c. 1900

The other significant Black Loyalist settlement is Tracadie. Led by Thomas Brownspriggs, Black Nova Scotians who had settled at Chedabucto Bay behind the present-day village of Guysborough migrated to Tracadie (1787). None of the blacks in eastern Nova Scotia migrated to Sierra Leone.

One of the Black Loyalists was Andrew Izard (c. 1755 - ?). He was formerly enslaved by Ralph Izard in St. George, South Carolina. He worked on a rice plantation and grew up on Combahee. When he was young he was valued at 100 pounds. In 1778 Izard made his escape. During the American Revolution he worked for the British army in the wagonmaster-general's department. He was on one of the final ships to leave New York in 1783. He traveled on the Nisbett in November, which sailed to Port Mouton. The village burned to the ground in the spring of 1784 and he was transported to Guysborough. There he raised a family and still has descendants that live in the community.

Education in the Black community was initially advocated by Charles Inglis who sponsored the Protestant Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Some of the schoolmasters were: Thomas Brownspriggs (c.1788-1790) and Dempsey Jordan (1818-?). There were 23 Black families at Tracadie in 1808; by 1827 this number had increased to 30 or more.

Abolition of slavery, 1787-1812

While most Blacks who arrived in Nova Scotia during the American Revolution were free, others were not. Enslaved Black peoples also arrived in Nova Scotia as the property of White American Loyalists. In 1772, prior to the American Revolution, Britain outlawed the slave trade in the British Isles followed by the Knight v. Wedderburn decision in Scotland in 1778. This decision, in turn, influenced the colony of Nova Scotia. In 1788, abolitionist James Drummond MacGregor from Pictou published the first anti-slavery literature in Canada and began purchasing slaves' freedom and chastising his colleagues in the Presbyterian church who enslaved people. Historian Alan Wilson describes the document as "a landmark on the road to personal freedom in province and country." Historian Robin Winks writes "[it is] the sharpest attack to come from a Canadian pen even into the 1840s; he had also brought about a public debate which soon reached the courts." In 1790 John Burbidge freed the people he had enslaved.

Led by Richard John Uniacke, in 1787, 1789 and again on January 11, 1808, the Nova Scotian legislature refused to legalize slavery. Two chief justices, Thomas Andrew Lumisden Strange (1790-1796) and Sampson Salter Blowers (1797-1832) waged "judicial war" in their efforts to free enslaved people from their owners in Nova Scotia. They were held in high regard in the colony. Justice Alexander Croke (1801-1815) also impounded American slave ships during this time period (the most famous being the Liverpool Packet). The last slave sale in Nova Scotia occurred in 1804. During the war, Nova Scotian Sir William Winniett served as a crew on board HMS Tonnant in the effort to free enslaved people from America. (As the Governor of the Gold Coast, Winniett would later also work to end the slave trade in Western Africa.) By the end of the War of 1812 and the arrival of the Black Refugees, there were few people left enslaved in Nova Scotia. (The Slave Trade Act outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire in 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 outlawed slavery all together.)

According to one historian, on June 26, 1796, 543 men, women and children, Jamaican Maroons, were deported on board the ships Dover, Mary and Anne, from Jamaica after being defeated in an uprising against the British colonial government. However, many historians disagree on the number who were transported from Jamaica to Nova Scotia, with one saying that 568 Maroons of Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) made the trip in 1796. It seems that just under 600 left Jamaica, with 17 dying on the ship, and 19 in their first winter in Nova Scotia. A Canadian surgeon counted 571 Maroons in Nova Scotia in 1797. Their initial destination was Lower Canada but on July 21 and 23, the ships arrived in Nova Scotia. At this time Halifax was experiencing a major construction boom initiated by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn's efforts to modernize the city's defenses. The many building projects had created a labour shortage. Edward was impressed by the Maroons and immediately put them to work at the Citadel in Halifax, Government House, and other defense works throughout the city.

The British Lieutenant Governor Sir John Wentworth, from the monies provided by the Jamaican Government, procured an annual stipend of £240 for the support of a school and religious education. The Maroons complained about the bitterly cold winters, their segregated conditions, unfamiliar farming methods, and less than adequate accommodation. The Maroon leader, Montague James, petitioned the British government for the right to passage to Sierra Leone, and they were eventually granted that opportunity in the face of opposition from Wentworth. On August 6, 1800, the Maroons departed Halifax, arriving on October 1 at Freetown, Sierra Leone. In their new home, the Maroons established a new community at Maroon Town, Sierra Leone.

In 1808, George Prévost authorized a Black regiment to be formed in the colony under captain Silas Hardy and Col. Christopher Benson.

Gabriel Hall, in the only known image of a black refugee from the War of 1812.[95]

The next major migration of Blacks into Nova Scotia occurred between 1813 and 1815. Black Refugees from the United States settled in many parts of Nova Scotia including Hammonds Plains, Beechville, Lucasville and Africville.

Canada was not suited to the large-scale plantation agriculture practiced in the southern United States, and slavery became increasingly rare. In 1793, in one of the first acts of the new Upper Canadian colonial parliament, slavery was abolished. It was all but abolished throughout the other British North American colonies by 1800, and was illegal throughout the British Empire after 1834. This made Canada an attractive destination for those fleeing slavery in the United States, such as American minister Boston King.

In 1814, Walter Bromley opened the Royal Acadian School which included many Black students - children and adults - whom he taught on the weekends because they were employed during the week. Some of the Black students entered into business in Halifax while others were hired as servants.

John Burton - founder of one of the first integrated black and white congregations in Nova Scotia (c. 1811)

Following Black Loyalist preacher David George, Baptist minister John Burton was one of the first ministers to integrate Black and white Nova Scotians into the same congregation. In 1811 Burton's church had 33 members, the majority of whom were free Blacks from Halifax and the neighbouring settlements of Preston and Hammonds Plains. According to historian Stephen Davidson, the Blacks were "shunned, or merely tolerated, by the rest of Christian Halifax, the Blacks were first warmly received in the Baptist Church." Burton became known as "an apostle to the coloured people" and would often be sent out by the Baptist association on missionary visits to the black communities surrounding Halifax. He was the mentor of Richard Preston.

Richard Preston - founder of the first black church in Nova Scotia (1832)

New Horizons Baptist Church (formerly known as Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, the African Chapel, and the African Baptist Church) is a baptist church in Halifax, Nova Scotia that was established by Black Refugees in 1832. When the chapel was completed, Black citizens of Halifax were reported to be proud of this accomplishment because it was evidence that former enslaved people could establish their own institutions in Nova Scotia. Under the direction of Richard Preston, the church laid the foundation for social action to address the plight of Black Nova Scotians.

Preston and others went on to establish a network of socially active Black baptist churches throughout Nova Scotia, with the Halifax church being referred to as the "Mother Church." Five of these churches were established in Halifax: Preston (1842), Beechville (1844), Hammonds Plains (1845), and another in Africville (1849) and Dartmouth. From meetings held at the church, they also established the African Friendly Society, the African Abolition Society, and the African United Baptist Association.

The church remained the centre of social activism throughout the 20th Century. Reverends at the church included William A. White (1919-1936) and William Pearly Oliver (1937-1962).

Memorial to the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, Boston

Numerous Black Nova Scotians fought in the American Civil War in the effort to end slavery. Perhaps the most well known Nova Scotians to fight in the war effort are Joseph B. Noil and Benjamin Jackson. Three Black Nova Scotians served in the famous 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry: Hammel Gilyer, Samuel Hazzard, and Thomas Page.

Coloured Hockey League, 1910

In 1894, an all-Black ice hockey league, known as the Coloured Hockey League, was founded in Nova Scotia. Black players from Canada's Maritime provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island) participated in competition. The league began to play 23 years before the National Hockey League was founded, and as such, it has been credited with some innovations which exist in the NHL today. Most notably, it is claimed that the first player to use the slapshot was Eddie Martin of the Halifax Eurekas, more than 100 years ago. The league remained in operation until 1930.

Reverend William A. White - first black officer in the British Empire

The No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), was the only predominantly Black battalion in Canadian military history and also the only Canadian Battalion composed of Black soldiers to serve in World War I. The battalion was raised in Nova Scotia and 56% of battalion members (500 soldiers) came from the province. Reverend William A. White of the Battalion became the first Black officer in the British Empire.

An earlier black military unit in Nova Scotia was the Victoria Rifles.

Founded by Pearleen Oliver and led by minister William Pearly Oliver, the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People was formed in 1945 out of the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church. The organization was intent of improving the standard of living for Black Nova Scotians. The organization also attempted to improve Black-white relations in co-operation with private and governmental agencies. The organization was joined by 500 Black Nova Scotians. By 1956, the NSAACP had branches in Halifax, Cobequid Road, Digby, Weymouth Falls, Beechville, Inglewooe, Hammonds Plains and Yarmouth. Preston and Africville branches were added in 1962, the same year New Road, Cherry Brook, and Preston East requested branches. In 1947, the Association successfully took the case of Viola Desmond to the Supreme Court of Canada. It also pressured the Children's Hospital in Halifax to allow for Black women to become nurses; it advocated for inclusion and challenged racist curriculum in the Department of Education. The Association also developed an Adult Education program with the government department.

By 1970, over one-third of the 270 members were white.

Along with Oliver and the direct involvement of the premier of Nova Scotia Robert Stanfield, many Black activists were responsible for the establishment of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission (1967). Originally the mandate of the commission was primarily to address the plight of Black Nova Scotians. The first employee and administrative officer of the commission was Gordon Earle.

William Pearly Oliver (1934) - founder of the four leading organizations to support Black Nova Scotians in the 20th century

In keeping with the times, Reverend William Oliver began the Black United Front in 1969, which explicitly adopted a Black separatist agenda. The Black separatist movement of the United States had a significant influence on the mobilization of the Black community in 20th Century Nova Scotia. This Black separatist approach to address racism and black empowerment was introduced to Nova Scotia by Marcus Garvey in the 1920s. Garvey argued that Black people would never get a fair deal in white society, so they ought to form separate republics or return to Africa. White people are considered a homogenous group who are essentially racist and, in that sense, are considered unredeemable in efforts to address racism.

Despite objections from Martin Luther King Jr., this separatist politics was reinforced again in the 1960s by the Black Power Movement and especially its militant subgroup the Black Panther Party. Francis Beaufils (a.k.a. Ronald Hill) was a fugitive Black Panther facing charges in the U.S. who had found refuge in rural Nova Scotia. The separatist movement influenced the development of the Halifax-based Black United Front (BUF). Black United Front was a Black nationalist organization that included Burnley "Rocky" Jones and was loosely based on the 10 point program of the Black Panther Party. In 1968, Stokely Carmichael, who coined the phrase Black Power!, visited Nova Scotia helping organize the BUF.

Reverend William Oliver eventually left the BUF and became instrumental in establishing the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia, which opened in 1983. The organization houses a museum, library and archival area. Oliver designed the Black Cultural Centre to help all Nova Scotians become aware of how Black culture is woven into the heritage of the province. The centre also helps Nova Scotians trace their history of championing human rights and overcoming racism in the province. For his efforts in establishing the four leading organizations in the 20th century to support Black Nova Scotians and, ultimately, all Nova Scotians, William Oliver was awarded the Order of Canada in 1984.

Bangor, Maine's lumber industry attracted Black people from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for decades. They formed a sizeable community on the town's west end throughout the early 1900s. A small African Nova Scotian community had also developed in Sudbury in the late 1940s due to aggressive recruitment efforts in Black Nova Scotian settlements by Vale Inco.

By the 1960s, a Black Nova Scotian neighbourhood had developed in Toronto, around the Kensington Market- Alexandra Park area. First Baptist Church, the oldest Black institution in Toronto, became the spiritual centre of this community. In 1972, Alexandra Park is said to have had a Black Nova Scotian population of over 2,000 - making it more populous than any of the Black settlements in Nova Scotia at the time. Escaping rural communities with little education or skills, young Black Nova Scotians in Toronto faced high poverty and unemployment rates.

Dwayne Johnson, Arlene Duncan, Beverly Mascoll, Tommy Kane, and Wayne Simmonds are examples of prominent individuals who have at least one Black Nova Scotian parent that settled outside the province.

Several organizations have been created by Black Nova Scotians to serve the community. Some of these include the Black Educators Association of Nova Scotia, African Nova Scotian Music Association, Health Association of African Canadians and the Black Business Initiative. Individuals involved in these and other organizations worked together with various officials to orchestrate the government apologies and pardons for past incidents of racial discrimination.

Africville Church (est. 1849) - rebuilt as part of the Africville Apology

The Africville Apology was delivered on February 24, 2010, by Halifax, Nova Scotia, for the eviction and eventual destruction of Africville, a Black Nova Scotian community.

On April 14, 2010, the Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, Mayann Francis, on the advice of her premier, invoked the Royal Prerogative and granted Viola Desmond a posthumous free pardon, the first such to be granted in Canada. The free pardon, an extraordinary remedy granted under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy only in the rarest of circumstances and the first one granted posthumously, differs from a simple pardon in that it is based on innocence and recognizes that a conviction was in error. The government of Nova Scotia also apologised. This initiative happened through Desmond's younger sister Wanda Robson, and a professor of Cape Breton University, Graham Reynolds, working with the Government of Nova Scotia to ensure that Desmond's name was cleared and the government admitted its error.

In honour of Desmond, the provincial government has named the first Nova Scotia Heritage Day after her.

Children in an orphanage that opened in 1921, the Nova Scotia Home for Colored Children, suffered physical, psychological and sexual abuse by staff over a 50-year period. Ray Wagner is the lead counsel for the former residents who successfully made a case against the orphanage. In 2014, the Premier of Nova Scotia Stephen McNeil wrote a letter of apology and about 300 claimants are to receive monetary compensation for their damages.

Since the immigration reforms of the 1970s, a growing number of people of African descent have moved to Nova Scotia. Members of these groups are not considered a part of the distinct Black Nova Scotian community, although they are Black Canadian. The last group to be accepted as members of the Black Nova Scotian ethnic group are Bajans who came to Cape Breton in the early 1900s, referred to as the "later arrivals".

Top 5 immigrant ethnic origins for people of African descent in Nova Scotia:

1. ^ "New official African Nova Scotian flag looking to connect past, present and future | CBC News". February 15, 2021.

2. Statistics Canada. 2023. (table). Census Profile. 2021 Census of Population. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2021001. Ottawa. Released March 29, 2023.

3. ^ Racism's long history in quiet East Coast towns The Globe and Mail. Accessed on February 23, 2016.

4. ^ Thayer, James Steel (1991). A Dissenting View of Creole Culture in Sierra Leone. pp. 215-230. https://www.persee.fr/doc/cea_0008-0055_1991_num_31_121_2116

5. ^ Browne-Davies, Nigel (2014). A Precis of Sources relating to genealogical research on the Sierra Leone Krio people. Journal of Sierra Leone Studies, Vol. 3; Edition 1, 2014 https://www.academia.edu/40720522/A_Precis_of_Sources_relating_to_genealogical_research_on_the_Sierra_Leone_Krio_people

6. ^ Walker, James W (1992). "Chapter Five: Foundation of Sierra Leone". The Black Loyalists: The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone, 1783-1870. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 94-114. ISBN 978-0-8020-7402-7., originally published by Longman & Dalhousie University Press (1976).

7. Sheri Borden Colley, ^ "Black artists with N.S. roots want their Métis ancestry recognized". CBC News Nova Scotia, February 16, 2018.

8. Statistics Canada. Table 98-10-0341-01 Religion by ethnic or cultural origins: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts

9. Census Profile, 2016 Census Statistics Canada. Accessed on May 1, 2018.

10. ^ Canada, Library and Archives (8 March 2013). "1881 Census - Library and Archives Canada". Library and Archives Canada.

11. ^ Services, Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada, Integrated Services Branch, Government Information Services, Publishing and Depository (July 2002). "Ninth census of Canada, 1951 = Neuvième recensement du Canada : CS98-1951-PDF - Government of Canada Publications - Canada.ca". publications.gc.ca.

12. ^ The Black Loyalists: The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and ... By James W. St. G. Walker

13. "Jack C. Whytock. The Huntingdonian Missionaries to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, c. 1785-1792" (PDF).

14. Jack C. Whytock. Historical Papers 2003: Canadian Society of Church History. Edited by Bruce L. Guenther, p.154.

15. ^ "Birchtown" Archived 2012-10-08 at the Wayback Machine, Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management, p. 67

16. John N. Grant. "Black Immigrants into Nova Scotia, 1776-1815". The Journal of Negro History. Vol. 58, No. 3 (July 1973), pp. 253-270.

17. ^ "The Decline and Disappearance of Slavery, 1793-1812". Archived from the original on 2006-04-30.

18. Burton, John. Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

19. ^ Smith, Emma (26 February 2021). "New book brings to light legacy of civil rights crusader Pearleen Oliver". CBC.

20. Thomson, p. 81

21. Jon Tattrie. Sunday Chronicle-Herald, November 29, 2009 Archived August 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine

22. Paul MacDougall, ^ "Marcus Garvey and Nova Scotia: Birth of a Movement, Birth of a Religion, Birth of a Church" Archived 2021-09-20 at the Wayback Machine. Shunpiking Magazine. Black History & African Heritage Supplement. February/March 2000, Volume 5, Number 32. In 1937 Marcus Garvey visited Africville and gave a speech at the African Methodist Church, a speech Bob Marley referenced in the lyrics to "Redemption Song".

23. "Black Panther's story is also story of N.S. in '70s". 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018.

24. ^ Wharton-Zaretsky, Marcia (1 April 2000). "Foremothers of Black Women's Community Organizing in Toronto". Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice. 24 (2): 61-71. ISSN 1715-0698.

25. ^ Lee, Maureen Elgersman (2005). Black Bangor: African Americans in a Maine Community, 1880-1950. UPNE. ISBN 978-1-58465-499-5.

26. ^ Austin, Bobby William (May 1972). "The Social Status of Blacks in Toronto". McMaster University.

27. ^ Este, David; Sato, Christa; McKenna, Darcy (2017). "THE COLOURED WOMEN'S CLUB OF MONTREAL, 1902-1940: African-Canadian Women Confronting Anti-Black Racism". Canadian Social Work Review / Revue canadienne de service social (1): 81-99. doi:10.7202/1040996ar.

28. ^ Torczyner, Jim L. (2001). The evolution of the black community of Montreal : change and challenge October 2001. Montréal: MCESSP, McGill School of Social Work. ISBN 1-896456-45-6.

Martin, Shayla (Sep 12, 2022). "A Journey Through Black Nova Scotia. The 400-year history of African culture in this maritime Canadian province is expansive, but it's a story that's been tucked into the shadows of Canadian history. Now, grass-root initiatives are changing that". The New York Times.

Walker, James (1992). The Black Loyalists: The Search for a Promised Land in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone, 1783-1870. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0802074027.

Schama, Simon (2005). Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution. BBC Books. ISBN 0-06-053916-X.

Campbell, Mavis; Ross, George (1993). George Ross and the Maroons : from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone. Africa World Press. ISBN 978-0865433847.

History of the Maroons. 1803

William Renwick Riddell. Slavery in the Maritime Provinces. The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 5, No. 3 (July 1920), pp. 359-375

Catherine Cottreau-Robins, "Timothy Ruggles - A Loyalist Plantation in Nova Scotia, 1784-1800". Doctorate Thesis. Dalhousie University, 2012

Williams, Dawn P. (2006), Who's Who in Black Canada, Volume 2, D.P. Williams, ISBN 0-9731384-2-4

Allen Robertson, "Bondage and Freedom: Apprentices, Servants and Slaves in Colonial Nova Scotia"; Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society. Vol. #44 (1996); pp. 13.

Wilson Head. "Discrimination Against Blacks in Nova Scotia: The Criminal Justice System" (1989).

John Grant, "Black Immigration into Nova Scotia". Journal of Negro History, 1973

The African in Canada; The Maroons of Jamaica and Nova Scotia (1890)

Papers relative to the settling of the Maroons in His Majesty's province of Nova Scotia (1798)

A brief history of the coloured Baptists of Nova Scotia and their first organization as churches, A.D. 1832 (1895)

African Nova Scotian Family Names by Region

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Black Nova Scotians (also known as African Nova Scotians and Afro-Nova Scotians) are Black Canadians whose ancestors primarily date back to the Colonial United States as slaves or freemen, later arriving in Nova Scotia, Canada, during the 18th and early 19th centuries.

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A fascinating history that was omitted from our QC history books, for sure.

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History of the Name "Acadia"

Acadia has its origins in Giovanni da Verrazzano's, an Italian explorer serving the king of France, travels to North America. In 1524-1525, he explored the Atlantic coast and gave the name "Archadia", or "Arcadia" in Italian, to a region near the present-day American state of Delaware. In 1566, the cartographer Bolongnino Zaltieri gave a similar name, "Larcadia," to an area far to the northeast of present-day Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Portuguese explorer Estêvão Gomes' notes from 1524 also included Newfoundland as part of the area he called "Arcadie" ( see also Acadia).

Acadia's naming (Acadie) may also have had Indigenous roots. Perhaps from the Mi'kmaq word for camp, or "Algatig". Alternatively, from the Indigenous term "Quoddy" which refers to a fertile land.

French Presence (1534-1713)

The abundance of cod off the coast of Newfoundland was well-known long before Jacques Cartier's arrival ( see Norse voyages; Fisheries History). In 1534, during the first of three trips to Canada, Cartier made contact with Mi'kmaqs in Chaleur Bay.

The first French colonists did not arrive, however, until 1604 under the leadership of Pierre du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain. De Monts settled the 80-odd colonists at Île Sainte-Croix on the St Croix River. The winter of 1604-1605 was disastrous, scurvy killing at least 36 men.

The next year the colony looked for a new site and chose Port-Royal. When some French merchants challenged his commercial monopoly, de Monts took everyone back to France in 1607; French colonists did not return until 1610. At around this time, the French also formed alliances with the two main Aboriginal peoples of Acadia, the Mi'kmaqs and the Maliseet.

Other factors also stifled Acadia's development. In 1613, Samuel Argall, an adventurer from Virginia, seized Acadia and chased out most of its settlers. In 1621, the government renamed Acadia to Nova Scotia. In 1629, he also allowed the Scottish settlers of Sir William Alexander to move in. Alexander's project of Scottish expansion was cut short in 1632 by the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which allowed France to regain Acadia.

In 1631, France appointed Charles La Tour as lieutenant-general of Acadia. He built strongholds at Cape Sable and at the mouth of the Saint John River (Fort La Tour, later Saint John).

Renewed Presence and Settlement

Renewed settlement efforts took place under Governor Isaac de Razilly, who moved the capital from Port-Royal to La Hève (today LaHave) on the south shore of present-day Nova Scotia. He arrived in 1632 with "300 gentlemen of quality." A sailor by trade, Razilly was more interested in sea-borne trade than in agriculture and this influenced his decision where to establish settlements. French missionaries participated in the colonial venture as early as 1613. By the 1680s, a few wooden churches with resident priests were established.

Razilly died in 1635, leaving Charles de Menou D'Aulnay and La Tour to quarrel over his succession. D'Aulnay moved the capital back to Port-Royal, then proceeded to wage a civil war against La Tour, who was solidly established in the region. D'Aulnay was convinced that the colony's future lay in agricultural development which would provide a stable food supply and population. Before his death in 1650, D'Aulnay was responsible for the arrival of some 20 families. With the arrival of more families, agricultural production was stabilized while adequate food and clothing became available.

French-English enmity once again affected Acadia's fate, causing it to be conquered by the English in 1654. The region was, however, given back to France through the Treaty of Breda (1667). In 1690, the colony was taken by the New England adventurer Sir William Phips and once again returned to France again through the Treaty of Ryswick (1697).

Establishment of New Colonies

Starting in the 1670s, colonists left Port-Royal to found other settlements, the most important being Beaubassin ( Amherst, Nova Scotia) and Grand-Pré (now Grand Pre, Nova Scotia). The first official census, held in 1671, registered an Acadian population of more than 400 people, 200 of which lived in Port-Royal. In 1701 there were about 1,400; in 1711, some 2,500; in 1750, over 10,000; and in 1755, over 13,000 (Louisbourg excluded).

These highly self-reliant Acadians farmed and raised livestock on marsh lands. The Acadians drained the marshes using a technique of tide-adaptable barriers called aboiteaux, thus making agriculture possible. They hunted, fished, and trapped. They even had commercial ties with the English colonists in America, despite French authorities' objections. Acadians considered themselves "neutral" since Acadia had been transferred a few times between the French and the English. By not taking sides, they hoped to avoid military backlash.

Peninsular Acadia was not the only region with a French population along the Atlantic. In the 1660s, France established a fishing colony at Plaisance (now Placentia, Newfoundland). In both regions the French population appeared to enjoy a fairly high standard of living. Easy access to land and the absence of strict regulations allowed the Acadians to lead a relatively autonomous existence. A vital contribution to the survival of the Acadians was made by the Mi'kmaqs. At the end of the 17th century aboriginal peoples exerted considerable influence on the Acadians due to their knowledge of the woods and the land.

Under British Rule

Following the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1713), Acadia fell under British rule for the final time. Through the Treaty of Utrecht, Plaisance was ceded along with the territory which consisted of "Acadia according to its ancient boundaries." However, France and England failed to agree on a definition of those boundaries. For the French, the territory only included the present peninsular Nova Scotia. The English, however, claimed what is today New Brunswick, Gaspé, and Maine.

Difficult Neighbours (1713-1763)

Following the loss of "Ancient Acadia", France concentrated on developing Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island) and Île Royale ( Cape Breton Island). These two regions had been until then largely ignored. On Île Royale, Louisbourg was chosen as the new capital. Louisbourg had three roles: a new fishing post to replace Plaisance; a strong military presence; and a centre for trade. Île St-Jean was more looked upon as the agricultural extension of Île Royale.

The Treaty of Utrecht theoretically allowed for the Acadians to move to other French colonies. The Acadians, however, showed little desire in doing so. Those other colonies lacked the marshes that were so vital to Acadians' agricultural system. Moreover, the British authorities at Port-Royal (renamed Annapolis Royal) did not help with the Acadians' relocation. Instead, they interfered in the process. The British were worried about emptying the colony of its population while increasing the population of Île Royale. Acadian farmers were also needed to provide subsistence for the garrison.

Except for the garrison at Port-Royal, the British made virtually no further attempt at colonization until 1749. The colony was also once again renamed to Nova Scotia. From 1713 to 1744, the small English presence and a long peace allowed the Acadian population to grow at a rapid pace. To some historians, it is considered Acadia's "Golden Age."

Britain demanded that its conquered subjects swear an oath of unconditional loyalty. The Acadians, however, agreed only to an oath of neutrality. Unable to impose the unconditional oath, Governor Richard Philipps gave his verbal agreement to this semi-allegiance in 1729-1730.

In 1745, during the War of the Austrian Succession, Louisbourg fell to an English expeditionary force whose land army was largely composed of New England colonists. However, France regained the fortress through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), to the great displeasure of the New England colonies. It was in this context that Britain decided to make the Nova Scotian territory "truly" British.

Deportation

In 1749, the capital was moved from Annapolis Royal to Halifax. Intended to serve as both a military and a commercial counterweight to Louisbourg, Halifax was selected because it was a better seaport and was far from the Acadian population centres. Britain finally took steps to bring its own settlers into the colony. They came primarily from England and from German territories with British connections such as Hanover and Brunswick. From 1750 to 1760, an estimated 7,000 British colonists and 2,400 Germans arrived to settle in Nova Scotia. Moreover, in 1750, the British built Fort Lawrence to keep an eye on the French and their Mi'kmaq allies. The fort was also meant to protect potential English settlers and stop any possible land invasion from Canada.

The French authorities reacted by building Fort Beausejour in 1751 (near Sackville, New Brunswick) to prevent the British from crossing the Isthmus of Chignecto and attacking "new" Acadia. With Louisbourg and Canada in the north, Fort Beauséjour in the east, and an Acadian population viewed as a potential rebellious threat, the British authorities decided to settle the Acadian question once and for all. By refusing to pledge an unconditional oath of allegiance, the population would risk deportation. The British first captured Fort Beauséjour and then once again demanded an unconditional pledge of allegiance from the Acadians.

Caught between English threats and fears of French and Indigenous retaliation, Acadian representatives were summoned to appear before Governor Charles Lawrence. Taking the advice of Father Le Loutre, the representatives initially refused to make the pledge, but they ultimately decided to accept. Lawrence, dissatisfied with an oath pledged with reluctance, executed the plans for deportation in 1755.

The Socio-Political Context of the Deportation

The deportation occurred as a result of the contemporary geopolitical situation and was not an individual choice made by Lawrence. He knew that British troops under General Braddock had just been bitterly defeated by French forces in the Ohio Valley ( see Fort Duquesne). Fears of a combined attack by Louisbourg and Canada against Nova Scotia, theoretically joined by the Acadians and the Mi'kmaq, explains, to a certain degree, the order for deportation.

The deportation process, once instigated, lasted from 1755 to 1762. The Acadians were put into ships and deported to English colonies along the eastern seaboard as far south as Georgia. Some eventually found their way to Louisiana and helped found "Cajun" culture. ( See also French-speaking Louisiana and Canada). Others managed to flee to French territory or to hide in the woods. It is estimated that three-quarters of the Acadian population were deported; the rest avoided this fate by escaping. An unknown number of Acadians perished from hunger or disease. A few ships full of exiles sank on the high seas with their passengers onboard. ( See also Acadian Expulsion).

In 1756, the Seven Years' War broke out between France and England. The two French colonies, Île Royale and Île Saint-Jean, fell in 1758. Being French subjects, their settlers were expelled and repatriated to France. More than 3,000 settlers were deported from Île Saint-Jean alone, half of them losing their lives by drowning or through disease. The Treaty of Treaty of Paris (1763) definitively put an end to the French colonial presence in the Maritimes and in most of New France.

Anglicization (1763-1880)

After 1763, the Maritimes took on a decidedly British face when New England planters settled on lands previously inhabited by the Acadians. English names replaced French or Mi'kmaq ones almost everywhere. The British at first reorganized the territory into a single province, Nova Scotia. In 1769, however, they detached the former Île Saint-Jean, which became a separate province under the name of Saint John's Island. The island received its present name of Prince Edward Island in 1799. In 1784, present-day New Brunswick was in turn separated from Nova Scotia, following the arrival of American Loyalists who demanded their own colonial administration.

As for the Acadians, they began the long and painful process of resettling themselves in their homeland. Britain gave them permission once they finally agreed to take the contentious oath of allegiance. Some returned from exile, but the resettlement was largely the work of fugitives who had escaped deportation and of the prisoners of Beauséjour, Pigiguit, Port-Royal, and Halifax who were finally set free.

These remaining Acadians headed for Cape Breton, where some established themselves along the coast by the Île Madame and on the island itself. Others settled on the southwest tip of the Nova Scotia peninsula and along St Mary's Bay while others went to northwestern New Brunswick (Madawaska). A small number also established themselves in Prince Edward Island, but the majority of Acadians went to the eastern parts of New Brunswick.

Economic Decline

British authorities preferred to see the Acadians spread out over the region. This policy suited the Acadians since it allowed them to avoid regions with a British majority. This in turn allowed British settlers to occupy the lands previously owned by the Acadians.

Most Acadians, except for those on Prince Edward Island and in Madawaska, found themselves on less fertile land. As such, these former farmers became fishermen or lumber workers, cultivating their land only for subsistence. As fishermen, they were exploited and reduced to poverty, especially by companies from the Isle of Jersey.

In 1746, British forces defeated a Scottish Catholic uprising in the Battle of Culloden during the Jacobite rebellion. In the wake of the rebellion, the British Crown stripped the Acadians of their civil and political rights because they too were Catholics. Acadians were denied the right to vote and could not be members of the legislature. From 1758 to 1763, they could not legally own land. It is only later, in 1789, that Nova Scotian Acadians gained the right to vote. Those in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island had to wait until 1810. After 1830, Acadians could sit in the legislatures of all three colonies following the enactment of the Roman Catholic Relief Act.

Seeds of a New Acadia

In general, Acadians at the start of the 19th century had virtually no institutions of their own. The Catholic Church was the only francophone institution in the Maritimes, but its clergy mostly came from Quebec or France. There were few Francophone schools and teachers, for the most part, were simple "travelling masters" who spread their knowledge from village to village. There was no French newspaper. Nor were there any lawyers or doctors. In fact, there was no Acadian middle class.

However, whether they were conscious of it or not, these Acadians' continued survival sowed the seeds of a new Acadia. At the start of the 19th century, there were 4,000 Acadians in Nova Scotia, 700 in Prince Edward Island, and 3,800 in New Brunswick. Acadians' population growth during that century was remarkable: they were around 87,000 at the time of Confederation and 140,000 at the turn of the 20th century.

Collective Awareness and Identity

The Acadians began to express themselves as a people during the 1830s. They elected their first legislative representatives in the three Maritime provinces in the 1840s and 1850s. The poem Evangeline (1847) by American author Henry W. Longfellow went through several French translations and was widely influential.

In Acadia itself, a pastor born in Quebec, François-Xavier Lafrance, opened in 1854 the first French-language institution of higher learning, the Séminaire Saint-Joseph in New Brunswick. It closed in 1862 but was reopened two years later by Quebec priests from the congregation of the Holy Cross under the name of Collège Saint-Joseph (later amalgamated into the Université de Moncton).

In 1867, the first French-language paper in the Maritimes, Le Moniteur Acadien, was established in Shédiac, New Brunswick. This paper was followed by L'Évangéline (1887-1982) in Digby, Nova Scotia, and in 1893 by L'Impartial in Tignish, Prince Edward Island.

Religious orders came to Acadia where they played a vital role in education and health care. The Sisters of the order of Notre Dame of Montréal opened boarding schools in Prince Edward Island at Miscouche (1864) and Tignish (1868). Also in 1868, the Sisters of Saint Joseph took charge of the maritime quarantine station at Tracadie (now Tracadie-Sheila), New Brunswick. They also established themselves in Saint-Basile, where their boarding school would eventually become Maillet College.

Just prior to Confederation, Acadians made themselves heard in a remarkable way in Maritime politics. In New Brunswick, a majority of Acadians voted against Confederation on two different occasions. Though a large number of politicians accused them of being reactionary, Acadians were not the only group to oppose Confederation.

The Nationalist Age (1881-1950)

As of the 1860s, an Acadian middle-class had begun to take shape. Though Saint-Joseph College and Sainte-Anne College (1890) in Church Point, Nova Scotia, definitely contributed to the emergence of an intellectual elite, there were at least four elite categories in Acadia. The two most conspicuous were the clergy and the members of the liberal professions such as doctors and lawyers. Meanwhile, Acadian farmers and tradesmen, who did not profit from the same financial resources as their English-speaking counterparts, nonetheless succeeded in distinguishing themselves.

Starting in 1881, Acadian national conventions became forums where Acadians could establish a consensus about important projects. These included the promotion of agricultural development, French education, and the Acadianization of the Catholic clergy. Assemblies were held intermittently in different Acadian localities until 1930.

Acadians founded the Société Nationale de l'Acadie whose purpose was to promote Acadian culture. National symbols were chosen: a flag (the French tricolour with a yellow star in the blue stripe), a national holiday (the Feast of the Assumption, celebrated on 15 August), a slogan ("L'union fait la force"), and a national anthem (Ave Maris Stella). A major victory was gained through Monseigneur Edouard le Blanc's appointment in 1912 as Acadia's first bishop.

Moreover, between 1881 and 1925, at least three Acadian female religious orders were formed. These orders' convents greatly contributed to improving the education of Acadian women and enhancing the cultural life of the community. These orders also founded the first colleges for girls in Acadia, at Memramcook, New Brunswick (1913), Saint-Basile, New Brunswick (1949) and Shippagan, New Brunswick (1960).

Urbanization

Meanwhile, an important socioeconomic turning point was taking place. Namely with Acadians' catching up to the pattern of industrialization and urbanization across Canada. Though the migration of Acadians to the cities was less pronounced than in other parts of Canada, a large number of them nevertheless moved to major cities. Popular destinations included Moncton, Yarmouth, and Amherst as well as the cities of New England to work in factories and mills.

Certain members of the Acadian elite considered this to be a dangerous development towards assimilation into the Anglo-Saxon majority. Attempts were made between 1880 and 1940 to reduce the numbers of people leaving to exile. There were also efforts to divert Acadians away from the largely foreign company-owned fisheries industry and to help families fight the harsh realities of the Great Depression. The Co-Operative Movement in the 1930s finally allowed fishermen, after generations of exploitation, to regain control of their livelihood. ( See also Antigonish Movement).

Certain distinctive regional features also emerged. Because of their larger community size, the New Brunswick Acadians took the lead in speaking for Acadians as a whole.

Cultural Recognition

In the 1950s, Acadians started to make an impact at many levels on the economy, the politics, and the culture of the Maritime Provinces. By preserving their values and culture at home, they were able to develop a French education system (mainly in New Brunswick). The vigour and distinctiveness of their culture shielded them from the devastation of assimilation and helped them be recognized as a minority people within the Maritimes.

In terms of advantages, almost all Acadians have access to an education in French. St. Anne University in Nova Scotia and the Université de Moncton in New Brunswick provide francophones with the choice of two post-secondary educational institutions offering full programs in French. The Liberal government of Premier Louis J. Robichaud made New Brunswick officially bilingual in 1969 (which does not, however, guarantee municipal services in French).

All these victories are not a guarantee of survival. The 1960s saw a sovereignty movement in Quebec and an anti-bilingualism movement in the West take the stage at the national level. Ironically, as had happened in the 1750s, Acadians became caught in the middle. Nevertheless, they were able to make some gains to preserve their rights.

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Acadia's history as a French-speaking colony stretches as far back as the early 17th century. The French settlers who colonized the land and coexisted alongsi...

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One of our FAVORTE places in the Valley. (If you're lucky they will have their delicious goat's cheese curds in stock!) They have a beautiful maze this year inspired by Indigenous sacred teachings that opens just before the wedding.
9995 Nova Scotia Trunk 1, Wolfville, NS, Canada, Nova Scotia

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A very unique and beautiful experience!!

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Providing luxurious, adults only, accommodations for guests who wish to experience the wondrous outdoors and natural beauty that Nova Scotia offers, Valley Sky Glamping is the perfect place to celebrate a honeymoon, birthday, anniversary or any special occasion. We provide a relaxing, rejuvenating, peaceful quiet space to unwind while surrounded by nature. To preserve your experience we do not allow parties, visitors or excessive noise.

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Valley Sky Glamping Wolfville Nova Scotia

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A luxury adult only glamping experience, tucked away in the beautiful Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia. Sleep under the stars in luxury.

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Local in Kentville

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M & G Cab | Taxi Service New Minas | Home

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M & G Cab promises reliable, cost-effective transportation services throughout New Minas, Kings County, Kenvtille and Wolfville. Call us today at 920-691-2500.

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Kentville (902) 678-7300

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Port Williams (902) 670-6700

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AirBnB. TONS of places to stay in Kentville, some just steps away from the venue.

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AirBnB. TONS of places to stay in Kentville, some just steps away from the venue.

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In addition, New Minas, Canning, Wolfville are also close. Windsor to Aylesford are a little further out.

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Airbnb | Kentville - Vacation Rentals & Places to Stay - Nova Scotia

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Jan. 19, 2024 - Rent from people in Kentville, Canada from $27 CAD/night. Find unique places to stay with local hosts in 191 countries. Belong anywhere with Airbnb.

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There is a bus service between Kentville and Halifax.

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Days of Operation

Our regular schedule offers service everyday. Many of our stations are open six and seven days a week to drop off and pick up parcels, or buy tickets in person. You can visit Stations & Locations to find your nearest location.

Routes & Destinations

We currently service our stops in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. We are unable to cross the border to service passenger travel in Quebec and beyond at this time. Please select an origin and destination within one of the three Maritime provinces.

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Days of Operation Our regular schedule offers service everyday. Many of our stations are open six and seven days a week to drop off and pick up parcels, or buy tickets in person. You can visit Stations & Locations to find your nearest location.

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Freedom Miniatures 45 Webster Street, Kentville

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Freedom Miniatures 45 Webster Street, Kentville

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We were SUPER excited to see our local shop owner competing in CBC's Best in Miniature this past season! Additionally, Freedom Miniatures recreated the crime scenes for "Bernie Langille Wants to Know... Who Killed Bernie Langille?", an award winning short film.

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Freedom Miniatures, one of very few miniature stores in all of Canada, is located in Kentville, NS. Showcasing dollhouse accessories, furniture and products as well as supplies that will help you enjoy the hobby, the shop also features finished works by artist-in-residence, Shelley Acker.

In addition to being a must see shop for dollhouse enthusiasts, Freedom Miniatures also carries quality supplies such as Vallejo brand paints and pigments, basswood scale lumber, landscaping products and tools sought after who build model train layouts, dioramas and carry out model making of all sorts. Freedom Miniatures is a great place to explore creativity and enjoy some time in a small world all your own.

Come visit us in Kentville, NS!

Freedom Miniatures is located at 45 Webster Street, Kentville, NS, Canada, in the heart of the beautiful Annapolis Valley. At our store you will find miniature products and our passionate staff, ready to assist you on your Miniature Hobby needs!

Please refer to our Facebook page for the latest COVID-19 shop regulations and updated opening hours.

A question we are often asked is "what can I use to make floors?". There are a number of options, some pretty obvious, others maybe not so much. Here are a few ideas - from those you can purchase, to those you can make. Use your imagination and see what you can find!

Bernie Langille Want to Know...Who Killed Bernie Langille is a crime story that uses historically researched, intricate miniature sets to investigate the mysterious unsolved death of a military electrician in 1968.

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Freedom Miniatures offers items for dollhouse enthusiasts, & others who work in small scales. Accessories, building supplies, paints, weathering products, tools & more. We also offer regular workshops suitable for those new to the hobby as well as experienced miniaturists. We're in the business of helping people play.

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The home of Charles Macdonald, "Nova Scotia's Uncommon, Common Man", who devoted his life to manufacturing, promoting and using concrete. And he built a home entirely out of it!

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MAKE YOUR MARK

Memberships to our society are annual, and memberships fees help us with the restoration work, and the grounds of our unique historic properties. Yearly membership is just $10/year.

Every up-to-date membership comes with the opportunity to stay at the Blue Cottage at Huntington Point, NS (with an additional donation that goes towards maintenance of the building).​ If you'd like to get a membership or renew your current membership for 2023, please follow the instructions on the MEMBERSHIP button.

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Folk Art | Concrete House | Nova Scotia | Heritage property | Centreville

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Charles Macdonald Concrete Museum, Art Gallery, and historic site. Learn more about the unique life and work of Charles Macdonald.

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Apples, Asian pears, cantaloupes, (and maybe even some raspberries!) should be ready for picking in the Valley!

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What's in season in January 2024, and other timely information:

This page has a table below that tells when each fruit or vegetable is normally ready to be harvested Nova Scotia, Canada! We also have a page with links to our own simple instructions on canning, freezing and drying many fruits and vegetables, such as how to make jam, apple butter, applesauce, spaghetti sauce, salsa, pickles, ketchup or freezing corn.

This page has a table below that tells when each fruit or vegetable is normally ready to be harvested in Nova Scotia, Canada! We also have a page with links to our own simple instructions on canning, freezing and drying many fruits and vegetables, such as how to make jam, apple butter, applesauce, spaghetti sauce, salsa, pickles, ketchup or freezing corn.

dark green = available; light green = sometimes / some farms; White or gray = not usually available

The light green indicates light crops at the beginning or end of a season - dark green is when the bulk of the crop ripens and picking is best.

For more local information, see Horticulture Nova Scotia, and commodity group representing commercial vegetable, strawberry, raspberry, and other bramble growers!

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Nova Scotia, Canada crop harvest calendar - When fruit and vegetables are normally available and ready to pick in Nova Scotia, Canada

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Nova Scotia, Canada' for fruit, vegetables, pumpkins and other crops. The website also has canning & freezing instructions, related events and fun and listings for every other state and many countries!

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September 28th, 2024 @ 3PM Maritime Cider Express, 325 Main Street, Kentville

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September 28th, 2024 @ 3PM Maritime Cider Express, 325 Main Street, Kentville

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Everything in ONE place from ceremony through dinner and party to Midnight!

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Kentville a smoke free zone. JUST found this out September 26th.

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Kentville a smoke free zone. JUST found this out September 26th.

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September 29th Get Together (Lobster or Pizza or....?)

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September 29th Get Together (Lobster or Pizza or....?)

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Either lobster ($25/person pound&1/2 guaranteed), or pizza ($8/3 slices) or bring what you like (LOTS of local restaurants to chose from!) 3pm on at our house 267 Commercial Street, Berwick (if raining it will be at the Berwick Baptist Church next door). Please e-transfer funds by September 14 to carolynnroberts@hotmail.com

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While your "presence" is more important than "presents", if you feel you must, Megara and Ryan are looking to upgrade their bedroom and living room furniture and any gift certificates are appreciated.

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Shop for Quality Furniture in Canada or Online

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Saving You More at The Brick, with over 220 stores across Canada. Shop now for great deals on furniture, mattresses, appliances, TVs and electronics.

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Again... just excited by your "presence", but if you're looking for "presents'".. 😉

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Megara B & Ryan V | Amazon Wedding Registry

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We are very excited Steve Skafte will be our photographer for our event. If you can't see him on Facebook, just google him up! A local historian, author, etc. he has a nice vibe the bride and groom appreciate!

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Sequential Highway Exits (ie Exit 10 and Exit 15 are not 5kms apart!)

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Sequential Highway Exits (ie Exit 10 and Exit 15 are not 5kms apart!)

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Don't assume that there are 5kms between "Exit 10 and Exit 15" on our highways! (Makes a difference when you're anticipating timing to pee breaks!)

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William Matheson ( ) wrote,

William Matheson

Most of these images are screen captures from Google Maps in Street View. You can go amazingly far in Street View and it's easy to waste spend hours tracking down unique interchanges and remote border crossings.

Let's begin at the beginning. We're heading north from the beginning of the highway (off Bayers Road in Halifax). The first exit we come to is Exit 1D. Why D? For "Dunbrack Street", perhaps? This ramp also connects with Northwest Arm Drive, a four-lane express road that has a hidden designation of Trunk 32.

As you can see, the exit numbering system is off to a highly inauspicious start. We're not even going to see the delightful Exit 0, as it is only accessible to southbound traffic.

Next we come to the turnoff for Highway 103. Since this is another 100-Series road, it's a bit surprising that the exit has the -A designation. At least they were counterintuitively correct in leaving out the ' from "Peggys".

Given that this is where two freeways meet, there ought to be flyovers here instead of this trumpet configuration.

And now we reach "Exit 2" for Lacewood Drive and Chain Lake Drive.

And then Exit 2, serving Kearney Lake Road - wait, say again? Well, someone goofed - the Lacewood / Chain Lake exit was actually Exit 2A. Perhaps someone thought that 2 was supposed to come before 2A? Ha-ha, why would anybody ever get that idea?

They've since fixed the sign at Lacewood / Chain Lake to say "Exit 2A".

What comes after Exit 2A and Exit 2? Exit 2B, of course, accessing Larry Uteck Boulevard.

Now we come to Bedford. This ramp at the Hammonds Plains Road exit was a 1990s afterthought. Even with kilometre-based exit numbering, this interchange would need to be split up into letters. I would submit to you that that's the only acceptable occasion for doing do. I'd also strongly recommend going with N/S/E/W or N/NE/E... (if it's a really complex interchange!) designations instead of A/B/C... because that way you can use the same letters for the same directions on the same roads in either freeway-direction and it'll still make sense. (Since the southbound exit isn't split, it'd just have to be Exit nE&W under an improved system. There's another problem - what's currently Exit 3 southbound should be Exit 3 A&B.)

Exit 3B is my daily exit. Also the Hammonds Plains Road, but going west instead of east.

Here's what I would submit is the worst interchange in Nova Scotia (overhead view here). Two freeways meet here - Highway 101 and Highway 102. Someday they might even tie in the Highway 107 extension and the Bedford Bypass. Right now it's an overloaded cloverleaf with weaving problems a-plenty. Using the inner ramps is nightmarish. Even this outer ramp, Exit 4A to the Bedford Highway (Trunk 1, briefly) is problematic - it ends abruptly with a yield sign; there's no merging lane.

And here's Exit 4B, the ramp to Highway 101 and Trunk 1. But the sign's had a little bit too much to drink.

Here's the overpass for the Bedford Bypass, a provincial road internally designated Trunk 33. (A "33" shield has been showing up on Google Maps lately - I'm not sure how I feel about that, since it's probably going to confuse anybody that's not seriously into roads.) In what is nothing less than a monumental oversight, it provides no direct access to Highway 102. If you want to use it, you need to get off at Exit 4B and turn around on Sackville Drive. That's the only way that people from the west part of Bedford can avoid driving through downtown Bedford to get to Dartmouth. (Save driving all the way out to Fall River, but there's a jog there, too.)

However, I might be able to forgive the planners if the Highway 107 extension is ever completed and if direct access is provided. You know that little bridge on Duke Street just on the Bedford side of the ramps? That's there to allow a ramp from northbound 102 to eastbound 107.

4C, for Duke Street and Glendale Drive, straddling the line between Bedford and Lower Sackville. Has nothing to do with 4A and B except proximity. Now what will they call the ramp to 107?

Exit 5 in Fall River, accessing Trunk 2. Highways 102 and 118 merge up ahead in a flyover, but there's no direct access from northbound 102 to southbound 118 or northbound 118 to southbound 102. For those purposes, you have to get off here. Sometimes we still come all the way out here anyway, as the short jog is sometimes better than driving down Windmill Road in Burnside, especially if we plan to take Highway 107 to get somewhere out the eastern shore.

I don't seriously object to necessitating the little off-freeway jog here because if the 107 were extended, the need would pretty much be eliminated.

Here, way far away from Exit 5, we have 5A, for Aerotech Drive. Despite what Google Maps suggests, I don't think it's actually part of Highway 212. It may well be in Goffs, though.

It gets almost sensible for a while, starting from here. Exit 6 is for the airport (Bell Boulevard?). If I wanted to be fancy I'd say "Halifax Stanfield" and imply that we have more than one airport.

Exit 7, Trunk 2, Enfield

Exit 8, Highway 214 (Elmsdale Road), Elmsdale

Exit 9, Trunk 14 and Highway 224 (224 begins as an old alignment of Highway 102!), Milford Station

Exit 10, Highway 215. Long, long ago, this was actually Highway 15. If you dig around at the Nova Scotia Archives, you can find some old maps with the numbers that existed prior to the present 100-series / trunk / collector classification. (For my money, there's so little meaningful difference between trunks and collectors that I think the classification could stand to be re-visited.)

Exit 11, Main Street, Stewiacke

Here's a "reassurance" marker coming up on Exit 12. This makes me wonder "Why?" Why would anyone not believe that continuing on Highway 102 is the default? Worse, the indicator arrow is ambiguous - both the off-ramp and the continuing highway are roughly "straight"! The place for a marker like this is after the interchange, when you're not facing any choices. (And then take out the arrow.)

Exit 12, Highway 289 (Pleasant Valley Road), Brookfield

Coming into the Truro area, we have exit numbering shenanigans again... (Exit 13A, Tower Road, Millbrook First Nation)

... followed logically by Exit 13, accessing McClures Mills Road, Truro.

Exit 14, Highways 2 and 236 (Robie Street), Lower Truro

Exit 14A, Highways 2 and 4 (Onslow Road), Onslow - 2 is multiplexed with 102 between Exits 14 and 14A. Note that there are only ramps on the south side, probably because of the proximity of...

Exit 15W, for Highway 104 West. Or at least the sign. This is where you'll go if you're in the left lane. I note that there's nothing saying " Bridge to PEI", which is funny because...

Exit 15E, for Highway 104 East, indicates the ferry to PEI. But there are a few problems here. As or after the 104 was twinned through here, the interchange was slightly reconfigured so that this turnoff would be gentler. OK, alright so far. But that also means that you need to turn off sooner. And it's clear from this picture that they didn't move this dowdy old wooden sign - and as far as I know, they still haven't. They stuck a revised "ramp speed" indicator on it and that was it.

It gets worse. In the wintertime, where do you think the "Ferry Not Operating" sign goes? That's right - it goes on this sign, underneath the arrow. But by the time you're close enough to read it, it's almost too late to get into the left lane to head for New Brunswick and take the bridge.

I'm passionate about this subject, so I've gone on at length. If I can only leave you with one takeaway, let it be that sequential exit numbering (at least on roads more than a few kilometres in length) is a bad idea. A much better alternative is to number the exits according to the kilometre posts. British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, and New Brunswick are already doing this. The only significant holdouts are 1) Nova Scotia and 2) Newfoundland and Labrador (surprising, as their implementation of exit numbering occurred fairly recently).

Numbering according to kilometre posts has at least two big advantages:

1. Expandability - If you should ever build a new interchange, there's no need to worry about an appropriate number to assign. You also avoid most A-B-C-D messes and can save the letters for compass directions at the same interchange and certain other situations.

2. Understandability - If you just drove past Exit 14 and your destination is off Exit 28, you know that you have 14 kilometres to go until your exit is reached. Better yet, with the kilometre posts that we have, you can easily track the distance while you're between distant exits.

I admit at least one disadvantage: it's going to mess you up if you're accustomed to counting the junctions as you go by them (does anyone do this?), but even then that system is already broken by our haphazard implementation of sequential exit numbering.

Please Nova Scotia, let's do something, before we face a tragedy like an Exit 5½.

Finally, if Nova Scotia's Highway 102 isn't enough to convince you of the folly of sequence-based numbering, let's take a quick <ahem> gander at Newfoundland and Labrador Route 1:

Off the boat in Port aux Basques, you come to a sign that looks like an exit gore - you know, it has the word "EXIT" in it - but it's really just pointing the way to Highway 470. But anyone who doesn't know Newfoundland roads (including many of the people driving their RVs off the MV Sleepy Trucker) is going to think that's an exit number. Anyway, this has nothing to do with sequence except that you should pretend this is signed "Exit 1".

Now, 144 kilometres later, outside Stephenville, we come to Exit 2. Yes, they have sequential numbering on a 900+km road. I'm sorry, Newfoundland, that we in Nova Scotia were such a bad influence in this case. Sorry.

This week I present a set of faucets that work (reasonably well) followed by a set that is more confusing. 1. Some faucets somewhere in my home....

This is a wastebin in the Tim Hortons at the corner of Hammonds Plains Road and Bedford Highway. They are a location that has both a Cold Stone...

This is the first of what will be an ongoing series of posts necessitated by my "User Interface Design and Development" course. This is my...

Most of these images are screen captures from Google Maps in Street View. You can go amazingly far in Street View and it's easy to waste spend hours tracking down unique interchanges and remote border crossings.

Let's begin at the beginning. We're heading north from the beginning of the highway (off Bayers Road in Halifax). The first exit we come to is Exit 1D. Why D? For "Dunbrack Street", perhaps? This ramp also connects with Northwest Arm Drive, a four-lane express road that has a hidden designation of Trunk 32.

As you can see, the exit numbering system is off to a highly inauspicious start. We're not even going to see the delightful Exit 0, as it is only accessible to southbound traffic.

Next we come to the turnoff for Highway 103. Since this is another 100-Series road, it's a bit surprising that the exit has the -A designation. At least they were counterintuitively correct in leaving out the ' from "Peggys".

Given that this is where two freeways meet, there ought to be flyovers here instead of this trumpet configuration.

And now we reach "Exit 2" for Lacewood Drive and Chain Lake Drive.

And then Exit 2, serving Kearney Lake Road - wait, say again? Well, someone goofed - the Lacewood / Chain Lake exit was actually Exit 2A. Perhaps someone thought that 2 was supposed to come before 2A? Ha-ha, why would anybody ever get that idea?

They've since fixed the sign at Lacewood / Chain Lake to say "Exit 2A".

What comes after Exit 2A and Exit 2? Exit 2B, of course, accessing Larry Uteck Boulevard.

Now we come to Bedford. This ramp at the Hammonds Plains Road exit was a 1990s afterthought. Even with kilometre-based exit numbering, this interchange would need to be split up into letters. I would submit to you that that's the only acceptable occasion for doing do. I'd also strongly recommend going with N/S/E/W or N/NE/E... (if it's a really complex interchange!) designations instead of A/B/C... because that way you can use the same letters for the same directions on the same roads in either freeway-direction and it'll still make sense. (Since the southbound exit isn't split, it'd just have to be Exit nE&W under an improved system. There's another problem - what's currently Exit 3 southbound should be Exit 3 A&B.)

Exit 3B is my daily exit. Also the Hammonds Plains Road, but going west instead of east.

Here's what I would submit is the worst interchange in Nova Scotia (overhead view here). Two freeways meet here - Highway 101 and Highway 102. Someday they might even tie in the Highway 107 extension and the Bedford Bypass. Right now it's an overloaded cloverleaf with weaving problems a-plenty. Using the inner ramps is nightmarish. Even this outer ramp, Exit 4A to the Bedford Highway (Trunk 1, briefly) is problematic - it ends abruptly with a yield sign; there's no merging lane.

And here's Exit 4B, the ramp to Highway 101 and Trunk 1. But the sign's had a little bit too much to drink.

Here's the overpass for the Bedford Bypass, a provincial road internally designated Trunk 33. (A "33" shield has been showing up on Google Maps lately - I'm not sure how I feel about that, since it's probably going to confuse anybody that's not seriously into roads.) In what is nothing less than a monumental oversight, it provides no direct access to Highway 102. If you want to use it, you need to get off at Exit 4B and turn around on Sackville Drive. That's the only way that people from the west part of Bedford can avoid driving through downtown Bedford to get to Dartmouth. (Save driving all the way out to Fall River, but there's a jog there, too.)

However, I might be able to forgive the planners if the Highway 107 extension is ever completed and if direct access is provided. You know that little bridge on Duke Street just on the Bedford side of the ramps? That's there to allow a ramp from northbound 102 to eastbound 107.

4C, for Duke Street and Glendale Drive, straddling the line between Bedford and Lower Sackville. Has nothing to do with 4A and B except proximity. Now what will they call the ramp to 107?

Exit 5 in Fall River, accessing Trunk 2. Highways 102 and 118 merge up ahead in a flyover, but there's no direct access from northbound 102 to southbound 118 or northbound 118 to southbound 102. For those purposes, you have to get off here. Sometimes we still come all the way out here anyway, as the short jog is sometimes better than driving down Windmill Road in Burnside, especially if we plan to take Highway 107 to get somewhere out the eastern shore.

I don't seriously object to necessitating the little off-freeway jog here because if the 107 were extended, the need would pretty much be eliminated.

Here, way far away from Exit 5, we have 5A, for Aerotech Drive. Despite what Google Maps suggests, I don't think it's actually part of Highway 212. It may well be in Goffs, though.

It gets almost sensible for a while, starting from here. Exit 6 is for the airport (Bell Boulevard?). If I wanted to be fancy I'd say "Halifax Stanfield" and imply that we have more than one airport.

Exit 7, Trunk 2, Enfield

Exit 8, Highway 214 (Elmsdale Road), Elmsdale

Exit 9, Trunk 14 and Highway 224 (224 begins as an old alignment of Highway 102!), Milford Station

Exit 10, Highway 215. Long, long ago, this was actually Highway 15. If you dig around at the Nova Scotia Archives, you can find some old maps with the numbers that existed prior to the present 100-series / trunk / collector classification. (For my money, there's so little meaningful difference between trunks and collectors that I think the classification could stand to be re-visited.)

Exit 11, Main Street, Stewiacke

Here's a "reassurance" marker coming up on Exit 12. This makes me wonder "Why?" Why would anyone not believe that continuing on Highway 102 is the default? Worse, the indicator arrow is ambiguous - both the off-ramp and the continuing highway are roughly "straight"! The place for a marker like this is after the interchange, when you're not facing any choices. (And then take out the arrow.)

Exit 12, Highway 289 (Pleasant Valley Road), Brookfield

Coming into the Truro area, we have exit numbering shenanigans again... (Exit 13A, Tower Road, Millbrook First Nation)

... followed logically by Exit 13, accessing McClures Mills Road, Truro.

Exit 14, Highways 2 and 236 (Robie Street), Lower Truro

Exit 14A, Highways 2 and 4 (Onslow Road), Onslow - 2 is multiplexed with 102 between Exits 14 and 14A. Note that there are only ramps on the south side, probably because of the proximity of...

Exit 15W, for Highway 104 West. Or at least the sign. This is where you'll go if you're in the left lane. I note that there's nothing saying "Bridge to PEI", which is funny because...

Exit 15E, for Highway 104 East, indicates the ferry to PEI. But there are a few problems here. As or after the 104 was twinned through here, the interchange was slightly reconfigured so that this turnoff would be gentler. OK, alright so far. But that also means that you need to turn off sooner. And it's clear from this picture that they didn't move this dowdy old wooden sign - and as far as I know, they still haven't. They stuck a revised "ramp speed" indicator on it and that was it.

It gets worse. In the wintertime, where do you think the "Ferry Not Operating" sign goes? That's right - it goes on this sign, underneath the arrow. But by the time you're close enough to read it, it's almost too late to get into the left lane to head for New Brunswick and take the bridge.

I'm passionate about this subject, so I've gone on at length. If I can only leave you with one takeaway, let it be that sequential exit numbering (at least on roads more than a few kilometres in length) is a bad idea. A much better alternative is to number the exits according to the kilometre posts. British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, and New Brunswick are already doing this. The only significant holdouts are 1) Nova Scotia and 2) Newfoundland and Labrador (surprising, as their implementation of exit numbering occurred fairly recently).

Numbering according to kilometre posts has at least two big advantages:

1. Expandability - If you should ever build a new interchange, there's no need to worry about an appropriate number to assign. You also avoid most A-B-C-D messes and can save the letters for compass directions at the same interchange and certain other situations.

2. Understandability - If you just drove past Exit 14 and your destination is off Exit 28, you know that you have 14 kilometres to go until your exit is reached. Better yet, with the kilometre posts that we have, you can easily track the distance while you're between distant exits.

I admit at least one disadvantage: it's going to mess you up if you're accustomed to counting the junctions as you go by them (does anyone do this?), but even then that system is already broken by our haphazard implementation of sequential exit numbering.

Please Nova Scotia, let's do something, before we face a tragedy like an Exit 5½.

Finally, if Nova Scotia's Highway 102 isn't enough to convince you of the folly of sequence-based numbering, let's take a quick <ahem> gander at Newfoundland and Labrador Route 1:

Off the boat in Port aux Basques, you come to a sign that looks like an exit gore - you know, it has the word "EXIT" in it - but it's really just pointing the way to Highway 470. But anyone who doesn't know Newfoundland roads (including many of the people driving their RVs off the MV Sleepy Trucker) is going to think that's an exit number. Anyway, this has nothing to do with sequence except that you should pretend this is signed "Exit 1".

Now, 144 kilometres later, outside Stephenville, we come to Exit 2. Yes, they have sequential numbering on a 900+km road. I'm sorry, Newfoundland, that we in Nova Scotia were such a bad influence in this case. Sorry.

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This Isn't Really Working For Me - 4: Highway 102 (and sequential exit numbering)

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Most of these images are screen captures from Google Maps in Street View. You can go amazingly far in Street View and it's easy to waste spend hours tracking down unique interchanges and remote border crossings. Let's begin at the beginning. We're heading north from the beginning of the highway...

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Restaurants Close Earlier and Many Shops Close on Sundays/Mondays

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Restaurants Close Earlier and Many Shops Close on Sundays/Mondays

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Since Covid, it's increasingly challenging to get workers and many restaurants close by 8/9pm even on weekends (and including some fast food joints!) In addition, "Sunday" is still widely considered "the day of rest" and many places (including many NSLC outlets) are closed Sundays. Many shops are traditionally closed on Mondays as well.

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Many school zones aren't "marked" and you're just "supposed to know" what the speed limit is. 30 and 50 are not hard and fast rules. As well, it makes a difference if you see children near a school area, even in the after hours/summer ("on or near the shoulder").

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If you're about to step off the curb... it's likely Nova Scotians will stop for you wherever you are. You also have clear right of way when drivers are coming out of parking lots... they HAVE to stop for YOU as a pedestrian!

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When a car accident or pedestrian collision results in serious injuries in Halifax or elsewhere in Nova Scotia, it is important to know who is at fault for the crash. When pedestrians and motorists encounter sidewalks and pedestrian crosswalks, drivers need to understand when pedestrians have the right of way in order to avoid a serious or deadly collision. When a pedestrian gets hurt in a collision with a car or truck in Nova Scotia, it is essential for that pedestrian to determine whether the driver broke the rules of the road.

When do pedestrians have the right of way in Nova Scotia? Pedestrians have the right of way in all intersections on Nova Scotia roadways, as long as they are in a marked or an unmarked crosswalk.

The Nova Scotia Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) provides a handbook on the rules of the road in Nova Scotia. We will refer to that handbook as we explain a variety of scenarios in which pedestrians have the right of way.

Pedestrians Have the Right of Way in Many Scenarios in Nova Scotia

One of the most important factors in determining whether a pedestrian has the right of way is whether the pedestrian is in a crosswalk. Crosswalks can be "marked" with lines on the pavement or other markings. There are also "unmarked" crosswalks, which are "formed by imaginary lines extending across the streets" at intersections of more than one street. Every intersection has crosswalks, marked or unmarked.

The following is a list of scenarios in which a pedestrian has the right of way:

Drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians at any and all intersections, as long as the pedestrian is crossing in a marked or an unmarked crosswalk;

Pedestrians always have the right of way in an intersection with no traffic signal, regardless of whether they are crossing in a marked or an unmarked crosswalk;

Pedestrians in a crosswalk always have the right of way when they are crossing the street with a green traffic signal, even if they are crossing the path of a vehicle that is making a turn;

Pedestrians always have the right of way whenever they are crossing the street with a "walk" signal-this walk signal gives pedestrians the same right of way as a green light;

Drivers must yield the right of way to any and all pedestrians whenever a driver is leaving a private driveway or a parking lot; and

Drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians anytime the driver is making a turn.

Collisions or accidents involving a motor vehicle and a pedestrian can occur in one or more of the scenarios mentioned above. Documentation, evidence and witnesses are important sources of information to determine how the incident happened and to understand who was at fault.

Understanding Right of Way Rules in Nova Scotia

It is essential for drivers to understand that they cannot take steps to gain the right of way over a pedestrian in any of the scenarios outlined above. To be clear, drivers should be mindful of the following, according to the RMV handbook :

Drivers cannot have the right of way simply by signaling; and

Drivers do not have the right of way over pedestrians when they have a green light-pedestrians still have the right of way as long as they are also following the rules of the road.

If you have been involved in this situation, you may not believe that any of these right-of-way scenarios apply to you. Every road, intersection and crossing will have certain factors that could affect how the rules listed above apply to your situation. A lawyer specializing in insurance and motor vehicle accident laws can help when you are trying to figure out who might have been responsible for an accident.

Contact a Halifax Injury Lawyer for More Information

If you or someone you love got hurt in a pedestrian accident involving a negligent driver, you should get in touch with a Nova Scotia injury lawyer as soon as possible to find out whether you may be eligible for compensation. Contact Kimball Law to speak with a lawyer at our firm about your case.

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When Do Pedestrians Have the Right of Way in Nova Scotia? - Kimball Law

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Do you know when you have the right of way in NS? Read this article and know how these rules of the road affect your traffic accident claim.

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It's an "East Coast Thing", and sometimes a little hard to get used to hearing! But if someone says one of these terms of endearment to you, they're literally just being SUPER friendly, and not trying to be offensive in the least!

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What it's like in the East Coast travelling and (minute 3:15 for shopping), grocery shopping! (It's "second gear"... everything takes longer than you'd think... purely from the friendliness of the people!) From Mom & Peter's comedian friend, RIP too soon)

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The NSLC in New Minas is one of the only local liquor stores open on Sundays. All local wineries, micro breweries, cideries are usually open for sales.

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Our New Minas store at 9256 Commercial St., Unit 230 in New Minas offers an assortment of products from around the world.

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Local, local, local! And delicious!

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Deep Roots Music Festival 2024 - Click a photo for more info!

Get ready for an exceptional weekend of music with three standout Main Stage shows, each offering its own unique experience! Friday's Concert features an impressive lineup including Aleksi Campagne, Kim Dunn - Doris Mason - O'Sound, Sechile Sedare, and Kacy & Clayton. The evening will be hosted by Jeff Douglas of CBC, setting the stage with a fantastic start to the festival. Saturday's diverse lineup brings together Duane Andrews & The Hot Club of Conception Bay, Connie Kaldor, Gina Burgess Quintet, and Alan Syliboy & The Thundermakers. Katie Kelly of CTV will host that evening filled with captivating performances. The Festival Finale will showcase the Deep Roots Residency, Pat LePoidevin, Norma MacDonald, and Old Man Luedecke. The Valley Arts Award will also be presented. Darrin Harvey of 89.3 K-Rock will host this grand closing event, wrapping up the festival with a memorable finish. Don't miss these incredible shows and the chance to experience the best of local talent!

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Festival 2024 | Deep Roots Music Cooperative

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Deep Roots Music Festival 2024 - Click a photo for more info! Get ready for an exceptional weekend of music with three standout Main Stage shows, each offer ...

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Allow for quite a few hours at this gorgeous Canadian immigration museum. You can even search up family members who may have passed through (for free).

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| Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21

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Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (OPEN Sept 30 with free admission)

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Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (OPEN Sept 30 with free admission)

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SO much to sea (get it?! SEA?!) at this great museum. Many artifacts from the Titanic on display as well.

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Exact Change!

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Georges Island National Historic Site (Federal, may be closed Sept 30)

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Georges Island National Historic Site (Federal, may be closed Sept 30)

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Buy your ferry shuttle tickets on the Halifax Harbor Waterfront.

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Kjipuktuk, Halifax harbour, prison, Acadian internment camp, defence, World War, Halifax Defence Complex.

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Peace by Chocolate at the Halifax Waterfront

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Peace by Chocolate at the Halifax Waterfront

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One of our favorite immigration to Canada stories and we love to visit their beautiful storefront at the Halifax Harbor.

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a little bit of everything, with free shipping!

SHOP NOW

Maple Filled Chocolates just in time for Canada Day!
SHOP NOW

Peace By Chocolate: New Beginnings

Peace by Chocolate is a story of new beginnings. As newcomers to Canada, the Hadhad family rebuilt their family run chocolate business into a symbol for international peace and hope. For more than 20 years they shipped their specialty treats all over the Middle East. Like much of their homeland, the Hadhad chocolate factory was destroyed in a bombing that forced the family to leave everything behind and flee. With the support of their new Canadian community in Antigonish, and the people of Nova Scotia, they have rebuilt their chocolate company and are once again doing the work they love.

Peace By Chocolate Featured On This Hours Has 22 Minutes

Mark Critch of the CBC's This Hour Has 22 Minutues sits down for a conversation with Peace By Chocolate's Tareq Hadhad.

Meet the Experts Behind Our Unsolicited Love Advice

Peace by Chocolate searched across Canada for the sweetest couples we could find. When it comes to love and how to make relationships work, they know their stuff, so we have included their advice in all of our Valentine's Day chocolates!

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Peace by Chocolate - One Peace Won't Hurt

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a little bit of everything, with free shipping! SHOP NOW Maple Filled Chocolates just in time for Canada Day! SHOP NOW Peace By Chocolate: New Beginnings Peace by Chocolate is a story of new beginnings. As newcomers to Canada, the Hadhad family rebuilt their family run chocolate business into a symbol for international peace and hope.

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Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (Federal site, may be closed Sept 30)

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Halifax Citadel National Historic Site (Federal site, may be closed Sept 30)

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The gun fires at noon at this gorgeous piece of Halifax (and Canadian) history!

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Halifax history, Kjipuktuk, The Army Museum, World War, Noon Gun, town clock, kilted 78th Highlanders.

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One of our favorite restaurants, right at the Halifax harbor waterfront.

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The Bicycle Thief exudes a relaxed, come-as-you-are feel, in an atmosphere that blends Old School style with New School attitude. Drop by for lunch or supper, or pull up a chair to our wicked wine bar for a fantastic glass from our titanic selection. The Bicycle Thief offers North American food with an Italian soul, and legendary cooking that will steal your heart...

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The Bicycle Thief exudes a relaxed, come-as-you-are feel, in an atmosphere that blends Old School style with New School attitude. Drop by for lunch or supper, or pull up a chair to our wicked wine bar for a fantastic glass from our titanic selection.

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Another favorite restaurant, a block up from the Halifax harbor waterfront and surrounded by great hotels.

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If you are looking for the "One Great Gift Shop in Nova Scotia", THIS is IT!! You are guaranteed to find great local souvenirs at fantastic prices. (And while you're there.... shop along Spring Garden Road... the equivalent of Ste-Catherine Street in Montreal).

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Local Business | Jennifer’s of Nova Scotia | Nova Scotia

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Locally owned Halifax gift shop, Jennifer’s of Nova Scotia is committed to carrying only locally made products from Atlantic Canada. We proudly support over 250 local artist. Local since day one, we are Nova Scotia in a shop.

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The BEST lobster Eggs Benedict EVER!!

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A Halifax landmark since 1964,
Bluenose II Restaurant offers fresh Nova Scotia seafood, lobster, charbroiled steaks, vegetarian and Greek specialties with home-style cooking.

Named after Nova Scotia's famous schooner, located in downtown Halifax, our Bluenose II Restaurant is open seven days a week, year-round for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We are the perfect choice for tourists visiting downtown Halifax and its waterfront or busy workers on the go.

Bluenose II Restaurant has free Wi-Fi, accepts bus tours, hosts private functions and takes reservations.

For those with pure food indulgence in mind, come next door and sate your desires with our ever-changing internationally and seasonally inspired small plates. We love food, lots of different food, just like you.

View The Full Menu

We promise an intimate and relaxed dining experience that offers something different to local and foreign patrons and ensures you enjoy a memorable food experience every time.

Make a Reservation

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Bluenose II Restaurant | A Maritime Favourite Since 1964

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A Halifax landmark since 1964, Bluenose II Restaurant offers fresh Nova Scotia seafood, lobster, charbroiled steaks, vegetarian and Greek specialties with home-style cooking. Named after Nova Scotia's famous schooner, located in downtown Halifax, our Bluenose II Restaurant is open seven days a week, year-round for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

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Halifax Brewery Farmers Market (Sat 8-1)

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Halifax Brewery Farmers Market (Sat 8-1)

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If you were staying in Halifax Friday night, you'd likely be able to visit the market AND make it to the wedding! So many local delicious things to try!

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Meet me at the Market

Open every Saturday, year-round, from 8am - 1pm, featuring over 65 unique local food, drink and craft vendors, and welcoming over 2500 customers!

The Halifax Brewery Market Cooperative, a member-run not-for-profit coop, hosts a weekly year-round farmers market every Saturday in the historic Alexander Keith's building hidden along Lower Water Street just off the Halifax Boardwalk.

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Our mandate is to support and promote small-scale, local food producers and artisans and to be a positive force in the growth and sustainability of our local economy. We strive to be a welcoming community space for people to come together, supporting and nourishing a sustainable local food system in a relaxed environment. The market is a place for gathering and building community.

Meet the Community

Whether you're interested in becoming a vendor, a busker, or a community coop member, we want you to feel welcome here!

New Vendors

We welcome applications from farmers, producers and artisans interested in joining our market community!

New Buskers

All variety of performance welcome

90 minute time slots every Saturday between 8am and 1pm.

Community Tables

We welcome local not-for-profits and community groups to enhance the market's atmosphere.

Holiday Markets

October through December are some of our busiest months onsite - if you're looking to become a casual vendor read through our guidelines below.

Event Rentals

Interested in booking our licensed kitchen and courtyards for your next event? Learn more below and get in touch!

Feeling Creative?

We're always open to interesting ideas - just get in touch!

Meet your Local Vendors

Meet our diverse family of vendors, each bringing a unique touch to our farmers' market, ensuring a vibrant tapestry of flavours and craftsmanship.

Meet the people behind the Market

Did you know our market is owned by the vendors themselves? Vendors and community members work together to ensure the future success of our coop!

Get to know the passionate individuals behind the scenes, dedicated to cultivating community connections and bringing you the best at our farmers market.

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Halifax Brewery Market Halifax Waterfront Historic Farmers Market Every Saturday, Year Round

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Visit a LOVELY brewery in downtown Halifax!!

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Another one of our favorite fine dining establishments!

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5 Fishermen Restaurant | Restaurant, Dining and Bar | Halifax NS

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Main Menu - Five Fishermen | 5 Fishermen Restaurant

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Main Menu at 5 Fishermen, Halifax includes Appetizers, Light Entrees, Classics and various Add-ons. Drinks include Beers, Cocktails, Wines and Sparkling.

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Over 29kms of winding trails to walk and explore.

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GORGEOUS!! (But you can't sit on the grass!)

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Tours

Free one-hour horticultural and historical tour of the Halifax Public Gardens (from June through October), daily at 10:30 am, 12 pm, 1:30 pm, and 3 pm. Special tours can be arranged by reservation.
Tour Guides are conversational in several languages. Please check in advance at infohalifaxpublicgardens@gmail.com or
phone 902 456 4552.
More information>

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Free one-hour horticultural and historical tour of the Halifax Public Gardens (from June through October), daily at 10:30 am, 12 pm, 1:30 pm, and 3 pm. Special tours can be arranged by reservation.Tour Guides are conversational in several languages. Please check in advance at infohalifaxpublicgardens@gmail.com orphone 902 456 4552.

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Beer and entertainment in a pub feeling like a 1600s sailor ghost may just waltz through? THIS is the place!

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“Where the music flows as freely as the ale and good times are guaranteed!”