Nova Scotia is a province on Canada's Atlantic coast, one of the four Maritime and Atlantic provinces, made up of a long peninsula and the large island of Cape Breton, almost surrounded by the sea. Its name is Latin for New Scotland, and its history is deeply marked by the sea, by the clash of French and British empires, and by waves of settlers from Scotland, France, and beyond. Home to around a million people centred on the historic port of Halifax, it is a place of fishing villages, rugged coasts, and a proud seafaring heritage.

Nova Scotia's history is one of the most storied in Canada: the homeland of the Mi'kmaq, a battleground between France and Britain, the scene of a wrenching expulsion, and a haven for Loyalists and immigrants who made it a great seafaring society.

For thousands of years the land and waters of Nova Scotia were the homeland of the Mi'kmaq, a people who lived by fishing, hunting, and gathering along the coasts and rivers and travelled the sea in birchbark canoes. They were among the first Indigenous peoples to encounter Europeans, and their nation endures in the province to this day.

Mi'kmaq people at Tufts Cove near Halifax. The Mi'kmaq have lived in Nova Scotia for thousands of years and were among the first Indigenous peoples in Canada to encounter Europeans.
Mi'kmaq people at Tufts Cove near Halifax. The Mi'kmaq have lived in Nova Scotia for thousands of years and were among the first Indigenous peoples in Canada to encounter Europeans.Credit: Joseph S. Rogers (Public domain).

The French founded one of their earliest North American settlements here, at Port Royal, in 1605, and the region, known as Acadia, became a prize fought over by France and Britain for a century and a half. Its French-speaking settlers, the Acadians, farmed the tidal marshes, until Britain finally took control of the colony in the early eighteenth century.

The British capture of Port Royal in 1710, one of the many clashes of the long struggle between France and Britain for Acadia. Britain's victory brought the region under its control.
The British capture of Port Royal in 1710, one of the many clashes of the long struggle between France and Britain for Acadia. Britain's victory brought the region under its control.Credit: Charles William Jefferys (Public domain).

In one of the great tragedies of Canadian history, the British, distrusting the French-speaking Acadians, expelled them from their lands beginning in 1755. Thousands were rounded up, their farms burned, and their families scattered to the American colonies and beyond, an uprooting remembered as the Grand Dérangement, whose exiles included the ancestors of the Cajuns of Louisiana.

A depiction of the deportation of the Acadians from Grand-Pré in 1755. The British expelled the French-speaking Acadians from their lands and scattered them far and wide, a wrenching episode remembered as the Grand Dérangement.
A depiction of the deportation of the Acadians from Grand-Pré in 1755. The British expelled the French-speaking Acadians from their lands and scattered them far and wide, a wrenching episode remembered as the Grand Dérangement.Credit: George Craig (Public domain).

After the American Revolution, Nova Scotia took in a great wave of Loyalists fleeing the new United States, among them thousands of Black Loyalists, free and enslaved people of African descent, who founded some of the earliest Black communities in Canada. Waves of Scottish Highlanders and others followed, giving the province the mix of peoples that shaped its character.

A Black woodcutter at Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Thousands of Black Loyalists came to the province after the American Revolution, founding some of the oldest communities of African descent in Canada.
A Black woodcutter at Shelburne, Nova Scotia. Thousands of Black Loyalists came to the province after the American Revolution, founding some of the oldest communities of African descent in Canada.Credit: William Booth (Public domain).

By the nineteenth century Nova Scotia had become one of the great seafaring societies of the world, its harbours crowded with sailing ships, its shipyards famous, and its sailors and merchants ranging the globe. That heritage is embodied in the schooner Bluenose, a champion racing and fishing vessel so beloved that it appears on the Canadian dime.

A depiction of the frigate HMS Shannon leading a captured American ship into Halifax during the War of 1812. Nova Scotia's great harbour made Halifax a vital naval base and its people a seafaring nation.
A depiction of the frigate HMS Shannon leading a captured American ship into Halifax during the War of 1812. Nova Scotia's great harbour made Halifax a vital naval base and its people a seafaring nation.Credit: Louis Haghe / After John Christian Schetky (Public domain).
The schooner Bluenose under sail in the 1920s, a champion racer and fishing vessel from Lunenburg. A symbol of Nova Scotia's seafaring heritage, it is depicted on the Canadian ten-cent coin.
The schooner Bluenose under sail in the 1920s, a champion racer and fishing vessel from Lunenburg. A symbol of Nova Scotia's seafaring heritage, it is depicted on the Canadian ten-cent coin.Credit: MacAskill, Wallace R., 1893-1956 (Public domain).

Nova Scotia is almost an island, a long peninsula joined to the mainland by a narrow isthmus, together with the rugged island of Cape Breton to its northeast, and no part of the province lies far from the sea. Its coastline is immensely long and varied, from the surf-battered granite of the Atlantic shore to sheltered bays and the record-breaking tides of the Bay of Fundy. Inland lie low hills, forests, and lakes, and the climate is cool and maritime, deeply shaped by the surrounding ocean.

A topographic map of Nova Scotia, a long peninsula and the island of Cape Breton almost surrounded by the Atlantic. No part of the province lies far from the sea.
A topographic map of Nova Scotia, a long peninsula and the island of Cape Breton almost surrounded by the Atlantic. No part of the province lies far from the sea.Credit: Zamonin (CC BY-SA 4.0).
The highlands of Cape Breton Island, where the famous Cabot Trail winds along the coast. The island's rugged mountains and cliffs are among the most beautiful landscapes in eastern Canada.
The highlands of Cape Breton Island, where the famous Cabot Trail winds along the coast. The island's rugged mountains and cliffs are among the most beautiful landscapes in eastern Canada.Credit: glangille (CC BY 2.0).
The lighthouse at Peggys Cove, standing on wave-worn granite on the Atlantic shore. The tiny fishing village is one of the most photographed spots in Canada and an emblem of the province's rugged coast.
The lighthouse at Peggys Cove, standing on wave-worn granite on the Atlantic shore. The tiny fishing village is one of the most photographed spots in Canada and an emblem of the province's rugged coast.Credit: Aconcagua (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Nova Scotia is governed as a parliamentary democracy, with an elected House of Assembly, the oldest legislature in Canada, that sits in Halifax, and a premier who leads the government, while a lieutenant governor represents the Crown. As of 2026 the premier is Tim Houston, leader of the Progressive Conservatives, re-elected with a large majority in 2024, and the lieutenant governor is Mike Savage. The province plays an influential role among the Atlantic provinces in the Canadian federation.

Tim Houston, premier of Nova Scotia and leader of the Progressive Conservatives, who won a large majority in 2024. The premier leads the government in Halifax, home to the oldest legislature in Canada.
Tim Houston, premier of Nova Scotia and leader of the Progressive Conservatives, who won a large majority in 2024. The premier leads the government in Halifax, home to the oldest legislature in Canada.Credit: CharlesFAllison (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nova Scotia's economy has always been tied to the sea. Fishing, above all for lobster, remains vital, and the province is one of the world's great exporters of seafood, alongside a long tradition of shipbuilding that continues in the naval yards of Halifax. The great ice-free port of Halifax is a major hub for shipping and the military, and the modern economy also leans on tourism drawn by the coast and culture, on farming in the fertile valleys, and on offshore energy and a growing technology sector.

Nova Scotia has one of the richest cultures in Canada, a blend of Mi'kmaq, Acadian, Scottish, African Nova Scotian, and other traditions. The Scottish heritage of Cape Breton lives on in its Gaelic music and fiddling, the Acadians keep their French language and traditions in the west, and African Nova Scotian communities preserve a deep history. Fishing villages, historic towns such as the old shipbuilding port of Lunenburg, and a warm, storytelling culture give the province a strong and distinctive identity.

The old town of Lunenburg, a remarkably preserved British colonial port and a world heritage site. Its brightly painted waterfront recalls the shipbuilding and fishing that made Nova Scotia a seafaring nation.
The old town of Lunenburg, a remarkably preserved British colonial port and a world heritage site. Its brightly painted waterfront recalls the shipbuilding and fishing that made Nova Scotia a seafaring nation.Credit: Jvienneau (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Nova Scotia has a population of around one million people, the most of the Atlantic provinces. Nearly half live in and around the capital, Halifax, the largest city in Atlantic Canada and a historic port, university town, and naval base, while the rest are spread through smaller towns, fishing villages, and rural communities across the peninsula and Cape Breton. Long shaped by emigration as much as immigration, the province has in recent years grown again, drawing newcomers to its coasts and its way of life.