Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is a Canadian maritime province almost entirely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, known for its rugged coastline, seafaring heritage and the historic city of Halifax, its capital. Nearly an island, it is a place of lighthouses, fishing villages and Celtic culture.

Nova Scotia is a slender peninsula joined to the mainland by a narrow isthmus, plus Cape Breton Island, with no point more than about 60 kilometres from the sea. Its coastline is deeply indented with bays and harbours. The climate is humid continental, moderated by the ocean.

Nova Scotia has a strong maritime and Celtic culture, especially Scottish and Acadian, expressed in fiddle music, ceilidhs and seafood traditions. Halifax is a lively port city, and the famous Cabot Trail winds through Cape Breton.

Home to the Mikmaq people, the region was contested by France, as Acadia, and Britain, and saw the expulsion of the Acadians in the 1750s. Halifax became a key naval base, and Nova Scotia was a founding province of Canada in 1867.