Antigonish County, Nova Scotia

Municipality of the County of Antigonish
County
Seal
Location of Antigonish County, Nova Scotia
Coordinates:
Country	Canada
Province	Nova Scotia
Towns	Antigonish
Established	December 16, 1785
Incorporated	April 17, 1879
Electoral Districts       Federal	Central Nova
Provincial	Antigonish
Government
• Type	Antigonish County Municipal Council
• Warden	Russell Boucher
• MLA	Randy Delorey (Liberal)
• MP	Peter MacKay (C)
Area
• Land	1,457.81 km2 (562.86 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	19,589
• Density	13.4/km2 (35/sq mi)
• Change 2001-06	3.8%
• Census Rankings  - Census divisions  Subdivision A  Subdivision B  - Towns  Antigonish  - Reserves  Pomquet & Afton 23	7,730 (470 of 5,008) 6,509 (562 of 5,008) 4,236 (766 of 5,008) 361 (3,453 of 5,008)
Time zone	AST (UTC-4)
• Summer (DST)	ADT (UTC-3)
Area code(s)	902
Dwellings	9,591
Median Earnings*	$49,581
NTS Map	011F12
GNBC Code	CBUCC
Website	www.antigonishcounty.ns.ca
Median household income, 2005 (all households)

Antigonish County, Nova Scotia is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is officially known as the Municipality of the County of Antigonish. It is located in northern Nova Scotia on the Northumberland Strait.

History

The County of Sydney was created in 1784. Its boundaries were established by Governor and Council on December 16, 1785.

When St. Mary's Township was established in 1818 it was partly in Sydney County and partly in Halifax County. In 1822 that part of St. Mary's Township which had been in Halifax County was annexed to the County of Sydney.

In 1836 Sydney County was diminished in size when Guysborough County was established out of what had been part of it . In 1863 the name of the County of Sydney was changed to Antigonish County. The word Antigonish is of Mi'kmaq origin, possibly derived from Nalegitkoonecht meaning "where branches are torn off". It is said that there were bears in the area that broke down branches to get beech nuts.

In 2001, the Town of Antigonish applied to annex 1,600 hectares from the surrounding county so it could expand. The Municipality responded that the annexation would hurt it tax base so it instead applied for a total merger, or amalgamation. The issue was sent to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, and in 2005 it was decided that amalgamation of the Town and Municipality would better serve both parties. The board also ordered a plebiscite, promising to consider the results when making a final decision. The results were mixed, with 84% of Municipality residents voting yes to amalgamation and 74% of Town residents voting no. Voter turn-out was 45%. The board ultimately rejected the proposal for amalgamation, citing lack of public support.

Demographics

Population trend

Census	Population	Change (%)
2011	19,589	4.0%
2006	18,836	3.8%
2001	19,578	0.1%
1996	19,554	1.7%
1991	19,226	2.4%
1986	18,776	3.7%
1981	18,110	N/A
1871	16,512	N/A

Mother tongue language (2011)

Language	Population	Pct (%)
English only	18,150	93.32%
French only	585	3.01%
Non-official languages	590	3.03%
Multiple responses	130	0.67%

Ethnic Groups (2006)

Ethnic Origin	Population	Pct (%)
Scottish	9,265	49.5%
Canadian	7,295	39.0%
Irish	5,515	29.5%
French	4,845	25.9%
English	4,275	22.8%
German	985	5.3%
Dutch (Netherlands)	970	5.2%
North American Indian	690	3.7%
Acadian	480	2.6%

Communities

For a list of communities in Antigonish County, see List of communities

Incorporated communities

• Town
  • Antigonish

• Municipality
  • Municipality of the County of Antigonish

• Village
  • Havre Boucher

• Reserves
  • Pomquet and Afton 23
  • Summerside 38

Census subdivisions

• • Antigonish, Subd. A
  • Antigonish, Subd. B

Access Routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the county, including external routes that start or finish at the county limits:

• Highways
  • Hwy 104 (TCH)

• Trunk Routes
  • Trunk 4
  • Trunk 7
  • Trunk 16

• Collector Routes:
  • Route 245
  • Route 316
  • Route 337
  • Route 344

• External Routes:
  • None

Protected Areas

• Arisaig Provincial Park
• Bayfield Provincial Park
• Beaver Mountain Provincial Park
• Eigg Mountain-James River wilderness area
• Pomquet Beach Provincial Park

See also

• List of communities in Nova Scotia

External links

• Antigonish County
• Antigonish County Community Website