Colchester County

Colchester County (Scottish Gaelic: Siorramachd Dhùn Chamuluis) is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. With a population of 51,476 the county is the fourth largest in Nova Scotia. Colchester County is located in north central Nova Scotia.

The majority of the county is governed by the Municipality of the County of Colchester, the county also is home to two independent incorporated towns, Stewiacke and Truro, two village commissions in Bible Hill and Tatamagouche, and the Millbrook 27 First Nations reserve.

History The glaciers began their retreat from in the Maritimes approximately 13,500 years ago. The earliest evidence of Palaeo-Indian settlement in the region follows rapidly after deglaciation. The record of continuous habitation through the paleo and archaic period over ten thousand years culminated in the development of the culture, traditions, and language now known as the Mi'kmaq. For several thousand years the territory of the province has been a part of the territory of the Mi'kmaq nation of Mi'kma'ki. Mi'kma'ki includes what is now the Maritimes, parts of Maine, Newfoundland and the Gaspé Peninsula. Colchester County is located in the traditional Mi'kmaw districts of Sipekni'katik to the south and west, and Epekwitk aq Piktuk to the north and east.

French colonization of the area began during the 1680s. Acadian settlers were farmers were accustomed to farming on dyked lands in France. They used normally salty but fertile marshes that were found on the banks of the Minas Basin and through the use of dykes and aboiteaux that allowed fresh water to enter but kept out the salt-water tide.

The appellation Colchester was applied in 1780 to the district previously called "Cobequid," and was derived from the town of Colchester in Essex. The old name Cobequid was derived from the Mi'kmaq word "Wagobagitk" meaning "the bay runs far up", in reference to the area surrounding the easternmost inlet of the Minas Basin, a body of water called Cobequid Bay.

The District of Colchester, which was at first part of Halifax County, was established as a county in its own right in 1835. In 1838 a distinct line of division between Cumberland County and Colchester County was established. Two years later, in 1840, the Township of Parrsboro was divided and part of it annexed to Colchester County. In 1871, the boundaries between the Counties of Hants and Colchester and between the Counties of Halifax and Colchester were established. In 1880 the boundary between the Counties of Halifax and Colchester was revised. Eventually in 1897 a portion of the boundary between the Counties of Colchester and Cumberland was fixed and defined.

The question of the boundary between Colchester and Cumberland Counties was the subject of a Commission of Inquiry established in 1946. The report was filed in the office of the Provincial Secretary and in the office of the Department of Lands and Forests in January 1959. Certified copies of it were sent to the Registrars of Deeds for the Counties of Colchester, Cumberland and Kings.

Government

The Municipality of the County of Colchester is governed by a municipal council composed of a Mayor elected at-large and 11 Councillors elected to represent districts. Municipal Council is responsible oversee the provision of the services of municipal government. Municipal governments in Nova Scotia are Council–manager governments, meaning that the Council provides policy direction and approves the budget, and the Chief Administrative Officer oversees the administrative operations and implement Council's policies. Directly delivered services include services such as fire protection, public works, roads, and water. The municipality participates in shared services, such as police, solid waste management, library services, and the Rath Eastlink Community Centre.

The municipal operating budget was $29.1 million in 2017/18. The current mayor is Christine Blair. Municipal governments in Nova Scotia are elected every four years and the most recent round of elections took place on October 15, 2016. The provincial legislation that creates and empowers the municipality is the Nova Scotia Municipal Government Act.https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/municipal%20government.pdf "Municipal Government Act"

While the majority of the land area of county is governed by the Municipal Council of the Municipality of the County of Colchester the county also includes two independently incorporated towns, Stewiacke and Truro, as well as the independently governed Millbrook First Nation. Within the county are also two communities with incorporated village commissions in Bible Hill and Tatamagouche which are a part of the county wide municipality but are created to provide additional village services. Colchester is represented by three ridings in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly and two ridings in Canada's House of Commons.

Communities

Towns Stewiacke Truro

Villages Bible Hill Tatamagouche

Unincorporated communities Manganese Mines

Reserves Millbrook 27

County municipality and subdivisions Municipality of the County of Colchester Colchester Subdivision A Colchester Subdivision B Colchester Subdivision C

Demographics As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Colchester County had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Forming the majority of the Colchester County census division, the Municipality of the County of Colchester, including its Subdivisions A, B, and C, had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Population trendCensues 1871-1941Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census Census Population Change (%) 2021 51,476 1.8% 2016 50,585 0.8% 2011 50,968 1.9% 2006 50,023 1.5% 2001 49,307 0.1% 1996 49,262 3.3% 1991 47,683 5.7% 1986 45,093 4.3% 1981 43,244 N/A 1941 30,124 1931 25,051 1921 25,196 1911 23,664 1901 24,900 1891 27,160 1881 26,720 1871 23,331 N/A

Ethnicity + Panethnic groups in Colchester County (2001−2021)Panethnic group20212016201120062001 European 45,550 45,455 47,050 47,080 46,610 Indigenous 2,785 2,585 1,935 1,280 1,115 African 880 865 645 705 635 South Asian 575 245 145 180 170 Southeast Asian 270 205 40 30 90 East Asian 235 185 130 105 80 Middle Eastern 185 105 55 75 55 Latin American 65 75 0 55 20 Other/multiracial 55 25 0 30 20 Total responses 50,585 49,730 50,030 49,515 48,785 Total population 51,476 50,585 50,968 50,023 49,307

Ethnic Origin (2006)2006 Statistics Canada Census Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada: Colchester County, Nova Scotia Ethnic Origin Population Pct (%) Canadian 20,510 41.4% Scottish 19,455 39.3% English 16,060 32.4% Irish 11,155 22.5% French 5,880 11.9% German 4,085 8.3% Dutch (Netherlands) 2,480 5.0% North American Indian 2,100 4.2%

Language Mother tongue language (2011)Statistics Canada: 2011 census Language Population Pct (%) English only 48,580 96.34% French only 560 1.11% Non-official languages 1,065 2.11% Multiple responses 225 0.45%

Access Routes Highways and numbered routes that run through the county, including external routes that start or finish at the county limits:Atlantic Canada Back Road Atlas Pages 52-53, 67-69

Highways

Trunk Routes

Collector Routes:

External Routes:

Colchester County

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