Ancestors of more than half of present-day Nova Scotians arrived in the period following the Acadian Expulsion.
Nova Scotia's economy is traditionally largely resource-based, but its industries have diversified since the middle of the twentieth century.
The Nova Scotia Community College system has 13 campuses throughout the province.
Nova Scotia's traditionally resource-based economy began diversifying in the latter decades of the twentieth century.
The city hosts such institutions such as NSCAD University, one of Canada's leading art, craft and design colleges, and the Symphony Nova Scotia, the only full orchestra performing in Atlantic Canada.
The province's mainland is the Nova Scotia peninsula surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, including numerous bays and estuaries.
Nova Scotia was home to the Mi'kmaq people when the first European explorers arrived in the eleventh century.
The first documented Scottish settlement in the Americas was of Nova Scotia in 1621.
Nova Scotia's music and culture is influenced by several well established cultural groups that are sometimes referred to as the "founding cultures."
Nova Scotia was the first colony in British North America and in the British Empire to achieve responsible government in January-February 1848 and become self-governing through the efforts of Joseph Howe.
The colony's charter, in law, made Nova Scotia (defined as all land between Newfoundland and New England) a part of Scotland, this was later used to get around the English navigation acts.
The Nova Scotia tourism industry includes more than 6,500 direct businesses, supporting nearly 40,000 jobs.
Nova Scotia is Canada's second smallest province in area after Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia has the 4th largest film industry in Canada hosting over 100 productions yearly, more than half of which are the products of international film and television producers.
The provincial government works to support Mi'kmaq, French, Gaelic and African-Nova Scotian culture through the establishment of government secretariats, as well as colleges, educational programs and cultural centers.
Cape Breton became a separate colony in 1784 only to be returned to Nova Scotia in 1820.
The rise of Nova Scotia as a viable jurisdiction in North America was driven by the ready availability of natural resources, especially the fish stocks off the Scotian shelf.
Some Nova Scotia flags flew at half mast on Canada Day as late as that time.
Nova Scotia has long been a center for artistic and cultural excellence.
In 1867 Nova Scotia was one of the founding provinces of the Canadian Confederation, along with New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada (which became the separate provinces of Quebec and Ontario).
Due to the ocean's moderating effect, Nova Scotia is the warmest of the Canadian provinces.
Some such as the barque Stag were famous for speed, but Nova Scotian vessels were most noted as efficient and versatile cargo carriers.
Just over a thousand farming migrants from Yorkshire and Northumberland settled central areas of Nova Scotia between 1772 and 1775.
The Gaelic influence continues to play an important role in defining the cultural life of the province as evidenced by the number of Nova Scotians today who are fluent in Scottish Gaelic.
Nova Scotia's politics are divided on regional lines in such a way that it has become difficult to elect a majority government.
Some believe that the Vikings may have settled in Nova Scotia at some point in time, though there is little evidence of this and the claim is deeply disputed.
The first European settlement in Nova Scotia was established in 1604.
A motion passed by the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1868 refusing to recognize the legitimacy of Confederation has never been rescinded.
Paleo-Indians camped at locations in present-day Nova Scotia approximately 11,000 years ago.
Both Ontario and Quebec stretch farther south than does Nova Scotia.
Several years later, approximately 30,000 United Empire Loyalists (American Tories) settled in Nova Scotia (when it comprised present-day Maritime Canada) following the defeat of the British in the American Revolutionary War.
According to the 2001 Canadian census, Nova Scotia's population was 897,565.
Due, in part, to a strong small business sector, Nova Scotia now has one of the fastest growing economies in Canada.
Nova Scotia was granted a supreme court in 1754 with the appointment of Jonathan Belcher and a Legislative Assembly in 1758.
One Nova Scotian shipowner, Samuel Cunard went on to found the giant Cunard Line steamship company in 1840, but most of the province's shipowners stayed with sail.
Pro-Confederate premier Charles Tupper led Nova Scotia into the Canadian Confederation in 1867, along with New Brunswick and the Province of Canada.
Nova Scotia is a province located in eastern Canada fronting the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the north, and the Bay of Fundy to the west.
Nova Scotia’s defense and aerospace sector generates approximately $500 million in revenues and contributes about $1.5 billion to the provincial economy annually.
Her Majesty's duties in Nova Scotia are carried out by her representative, the Lieutenant-Governor.
Nova Scotia (IPA: /?n??v??sk????/) (Latin for New Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Alba Nuadh; French: Nouvelle-Йcosse) is a Canadian province located on Canada's southeastern coast.
French colonists established Port Royal, Nova Scotia in 1604, founding what would become known as Acadia, as the first permanent European settlement north of Florida.
From 1691 to 1696, what is now Nova Scotia was included as part of the territory of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Nova Scotia is the second smallest province in Canada, after Prince Edward Island, with an area of 55,284 square kilometers (21,345 sq mi).
Nova Scotia lies in the mid temperate zone and, although the province is almost completely surrounded by water, the climate is closer to continental rather than maritime.