Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Furthermore, its 2016 population is only 88.11% of the census population in 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova Scotia.
Etymology
The origin of the name "Pictou" is obscure. Possible Mi'kmaq derivations include "Piktook" meaning an explosion of gas, and "Bucto" meaning fire, possibly related to the coal fields in the area. It might also be a corruption of Poictou (Poitou), a former province of France. Nicolas Denys named the harbour La rivière de Pictou in the 1660s.
History
The area of the modern Pictou County was a part of the Miꞌkmaq nation of Mi'kma'ki (mi'gama'gi) at the time of European contact.
In the early 1600s France claimed the area as a part of Acadia. By the 1760s, small French settlements existed along the coast in the eastern part of the county near the mouth of the French River. The largest of these was on the Big Island at Merigomish. By the conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763, and the Expulsion of the Acadians, these had been abandoned.
Pictou came under the control of Britain in 1763 after the French and Indian War. In 1765 the first British land grants were issued, including a grant to the Philadelphia Company. A number of families from that company left Philadelphia aboard the Hope in May 1767, and arrived at Pictou Harbour in June. In 1770 there were 120 settlers living in Pictou, of which 93 were American, 18 were Irish, five were Acadian, and two each were Scottish and English.
Pictou was a receiving point for many Scottish immigrants moving to a new home in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island following the Highland Clearances of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Consequently, the town's slogan is "The Birthplace of New Scotland"; the first wave of immigrants from Scotland is acknowledged to have arrived on September 15, 1773, on the Hector.
Coal was first discovered in Pictou County in 1798. A number of different individuals and companies were involved in the nascent coal industry; however, in 1825 the majority of mining rights in Nova Scotia was obtained by the General Mining Association. After surveying mines in Nova Scotia, they chose to start at the East River of Pictou and in the summer of 1827 they began operations there. By the end of the year the first steam engine in Nova Scotia was operating at Albion Mines.
In 1839 the first locomotive in Canada to run on iron rails, the Samson, was put into service at Albion Mines. It is the oldest surviving locomotive in Canada.
Geography
Pictou County includes the towns of New Glasgow, Stellarton, Pictou, Westville and Trenton. It is bounded by the Northumberland Strait, Antigonish County, Guysborough County and Colchester County. Pictou Harbour and its three rivers played a vital role in the early days of settlement, as a port of entry, a means of transport and for the export of lumber and coal.
Demographics
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Pictou County had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of −0.2% from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Forming the majority of the Pictou County census division, the Municipality of the County of Pictou, including its Subdivisions A, B, and C, had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of −0.1% from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Population trend
Mother tongue (2011)
Ethnic Groups (2006)
Politics
Pictou County is wholly within the federal electoral district of Central Nova. Since the electoral district was reformed in 2004, only two MPs have held the office. Currently, the county is represented federally by the Liberal Party. The seat is held by Liberal MP Sean Fraser, who was elected in 2015.
Pictou County is divided into three provincial electoral districts, namely Pictou Centre, Pictou East and Pictou West. All three are currently held by PC MLAs in the Nova Scotia Legislature.