Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia

Not to be confused with Lunenburg, Nova Scotia or the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.

Lunenburg County is a historical county and census division on the South Shore of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Major settlements include Bridgewater, Lunenburg, and Mahone Bay.

Lunenburg County
County
Lunenburg harbourfront
Nickname:  "Christmas Tree Capital of the World"[1]
Location of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia
Coordinates: 44.5°N 64.5°W / 44.5; -64.5
Country	Canada
Province	Nova Scotia
District municipalities	Chester / Lunenburg
Towns	Bridgewater / Lunenburg / Mahone Bay
Established	August 17, 1759
Divided into District Municipalities	April 17, 1879
Electoral Districts Federal	South Shore–St. Margaret's
Provincial	Chester-St. Margaret's / Lunenburg / Lunenburg West
Area [2]
• Land	2,906.47 km2 (1,122.19 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2][3]
• Total	48,599
• Density	16.7/km2 (43/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Area code	902
Dwellings	24,786
Median Income*	$43,257 CDN
Median household income, 2005 (all households)

History

Named in honour of the British king who was also the duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, it was established in 1759, when the Nova Scotia peninsula was divided into five counties. The county became smaller when new counties were created from its boundaries: Queens (1762), Hants (1781), Shelburne (1784), and Sydney (1784).

By Chapter 52 of the Statutes of 1863, Lunenburg County was divided into two districts for court sessional purposes – Chester and Lunenburg. That statute provided authority for the appointment of a Custos Rotulorum and for the establishment of a general sessions of the peace for the District of Chester, with the same powers as if it were a separate county. In 1879, the two districts were incorporated as district municipalities.

Governance

Today the county has no legal status, although its borders are coincident with the five municipalities contained within it:

• the municipality of the District of Chester
• the municipality of the District of Lunenburg
• the town of Bridgewater
• the town of Lunenburg
• the town of Mahone Bay

The above municipalities comprise the entire territory of the county.^[4]

There are three Sipekneꞌkatik First Nation reserves in the county:

• Gold River 21
• New Ross 20
• Pennal 19

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lunenburg County had a population of 48,599 living in 22,443 of its 27,092 total private dwellings, a change of 3.1% from its 2016 population of 47,126. With a land area of 2,906.47 km² (1,122.19 sq mi), it had a population density of 16.7/km² (43.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[5]

Population trend[6][7] Census Population Change (%) 1871 23,834 N/A 1881 28,583 19.93% 1891 31,075 8.72% 1901 32,389 4.23% 1911 33,260 2.69% 1921 33,742 1.45% 1931 31,674 6.13% 1941 32,942 1.45% 1981 45,746 N/A 1986 46,483 2.5% 1991 47,634 4.1% 1996 47,561 0.2% 2001 47,591 0.1% 2006 47,150 0.9% 2011 47,313 0.3% 2016 47,126 0.4% 2021 48,599 3.1%

Mother tongue language (2011)[8] Language Population Pct (%) English only 45,305 96.83% French only 525 1.12% Non-official languages 805 1.72% Multiple responses 150 0.32%

Ethnic Groups (2006)[9] Ethnic Origin Population Pct (%) Canadian 19,265 41.3% German 16,290 34.9% English 13,405 28.8% Scottish 8,655 18.6% French 6,360 13.6% Irish 6,155 13.2% Dutch (Netherlands) 3,105 6.7% North American Indian 1,930 4.1% Welsh 1,000 2.1%

Religious make-up (2001)[10] Religion Population Pct (%) Protestant 34,220 72.80% No religious affiliation 6,810 14.49% Catholic 5,230 11.13% Christian n.i.e. 535 1.14% Muslim 80 0.17% Jewish 70 0.15% Christian Orthodox 20 0.04% Hindu 20 0.04% Buddhist 15 0.03% Other religions 10 0.02%

Access routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the county, including external routes that start or finish at the county boundary:^[11]

Highways Hwy 103

Trunk Routes Trunk 3 Trunk 10 Trunk 12

Collector Routes: Route 208 Route 210 Route 324 Route 325 Route 329 Route 331 Route 332

External Routes: None

See also

• List of communities in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia
• List of communities in Nova Scotia
• Lunenburg English, the distinctive dialect of the area

References

1. "Terry's off".
2. "2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia". Archived from the original on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
3. Population and dwelling counts, for Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data
4. Municipal Government Act
5. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census divisions". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
6. Censuses 1871-1941
7. Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census
8. Statistics Canada: 2011 census
9. 2006 Statistics Canada Census Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada: Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia
10. Religious make-up, for Lunenburg County, 2001 census - 100% data
11. Atlantic Canada Back Road Atlas ISBN 978-1-55368-618-7 Pages 78-80, 86-87

External links

• Photographs of historic monuments in Lunenburg County
• Lunenburg County Map