Richmond County, Nova Scotia

This article is about the historical county. For the modern municipality, see Municipality of the County of Richmond.

Richmond County is an historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada. Local government is provided by the Municipality of the County of Richmond.

Richmond County Comté de Richmond (French) Siorramachd Richmond (Scottish Gaelic)
County
Seal
Location of Richmond County, Nova Scotia
Coordinates: 45.7°N 60.8°W / 45.7; -60.8
Country	Canada
Province	Nova Scotia
Established	1835
Incorporated	1879
Electoral Districts       Federal	Cape Breton—Canso
Provincial	Cape Breton-Richmond
Government
• Type	Municipality of the County of Richmond
• Warden	Jason MacLean[1]
Area [2]
• Land	1,246.08 km2 (481.11 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2][3]
• Total	8,914
• Density	7.2/km2 (19/sq mi)
• Change 2016-21	0.6%
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Area code	902
Dwellings	5,122
Median income*	CA$40,188
Website	www.richmondcounty.ca
Median household income, 2005 (all households)

History

Named in honour of Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, who was Governor General of British North America 1818–1819, Richmond County was created in 1835.

Richmond County comprises that territory known as the Southern District which was established in 1824 at the time of the dividing of Cape Breton Island into three districts. The boundaries of the Southern District were defined at the time of its establishment. Those same boundaries were determined to be the boundaries of Richmond County by statute in 1847.

The main centre is Arichat, located on Isle Madame.

Communities

Villages

• St. Peter's

Reserves

• Chapel Island 5

County municipality and county subdivisions

• Municipality of the County of Richmond
  • Richmond, Subd. A
  • Richmond, Subd. B
  • Richmond, Subd. C

Access routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the county, including external routes that start or finish at the county limits:^[4]

Highways Hwy 104

Trunk Routes Trunk 4

Collector Routes: Route 206 Route 247 Route 320 Route 327

External Routes: None

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Richmond County had a population of 8,914 living in 4,100 of its 5,230 total private dwellings, a change of -0.6% from its 2016 population of 8,964. With a land area of 1,246.08 km² (481.11 sq mi), it had a population density of 7.2/km² (18.5/sq mi) in 2021.^[5]

Forming the majority of the Richmond County census division, the Municipality of the County of Richmond, including its Subdivisions A, B, and C, had a population of 8,509 living in 3,961 of its 5,083 total private dwellings, a change of 0.6% from its 2016 population of 8,458. With a land area of 1,240.46 km² (478.94 sq mi), it had a population density of 6.9/km² (17.8/sq mi) in 2021.^[6]

Population trend^[7][8]

Census	Population	Change (%)
2021	8,914	0.6%
2016	8,964	3.5%
2011	9,293	4.6%
2006	9,740	4.7%
2001	10,225	7.2%
1996	11,022	2.1%
1991	11,260	5.2%
1986	11,841	8.3%
1981	12,824	N/A
1941	10,853
1931	11,098
1921	12,464
1911	13,273
1901	13,515
1891	14,399
1881	15,121
1871	14,268	N/A

Mother tongue language (2011)^[9]

Language	Population	Pct (%)
English only	6,620	72.19%
French only	2,085	22.74%
Non-official languages	285	3.11%
Multiple responses	180	1.96%

Ethnic Origins (2006)^[10]

Ethnic Origin	Population	Pct (%)
French	4,895	50.8%
Canadian	3,920	40.7%
Scottish	2,310	24.0%
English	2,060	21.4%
Irish	1,590	16.5%
Acadian	710	7.4%
North American Indian	685	7.1%
German	440	4.6%

See also

• Canada portal
• Nova Scotia portal

• List of municipalities in Nova Scotia
• Central Nova Tourist Association – Tourism Association Representing Colchester County.