Inverness County, Nova Scotia

{{About|the historical county|the modern municipality|Municipality of the County of Inverness}}

{{Infobox settlement

|official_name = Inverness County
{{native name|fr|Comté d'Inverness}}
{{native name|gd|Siorramachd Inbhir Nis}}

|other_name =

|nickname =

|settlement_type = County

|motto =

|image_skyline = Cabot trail 2009k.JPG

|image_caption = Cabot Trail seen from the Skyline Trail

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|image_map = InvernessCounty.png

|map_caption = Location of Inverness County, Nova Scotia

|image_map1 =

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|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name = Canada

|subdivision_type1 = Province

|subdivision_name1 = Nova Scotia

|subdivision_type2 = Towns

|subdivision_name2 = Port Hawkesbury

|subdivision_type3 =

|subdivision_name3 =

|subdivision_type4 =

|subdivision_name4 =

|seat_type =Electoral Districts
Federal

|seat =
Cape Breton—Canso / Sydney—Victoria

|parts_type =Provincial

|parts =Inverness

|government_footnotes =

|government_type =Municipality of the County of Inverness

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|established_title = Established as Juste au Corps

|established_date = 1835

|established_title2 = Renamed Inverness

|established_date2 = 1837

|established_title3 = Incorporated

|established_date3 = 17 April, 1879

|area_magnitude =

|unit_pref =

|area_footnotes =[http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CD&Code1=1215&Geo2=PR&Code2=13&Data=Count&SearchText=invern&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Custom&Custom=1000,7000,8000 2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Inverness County, Nova Scotia]

|area_total_km2 =

|area_land_km2 = 3831.17

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|population_as_of = 2021

|population_footnotes =[https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=inverness&DGUIDlist=2021A00031215&GENDERlist=1&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0/ Statistics Canada] Population and dwelling counts, for Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2021 census - 100% data

|population_note =

|population_total = 17,346

|population_density_km2 = 4.5

|population_density_sq_mi =

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|population_blank1_title = Change 2016-21

|population_blank1 = {{gain}}0.6%

|population_blank2_title = Census rankings
– Census divisions
Subdivision A
Subdivision B
Subdivision C
- Towns
Port Hawkesbury
- Reserves
Whycocomagh 2

|population_blank2 =

|timezone = AST

|utc_offset = -4

|timezone_DST = ADT

|utc_offset_DST = -3

|coordinates = {{coord|46.2|N|61.1|W|region:CA-NS_type:adm2nd|display=inline,title}}

|elevation_footnotes =

|elevation_m =

|elevation_ft =

|postal_code_type =

|postal_code =

|area_code = 902

|blank_name =Dwellings

|blank_info =9,876

|blank1_name =Median Income*

|blank1_info =$45,687 CDN

|website =

|footnotes = *Median household income, 2005 (all households)

}}

Inverness County is an historical county and census division of Nova Scotia, Canada located on Cape Breton Island. Local government is provided by the Municipality of the County of Inverness, the town of Port Hawkesbury and the Whycocomagh 2 Waycobah First Nation reserve.

History

Established as the County of Juste au Corps in 1835, Inverness County was given its present name in 1837. It was named after Sir Cameron Inverness of Scotland, the land from which many of the early settlers came.{{cite book|title=Nova Scotia Statutes|date=1837|publisher=Nova Scotia Legislature|page=26|url=http://0-nsleg-edeposit.gov.ns.ca.legcat.gov.ns.ca/deposit/Statutes/1837.pdf|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-date=14 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714140916/http://0-nsleg-edeposit.gov.ns.ca.legcat.gov.ns.ca/deposit/Statutes/1837.pdf|url-status=dead}} Agriculture and fishing dominated the economy with exports of butter and cattle to Newfoundland and Halifax for most of the nineteenth century.Robert A. MacKinnon, "The Historical Geography of Agriculture in Nova Scotia, 1851-1951", Ph.D. dissertation, University of British Columbia, 1991. The construction of the Inverness and Richmond Railway in 1901, and the subsequent opening of coal mines at Port Hood, Mabou, and Inverness, created the "only home market" local farmers had ever had.Canada, House of Commons, Official Report of Evidence taken During Session of 1921 Respecting the Future Fuel Supply of Canada (Ottawa, 1921), 643-644.

The boundaries of Inverness County had been previously defined when Cape Breton Island was divided by statute into three districts in 1823. In 1996, the county was amalgamated into a single municipality with the exception of Port Hawkesbury.

Demographics

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Inverness County had a population of {{nts|17346}} living in {{nts|7693}} of its {{nts|9737}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:17346-17235}}|17235|1}} from its 2016 population of {{nts|17235}}. With a land area of {{convert|3817.61|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|17346|3817.61|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000701 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census divisions | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=April 2, 2022}}

Forming the majority of the Inverness County census division, the Municipality of the County of Inverness, including its Subdivisions A, B, and C, had a population of {{val|13239|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|5989|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|7914|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:13239-13170}}|13170|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|13170|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|3795.34|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|13239|3795.34|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000203&geocode=A000212 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Nova Scotia | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=April 2, 2022}}

Population trend[https://web.archive.org/web/20160819104757/http://www66.statcan.gc.ca/eng/acyb_c1943-44-eng.aspx?opt=%2Feng%2F1943-44%2F194301510081_p.%2081.pdf Censuses 1871-1941]Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census

class="wikitable"
Census ! Population ! Change (%)
2021 \| 17,346 \| {{gain}}0.6%
2016 \| 17,235 \| {{loss}}4.0%
2011 \| 17,947 \| {{loss}}5.7%
2006 \| 19,036 \| {{loss}}4.5%
2001 \| 19,937 \| {{loss}}4.7%
1996 \| 20,918 \| {{loss}}3.2%
1991 \| 21,620 \| {{loss}}1.5%
1986 \| 21,946 \| {{loss}}1.8%
1981 \| 22,337 \| N/A
1941 \| 20,573 \|
1931 \| 21,055 \|
1921 \| 23,808 \|
1911 \| 25,571 \|
1901 \| 24,353 \|
1891 \| 25,779 \|
1881 \| 25,651 \|
1871 \| 23,415 \| N/A

class="wikitable"

Census

! Population

! Change (%)

2021

| 17,346

| {{gain}}0.6%

2016

| 17,235

| {{loss}}4.0%

2011

| 17,947

| {{loss}}5.7%

2006

| 19,036

| {{loss}}4.5%

2001

| 19,937

| {{loss}}4.7%

1996

| 20,918

| {{loss}}3.2%

1991

| 21,620

| {{loss}}1.5%

1986

| 21,946

| {{loss}}1.8%

1981

| 22,337

| N/A

1941

| 20,573

|

1931

| 21,055

|

1921

| 23,808

|

1911

| 25,571

|

1901

| 24,353

|

1891

| 25,779

|

1881

| 25,651

|

1871

| 23,415

| N/A

Native language (2011)

class="wikitable"
Language ! Population ! Pct (%)
English only \| 14,360 \| 81.31%
French only \| 2,315 \| 13.11%
Non-official languages \| 825 \| 4.67%
Multiple responses \| 165 \| 0.93%

class="wikitable"

Language

! Population

! Pct (%)

English only

| 14,360

| 81.31%

French only

| 2,315

| 13.11%

Non-official languages

| 825

| 4.67%

Multiple responses

| 165

| 0.93%

Ethnic groups (2006)[http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=CD&Code=1215&Table=2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All 2006 Statistics Canada Census Ethnocultural Portrait of Canada: Inverness County, Nova Scotia]

class="wikitable"
Ethnic origin ! Population ! Pct (%)
Scottish \| 9,365 \| 49.9%
Canadian \| 6,460 \| 34.5%
French \| 4,620 \| 24.6%
English \| 3,880 \| 20.7%
Irish \| 3,680 \| 19.6%
Acadian \| 1,180 \| 6.3%
North American Indian \| 910 \| 4.9%
German \| 580 \| 3.1%
Dutch (Netherlands) \| 555 \| 3.0%

class="wikitable"

Ethnic origin

! Population

! Pct (%)

Scottish

| 9,365

| 49.9%

Canadian

| 6,460

| 34.5%

French

| 4,620