Pictou County, Nova Scotia
| Pictou County | |
|---|---|
| County | |
 Location of Pictou County, Nova Scotia |
|
| Coordinates: 45°30′N 62°36′W / 45.5°N 62.6°WCoordinates: 45°30′N 62°36′W / 45.5°N 62.6°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 Nova Scotia
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| Towns | New Glasgow / Pictou / Stellarton / Trenton / Westville |
| Established | 1835 |
| Electoral Districts Federal |
Central Nova |
| Provincial | Pictou Centre / Pictou East / Pictou West |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality of Pictou County |
| Area | |
| • Land | 2,846.28 km2 (1,098.95 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 43,748 |
| • Density | 15.4/km2 (40/sq mi) |
| • Change 2011-16 |
 4.2% |
| Time zone | AST (UTC−4) |
| • Summer (DST) | ADT (UTC−3) |
| Area code(s) | 902 |
| Dwellings | 22,525 |
| Median Earnings* | $43,475 CDN |
| Website | county.pictou.ns.ca |
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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 45,643 people in 2011, which represents a decline of 1.9 percent from 2006. Furthermore, its 2011 population is only 91.93% of the census population in 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova Scotia.
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, an old province in France. Nicolas Denys named the harbour La rivière de Pictou in the 1660s.
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 is acknowledged to have arrived on September 15, 1773, on the Hector.
Pictou County includes the towns of New Glasgow, Stellarton, Pictou, Westville and Trenton.
As a census division in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Pictou County recorded a population of 43,748 living in 19,305 of its 22,525 total private dwellings, a change of −4.2% from its 2011 population of 45,643. With a land area of 2,846.28 km2 (1,098.95 sq mi), it had a population density of 15.4/km2 (39.8/sq mi) in 2016.
Forming the majority of the Pictou County census division, the Municipality of the County of Pictou recorded a population of 20,692 living in 8,946 of its 11,178 total private dwellings in the 2016 Census of Population, a change of −2.8% from its 2011 population of 21,278. With a land area of 2,797.25 km2 (1,080.02 sq mi), it had a population density of 7.4/km2 (19.2/sq mi) in 2016.
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