Nova Scotia, Canada
Nova Scotia, Canada: the places inside it, the companies based here, and where this atlas has research on it.
province · population 1,000,000 (registry) · North America · page prepared 2026-11-07
Visiting rather than moving? The free guidebook for Nova Scotia →
Nova Scotia at a glance
Rolled up from the 14 regions inside Nova Scotia on this site, with census figures from Statistics Canada.
Who leads Nova Scotia, and how households are doing
Researched 2026-11-08 from official statistics; every figure links to its source.
- Population
- 1,103,419 persons (2026-07) ↗
- GDP
- 69,929 CAD million, current prices (GDP at market prices, expenditure-based) (2025) ↗
- GDP per person
- 63,853 CAD per person, nominal (81.8% of national average) (2025) ↗
- Unemployment
- 6.2 % of labour force, seasonally adjusted (Halifax & East Hants CMA 5.4%, 3-mo avg) (2026-10) ↗
- Inflation
- 5.6 % CPI all-items y/y (Canada 3.1%; Halifax 5.4%) (2026-09) ↗
- Median household income
- 73,500 CAD, median total income, economic families and persons not in an economic family (StatCan 11-10-0190) (2024) ↗
- Average household income
- 93,800 CAD, average total income, economic families and persons not in an economic family (StatCan 11-10-0190) (2024) ↗
- Household debt (total)
- 41,049 CAD million, total debt held by all family units (Survey of Financial Security) (2023) ↗
- Average household debt
- 122,400 CAD, average total debt among family units holding debt (70.6% hold debt; median $50,000), SFS (2023) ↗
- Median net worth
- 354,600 CAD, median net worth, all family units (SFS) (2023) ↗
- Average net worth
- 681,700 CAD, average net worth, all family units (SFS) (2023) ↗
- Home ownership
- 64.6 % of family units holding a principal residence (SFS, not Census tenure) (2023) ↗
Home prices in the biggest cities
As each source measures them (benchmark, median or average sale price); not directly comparable across measures.
Languages
Official-language and home-language figures as the census reports them.
| Language | Share | Measure | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| English (only) ↗ | 93.4% | most often at home | 2021 |
| French (only) ↗ | 1.3% | most often at home | 2021 |
| Non-official languages (Arabic, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi, Mi'kmaq lead) ↗ | 3.8% | most often at home | 2021 |
| French ↗ | 2.8% | first official language spoken (French only) | 2021 |
| French and English ↗ | 0.2% | first official language spoken (both) | 2021 |
| French (can conduct a conversation) ↗ | 10.4% | knowledge of French | 2021 |
Largest companies in Nova Scotia
Ranked by the measure shown, from the cited ranking or filing.
| Company | Measure | Value | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empire Company Limited (Sobeys) — Stellarton ↗ | revenue | 31,950 CAD million, sales FY ended 2026-05-02 | 2026 |
| Emera Inc. (parent of Nova Scotia Power) — Halifax ↗ | revenue | 8,776 CAD million | 2025 |
| High Liner Foods — Lunenburg ↗ | revenue | 1,026.9 USD million, sales FY2025 | 2025 |
| Crombie REIT — New Glasgow ↗ | revenue | 488.711 CAD million, property revenue | 2025 |
| Killam Apartment REIT — Halifax ↗ | revenue | 383.401 CAD million, property revenue | 2025 |
Largest listed companies headquartered in Nova Scotia
By market cap (USD billions, 2026-11-10). Market caps from companiesmarketcap.com; listing and head office from search.coshares + search.cos (RegionID walked to the province).
| # | Company | Ticker | Market cap | Rank in Canada |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empire | TSX:EMP.A | $8.03B | 87 |
| 2 | Crombie REIT | TSX:CRR.UN | $2.17B | 188 |
| 3 | Killam Apartment REIT | TSX:KMP.UN | $1.5B | 213 |
| 4 | Stingray | TSX:RAY.A | $0.84B | 262 |
| 5 | WildBrain | TSE:WILD | $0.2B | 380 |
Source: companiesmarketcap.com · listings and head offices from search.coshares + search.cos
Worth knowing
- 2026-09Nova Scotia's population reached 1,103,419 on July 1, 2026, up 8,262 (+0.75%), its smallest annual gain in nine years; deaths (11,557) outnumbered births (8,059). ↗
- 2026-10Consumer prices in Nova Scotia rose 5.6% year over year in September 2026, against a national rate of 3.1%. ↗
- 2026-10Halifax resale home prices (Teranet-National Bank index) fell 4.0% year over year in September 2026, and the 1.59% drop from August was the fastest monthly decline among the 11 cities tracked. ↗
- 2026-10Lunenburg-based High Liner Foods agreed on Oct. 26, 2026 to be acquired by Japan's Umios Corporation for C$27.00 per share, valuing its equity at about C$804 million. ↗
- 2026-11Nova Scotia's real GDP grew 3.0% in 2025 (Canada 1.9%); nominal GDP reached $69.93 billion. ↗
- 2026-11Employment in Nova Scotia rose 21,600 (+4.1%) year over year, reaching 543,000 in October 2026. ↗
Census
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population.
- Mandarin4,955 · 0.5%
- Arabic4,455 · 0.5%
- Punjabi (Panjabi)3,035 · 0.3%
- Mi'kmaq1,915 · 0.2%
- Korean1,600 · 0.2%
- Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino)1,295 · 0.1%
- Malayalam1,200 · 0.1%
- Hindi1,045 · 0.1%
- Russian960 · 0.1%
- Spanish950 · 0.1%
- Iranian Persian735 · 0.1%
- Portuguese675 · 0.1%
Largest places in Nova Scotia
By registry population; places with a full /local page are marked.
- 1.Bridgewater, Nova Scotia full8,790
Inside Nova Scotia
14 regions have Nova Scotia as their parent.
Companies based in Nova Scotia
1 in the Research Upon company directory list their headquarters here, and 19 across Nova Scotia and the places inside it — search them all below.
| Company | Industry | Founded |
|---|---|---|
| Biosign Technologies | Health | 2004 |
areaAbout this page: figures for the whole of Nova Scotia, Canada are rolled up from every region inside it; each place inside has a page of its own, and the companies headquartered here are listed above.