Antigonish, Nova Scotia

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Part of a series about Communities in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Municipalities, Towns & Villages
Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Motto: The Heart of the Highlands
Location of Town of Antigonish, Nova Scotia in Nova Scotia.
Community Statistics
Area	5.15 km²
Population	4754 *
Population_Density	923.9/km²*
Earnings	$41,773 +
Latitude	45° 37' N
Longitude	61° 59' W
Elevation	unknown
Government
Warden/Mayor	Kay Chisholm
Governing Body	Antigonish Town Council
Other Information
Website	http://www.townofantigonish.ca/
Time Zone	AST
Postal Code	B2G
Footnotes
* According to StatCan Census Year 2001
+ Median household income, 2000 ($) - All households

Antigonish is town located in the eastern Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The town was incorporated in 1889 and has a population of 4754. It is the county seat of Antigonish County and the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antigonish. The town is home to St. Francis Xavier University and the oldest continuous highland games in North America.

1 History
2 Education
3 Economy
4 Annexation/Amalgamation
- 4.1 Causes
- 4.2 Timeline
5 Notable people from Antigonish
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

The name Antigonish is of Mi'kmaq origin and is believed to refer to the place where tree branches are torn off by bears gathering beech nuts.
The first European settlement took place in 1784 when Colonel Timothy Hierlihy received a large land grant surrounding Antigonish Harbour. Hierlihy and his party founded a settlement called Dorchester, named in honour of Sir Guy Carleton, Governor General of Canada, and subsequently Lord Dorchester.
In 1796 a local settler, with the assistance of a native guide, blazed a trail from Antigonish Harbour to Brown's Mountain, using the shortest route. This trail became a guide for travelers and eventually evolved into a winding Main Street.
By the late 1820s, Dorchester was commonly referred to as Antigonish.
St. Francis Xavier University was founded in 1853 and moved to Antigonish, from Arichat, Cape Breton, in 1855. It was originally a Catholic seminary. St. Francis Xavier was granted full university powers in 1866 by an act of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
The local newspaper, The Casket, was first published on January 1, 1861.
The first Antigonish Highland Games were held in 1863 to raise funds for the construction of St. Ninian's Cathedral.
Sydney County was renamed Antigonish County in 1864.
Antigonish was incorporated as a town in 1889.
The first hospital in Antigonish opened on June 10, 1906.

[edit] Education

St. Francis Xavier University is located in Antigonish. St. Francis Xavier has 4,000 full-time students and 500 part-time students. It has been named as the best undergraduate university in Canada by Maclean's magazine for five consecutive years (2002-2006). St. Francis Xavier is also well known for the X-Ring and the Coady International Institute.

The elementary and secondary schools in Antigonish fall under the jurisdiction of the Strait Regional School Board. Antigonish is home to three public schools.

Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School
St. Andrew Junior School
Antigonish Education Centre

[edit] Economy

Antigonish is considered to be a "service centre" as many of the local businesses are based in the service sector. There are no major industrial operations located in the town or county. The workforce is primarily white collar with the largest employers being St. Martha's Regional Hospital and St. Francis Xavier University. Another major employer in Antigonish is Canada Post's National Philatelic Centre, which provides mail-order services for worldwide collectors of Canadian stamps.

Town Hall, Main Street, Antigonish

A great deal of retail development has taken place in the Antigonish area. The retail landscape of the town and county has changed significantly because of a recent building boom. Much of the growth has taken place in the Post Road area, just outside of town. Atlantic Superstore, Wal-Mart, and Central (a home improvement warehouse chain, similar to The Home Depot, located in Nova Scotia) have constructed new stores within the past year. The former Atlantic SuperValu, also located in this area, has been redeveloped as a Staples Business Depot. Other areas have also seen growth. A new GM dealership was constructed on the outskirts of town while Shoppers Drug Mart and the NSLC (liquor store) have built new stores downtown. Construction on a multi unit retail complex, which houses a new Cleve's Source for Sports store, near the local shopping mall has recently been completed. A 200-300 employee call centre has recently opened at the mall, as have a Boston Pizza and a Blockbuster. An A&W restaurant is also under construction.

[edit] Annexation/Amalgamation

The Town of Antigonish is currently embroiled in a dispute with Antigonish County over the issue of annexation/amalgamation.

[edit] Causes

The issue primarily relates to availability of land within town boundaries. Constant development has reduced the amount of undeveloped land within the town. According to Town officials, there is no longer enough land remaining for future expansion of the town. Town officials also suggest that this lack of vacant land is forcing new development into the 'fringe area' of the county that immediately surrounds the town. In an effort to address this situation, the Town applied to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (a quasi-judicial body that rules on issues related to government in Nova Scotia), on May 7, 2001, for permission to annex 6,503 acres of Antigonish County.

[edit] Timeline

On May 28, 2001, several weeks after the Town made its application, the County of Antigonish applied to the NSURB to amalgamate with the town. The rationale for the application, as the county cited, were adverse effects related to the loss of tax revenue from annexed lands.

By January 2002, the town had reduced the amount of land area sought for annexation to 3,814 acres. The NSURB consolidated the two applications and a public hearing was held over the span of three weeks, from January 26 to February 11, 2004. The hearing was designed to gauge public opinion of the issue. A total of 97 members of the public spoke at the hearings, representing both sides of the issue. After the public hearings were completed, the board was left to deliberate with the evidence it had collected.

On February 7 2005, the board released its preliminary opinion (see [1]). The 213 page report stated that area residents would be best served by amalgamation. It further ordered that a plebiscite be held in the town and county, no later than September 17, 2005, to determine the degree of support for amalgamation. The board would add the results of the plebiscite to the other evidence and then render a final decision.

However, the town soon appealed the ruling on the grounds that the NSURB does not have the authority to force two municipal units into amalgamation. The plebiscite was postponed while the issue was before the courts.

On October 17, 2005, the Town announced that it would be willing to back off its application for annexation if the County would drop its application for amalgamation. The County declined the offer on the 26th, indicating that it believed it was time to gauge public opinion of the issue with a plebiscite. Related to this, the County has asked that the Town drop its appeal of the NSURB authority and accept a plebiscite.

The Town did not drop its appeal and the issue remained in the courts for another five months. Finally on March 7, 2006 the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal rejected the Town's appeal. This decision paved the way for a plebiscite. Soon after the court ruling, the plebiscite was scheduled for Saturday June 17.

[edit] Notable people from Antigonish

Ronald J. MacDonald, Runner
Max Haines, crime writer, columnist for the Toronto Sun
Shauna MacDonald, actress, also known as "Promo Girl" on CBC Radio One
Carole MacNeil, television journalist, co-host of CBC News: Sunday and CBC News: Sunday Night
Stephen McHattie, stage, film and TV actor (born Stephen Smith in 1946)
Carroll Morgan, Olympic heavyweight boxer
Jim Nunn, television reporter, former anchor of the CBC News program Marketplace
Anne Simpson, poet
Hugh Thompson, actor
The Trews, a Canadian rock band
John Brophy professional hockey coach

[edit] References

Walsh, Patrick (1989). The History of Antigonish. Antigonish, N.S.: Scotia Design Publications, 320. ISBN 092014702X.

[edit] External links

	Nova Scotia
Counties	Annapolis - Antigonish - Cape Breton - Colchester - Cumberland - Digby - Guysborough - Halifax - Hants - Inverness - Kings - Lunenburg - Pictou - Queens - Richmond - Shelburne - Victoria - Yarmouth
Regional Municipalities	Cape Breton - Halifax - Queens
Incorporated Towns	Amherst - Annapolis Royal - Antigonish - Berwick - Bridgetown - Bridgewater - Canso - Clark's Harbour - Digby - Hantsport - Kentville - Lockeport - Lunenburg - Mahone Bay - Middleton - Mulgrave - New Glasgow - Oxford - Parrsboro - Pictou - Port Hawkesbury - Shelburne - Springhill - Stellarton - Stewiacke - Trenton - Truro - Westville - Windsor - Wolfville - Yarmouth
Other Communities	Bedford - Bible Hill - Cole Harbour - Dartmouth - Dominion - Eastern Passage - Fall River - Glace Bay - Greenwood - Halifax (former city) - Liverpool - Louisbourg - Lower Sackville - New Minas - New Waterford - North Sydney - Sydney - Sydney Mines - Weymouth