Municipality of the District of Guysborough

The Municipality was created in 1879 when the administration of Guysborough County was divided between Guysborough and St. Canso was incorporated as a town in 1901, but dissolved and rejoined the municipality in 2012. The municipal office is located in Guysborough.

• Name — Guysborough • Official Name — Municipality of the District of Guysborough • Type — District municipality • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Canada • Subdivision Type1 — Province • Subdivision Name1 — Nova Scotia • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Guysborough • Established Title — Incorporated • Established Date — April 17, 1879 • Demographics Type1 — Electoral districts • Demographics1 Title1 — Federal • Demographics1 Info1 — Cape Breton—Canso • Demographics1 Title2 — Provincial • Demographics1 Info2 — Guysborough–Eastern Shore–Tracadie • Government Type — Council of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough • Leader Title — Municipal Seat • Leader Name — Guysborough • Leader Title1 — Warden • Leader Name1 — Paul Long • Area Land Km2 — 2116.86 • Population Total — 4670 • Population As Of — 2016 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Population Blank1 Title — Change 2011-16 • Population Blank1 — 6.5% • Population Blank2 Title — Census ranking • Population Blank2 — 751 of 4,870 • Time Zone — AST • Utc Offset — -4 • Time Zone Dst — ADT • Utc Offset Dst — -3 • Area Code — 902 • Custom Label Sec1 — Dwellings • Custom Data Sec1 — 2,889 • Custom Label1 Sec1 — Median Income* • Custom Data1 Sec1 — $34,987 CDN • Footnotes — *Median household income, 2005 (all households)

The area was originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, who had seasonal settlements on the coast of Chedabucto Bay at Cooks Cove and Canso. The Mi'kmaq extensively used the waterways feeding into Chedabucto Bay as trade and travel routes. The area was first visited by European fishermen in the early 16th century, and the first attempt at settlement was made in 1518 at Canso. Canso became a centre for fishing and fur trading activity in the region.

The French established control over the area in the early 17th century. A Catholic mission was established at present day Guysborough (called Chedabuctou by the French) in 1629, with a fort first being constructed in 1632. In 1654, Nicolas Denys expanded on the previous fort and made an attempt at settlement. In 1682, a permanent settlement was established by Clerbaud Bergier and the Company of Acadia. Fort St. Louis was built to establish control over the region and it's fishery. Following Queen Annes War, the area was contested between France and Britain. The British expelled the French from Canso and destroyed Fort St. Louis in 1718 and built Fort William Augustus in 1720, and Canso was raided by the French numerous times until France's final expulsion from the region during the French and Indian War. The Acadian population at Chedabuctou left in the early 1760's.

British settlers began arriving shortly after the departure of the Acadians. A large influx of settlers arrived in the form of Loyalists and former British soldiers in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War. The community of Guysborough was established by the Loyalists, named in honour of Sir Guy Carleton. The area was originally part of Sydney County, from which Guysborough County was split in 1836. In 1840, Guysborough County was subdivided into two districts for court sessisonal purposes – Guysborough and St. Mary's. In 1879, the two districts were incorporated as district municipalities.

In a plebiscite held on July 12, 2008, residents of the Town of Canso narrowly voted to amalgamate the town with the Municipality of the District of Guysborough. On January 19, 2012, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board granted the town's application to dissolve. On July 1, 2012, Canso became part of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough.

The district is divided into eight electoral districts, each of which elects a local councilor. The Warden of the Municipality is selected from among the council, by the council. The current Warden is Paul Long, councilor for district 1. The Chief Administrative Officer is the head of the administrative branch of the municipal government.

Occupying the eastern half of Guysborough County, the district municipality's administrative centre is the community of Guysborough. The district completely surrounds the Town of Mulgrave and it borders the Municipality of the District of St. Mary's to the west, the Municipality of the County of Antigonish to the north and the Strait of Canso to the east.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Municipality of the District of Guysborough had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of. With a land area of 2115.25 km2, it had a population density of sqmi in 2021. Population trend • Census — Population — Change (%) • 2016 — 4,670 — revised boundaries • 2011 — 4,189 — 10.6% • 2006 — 4,681 — 9.4% • 2001 — 5,165 — 13.1% • 1996 — 5,942 — 7.0% • 1991 — 6,389 — N/A Mother tongue language (2021) • Language — Population — Pct (%) • English only — 4,345 — 96.20% • Other languages — 70 — 1.80% • French only — 90 — 1.80% • Both English and French — 10 — 0.21%

• Canso Islands National Historic Site

• Black Duck Cove Provincial Park • Boylston Provincial Park • Port Shoreham Beach Provincial Park • Salsman Provincial Park • Tor Bay Provincial Park

• Bonnet Lake Barrens Wilderness Area • Canso Coastal Barrens Wilderness Area • Ogden Round Lake Wilderness Area