Everything about Cape Breton Island totally explained
Cape Breton Island (
French:
île du Cap-Breton - formerly
île Royale,
Scottish Gaelic:
Eilean Cheap Breatuinn,
Míkmaq:
Únamakika, simply:
Cape Breton) is an
island on the
Atlantic coast of
North America. It likely corresponds to the European word "Breton", referring to
Brittany.
Cape Breton Island is part of the province of
Nova Scotia,
Canada. Although physically separated from the
Nova Scotia peninsula by the
Strait of Canso, it's artificially connected to mainland North America by the
Canso Causeway. The island is located east-northeast of the mainland with its northern and western
coasts fronting on the
Gulf of St. Lawrence; its western coast also forming the eastern limits of the
Northumberland Strait. The eastern and southern coasts front the Atlantic Ocean; its eastern coast also forming the western limits of the
Cabot Strait. Its landmass slopes upward from south to north, culminating in the
highlands of its northern cape. A saltwater estuary,
Bras d'Or Lake, dominates the centre of the island.
The island is divided into four of Nova Scotia's eighteen counties:
Cape Breton,
Inverness,
Richmond, and
Victoria. Their total population as of the
2001 census numbered 147,454 "Cape Bretoners"; this is approximately 16% of the provincial population. Cape Breton Island has experienced a decline in population of approximately 6.8% since the previous census in 1996. Approximately 72% of the island's population is located in the
Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) which includes all of
Cape Breton County and is often referred to as
Industrial Cape Breton, given the history of
coal mining and steel manufacturing in this area.
The island contains five
reserves of the
Mi'kmaq Nation, these being:
Eskasoni,
Membertou,
Wagmatcook,
We'kopaq/Waycobah, and
Potlotek/Chapel Island. Eskasoni is the largest in both population and land area.
History
Cape Breton Island's first residents were likely
Maritime Archaic Indians, ancestors of the
Mi'kmaq Nation, the later of whom inhabited the island at the time of European discovery.
Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) reportedly visited the island in 1497 to become the first
Renaissance European explorer to visit present-day Canada. However, historians are unclear as to whether Cabot first visited
Newfoundland or Cape Breton Island. This discovery is commemorated by Cape Breton's
Cabot Trail.
A fishing colony was established on the island about 1521/1522 by the Portuguese under
João Alvares Fagundes. As many as 200 settlers lived in the nameless village in what is now present day Ingonish (location according to some historians) on the island's northwestern peninsula. The fate of the colony is unknown, but it's mentioned as late as 1570.
On
February 8,
1631,
Charles I granted Cape Breton Island to
Robert Gordon of
Lochinvar and his son Robert.
The island saw active settlement by
France with the island being included in the colony of
Acadia. A French
garrison was established in the central eastern part at
Ste-Anne in the early 18th century, before relocating to a much larger fortification at
Louisbourg to improve defences at the entrance to the
Gulf of St. Lawrence and defend France's fishing fleet on the
Grand Banks. The French named the island "
Île Royale." It remained part of
colonial France until it was ceded to the
Britain under the
Treaty of Paris in 1763. Britain merged the island with its adjacent colony of Nova Scotia (present day peninsular Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick).
Some of the first British-sanctioned settlers to the island following the
Seven Years' War were
Irish, although upon settlement, they merged with local French communities to form a culture rich in both music and tradition. From 1763 to 1784 the island was administratively part of the colony of
Nova Scotia and governed from
Halifax.
The first permanently settled
Scottish community on Cape Breton Island was
Judique, settled in 1775 by Michael Mor MacDonald. He spent his first winter using his upside-down boat for shelter, which is reflected in the architecture of the village's Community Centre. He composed a song about the area called "O's alainn an t-aite", or 'Fair is the Place.
In 1784, Britain split the colony of Nova Scotia into three separate colonies: New Brunswick, Cape Breton Island, and present-day peninsular Nova Scotia, in addition to the adjacent colonies of
St. John's Island (renamed Prince Edward Island in 1798) and
Newfoundland. The colony of Cape Breton Island had its capital at
Sydney on its namesake harbour fronting on Spanish Bay and the
Cabot Strait. Its first Lieutenant-Governor was
Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres (1784–1787) and his successor was
William Macarmick (1787). From 1799 to 1807 the military commandant was John Despard, brother of
Edward.
An order forbidding the granting of land in Cape Breton, issued in 1763, was removed in 1784. The mineral rights to the island were given over to the Crown by an order-in-council. The British government had intended that the Crown take over the operation of the mines when Cape Breton was made a colony, but this was never done, probably because of the rehabilitation cost of the mines. The mines were in a neglected state, caused by careless operations dating back at least to the time of the final fall of Louisbourg.
In 1820, the colony of Cape Breton Island was merged for the second time with Nova Scotia, this being present-day peninsular Nova Scotia. This development is one of the factors which led to large-scale industrial development in the Sydney Coal Field of eastern Cape Breton County (see
Industrial Cape Breton). By the late 19th century, as a result of the faster shipping, expanding fishery and industrialization of the island, exchanges of people between the island of
Newfoundland and Cape Breton increased beginning a cultural exchange that continues to this day.
During the first half of the 19th century, Cape Breton Island experienced an influx of
Highland Scots numbering approximately 50,000 as a result of the
Highland Clearances. Today, the descendants of the Highland Scots dominate Cape Breton Island's culture, particularly in rural communities. To this day
Gaelic is still the first language of a number of elderly Cape Bretoners. A campaign by the provincial government during the 19th and early 20th centuries aimed to eradicate the use of Gaelic among school children. The growing influence of English-dominated media from outside the Scottish communities saw the use of this language erode quickly during the 20th century. Many of the Scots who immigrated there were either Roman Catholics or Presbyterians.
Tourism promotions beginning in the 1950s recognized the importance of the Scottish culture to the province, and the provincial government started encouraging the use of Gaelic once again. The establishment of funding for the
Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts and formal Gaelic language
instruction in public schools are intended to address the near-loss of this culture to English
assimilation.
The turn of the 20th century saw Cape Breton Island at the forefront of scientific achievement with the now-famous activities launched by inventors
Alexander Graham Bell and
Guglielmo Marconi.
Following his successful invention of the
telephone and being relatively wealthy, Bell acquired land near
Baddeck in 1885, largely due to surroundings reminiscent of his early years in
Scotland. He established a summer estate complete with research laboratories, working with deaf people - including
Helen Keller - and continued to invent. Baddeck would be the site of his experiments with
hydrofoil technologies as well as the
Aerial Experiment Association, financed by his wife, which saw the first powered flight in the
British Empire when the
AEA Silver Dart took off from the ice-covered waters of
Bras d'Or Lake. Bell also built the forerunner to the
iron lung and he experimented with breeding sheep.
Marconi's contributions to Cape Breton Island were somewhat less than Bell's as he merely used the island's geography to his advantage in transmitting the first trans-
Atlantic radio message from a station constructed at Table Head in
Glace Bay to a receiving station at
Poldhu in
Cornwall,
England.
Geography
The island measures 10,311
km² in area (3,981 square miles), making it the
75th largest island in the world and
Canada's 18th largest island. Cape Breton Island is composed mainly of
rocky shores, rolling
farmland,
glacial valleys, barren
headlands,
mountains,
woods and
plateaus. Geological evidence suggests that at least part of the island was originally joined with present-day
Scotland and
Norway, now separated by millions of years of
continental drift.
The northern portion of Cape Breton Island is dominated by the
Cape Breton Highlands, commonly shortened to simply the "Highlands", which are an extension of the
Appalachian mountain chain. The Highlands comprise the northern portions of
Inverness and
Victoria counties. In 1936 the federal government established the
Cape Breton Highlands National Park covering 949 km² across the northern third of the Highlands. The
Cabot Trail scenic highway also encircles the coastal perimeter of the plateau.
Cape Breton Island's hydrological features include the
Bras d'Or Lake system, a salt-water
fjord at the heart of the island, and
freshwater features including
Lake Ainslie, the
Margaree River system, and the
Mira River. Innumerable smaller
rivers and
streams drain into the Bras d'Or Lake
estuary and onto the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Atlantic coasts.
Cape Breton Island is now joined to the mainland by the
Canso Causeway, completed in 1955, enabling direct
road and
rail traffic to and from the island, but requiring
marine traffic to pass through the
Canso Canal at the eastern end of the
causeway.
Cape Breton Island is divided into four counties:
Cape Breton,
Inverness,
Richmond, and
Victoria.
Demographics
The island's residents can be grouped into five main cultures;
Scottish,
Mi'kmaq,
Acadian,
Irish, and
English, with respective languages
Gaelic,
Mi'kmaq,
French, and
English. English is now the primary spoken language, though Mi'kmaq, Gaelic and French are still heard.
Later
migrations of
black Loyalists,
Italians, and
Eastern Europeans mostly settled in the eastern part of the island around the Industrial Cape Breton region. The population of Cape Breton Island has been in decline for almost two decades with an increasing population exodus in recent years due to economic conditions.
According to the Census of Canada, the population of Cape Breton Island in 2001 was 147,454, a 6.8% decline from 158,260 in 1996.
Racial/Ethnic composition
95.0% Caucasian
3.6% Mi'kmaq (Canadian First Nation)
0.7% Black
0.1% Arab
Religious groups
Statistics Canada
in 2001 reported a "religion" total of 107,880 for Cape Breton, including 3,915 with "no religious affiliation." Major categories included:
Roman Catholic: 69,820
Protestant: 32,575 (including 13,790 United Church and 10,170 Anglican)
Orthodox: 395
Jewish: 235
Muslim: 135
Synagogues in Sydney and Glace Bay serve a small historic Jewish community (which was once one of the larger ones in eastern Canada) while more recent Muslim immigrants hold Friday prayers at Cape Breton University. Buddhists are a tiny minority (70 in 2001, according to Statistics Canada), although Gampo Abbey in Pleasant Bay has been operational since 1984.
Economy
Cape Breton Island has two major coal deposits: the Sydney Coal Field in the southeastern part of the island along the Atlantic Ocean drove the Industrial Cape Breton economy throughout the 19th and 20th centuries - until after World War II its industries were the largest private employers in Canada; the Inverness Coal Field in the western part of the island along the Gulf of St. Lawrence is significantly smaller but hosted several mines.
Sydney has traditionally been the main port, with various facilities in a large, sheltered, natural harbour. It is the Island's largest commercial center and home to the Island's daily newspaper, the Cape Breton Post, as well as its only active television studio, CJCB-TV, and several radio stations. The Marine Atlantic terminal at North Sydney is the terminal for large ferries travelling to Channel–Port aux Basques and seasonally to Argentia on the island of Newfoundland.
Point Edward on the west side of Sydney Harbour is the location of Sydport, a former navy base now converted to commercial use. The Canadian Coast Guard College is located nearby at Westmount. Petroleum, bulk coal, and cruise ship facilities are also located in Sydney Harbour.
Glace Bay is the second largest urban community in population and was the island's main coal mining centre until its last mine ceased operation in the 1980s. Glace Bay served as the hub of the Sydney & Louisburg Railway and also as a major fishing port. At one time, Glace Bay was known as the largest town in Nova Scotia, based on population.
Port Hawkesbury has risen to prominence since the completion of the Canso Causeway and Canso Canal created an artificial deep-water port, allowing extensive petrochemical, pulp and paper, and gypsum handling facilities to be established. The Strait of Canso is completely navigable to seaway-max vessels, and Port Hawkesbury is open to the deepest-draught vessels on the world's oceans. Large marine vessels may also enter Bras d'Or Lake through the Great Bras d'Or channel whereas small craft have the additional use of the Little Bras d'Or channel or St. Peters Canal. The St. Peters Canal is no longer used by commercial shipping on Cape Breton Island but is an important waterway for recreational vessels.
The industrial Cape Breton area faced several challenges with the closure of the Cape Breton Development Corporation's (DEVCO) coal mines and the Sydney Steel Corporation's (SYSCO) steel mill. In recent years the Island's residents have been attempting to diversify the area economy by investing in tourism developments, call centres, and small businesses, as well as manufacturing ventures in such fields as auto parts, pharmaceuticals, and window glazings.
While the Cape Breton Regional Municipality is in transition from an industrial to a service-based economy, the rest of Cape Breton Island outside of the industrial area surrounding Sydney-Glace Bay has been more stable, with a mixture of fishing, forestry, small-scale agriculture, and tourism.
Tourism in particular has grown throughout the post-Second World War era, especially the growth in vehicle-based touring, which was furthered by the creation of the Cabot Trail scenic drive. The scenery of the island is rivalled in northeastern North America only by Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island tourism marketing places a heavy emphasis on its Scottish Gaelic heritage through events such as the Celtic Colours Festival, held each October, as well as promotions through the Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts.
The primary east-west road on the island is Highway 105, the Trans-Canada Highway, although Trunk 4 is also heavily used. Highway 125 is an important arterial route around Sydney Harbour in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. The Cabot Trail, circling the Cape Breton Highlands, and Trunk 19, along the western coast of the island, are important secondary roads. Railway connections between the port of Sydney to Canadian National Railway in Truro are maintained by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway.
The Cabot Trail is a scenic road circuit around and over the Cape Breton Highlands with spectacular coastal vistas; over 400,000 visitors drive the Cabot Trail each summer and fall. Coupled with Fortress Louisbourg, it has driven the growth of the tourism industry on the island in recent decades. The Condé Nast travel guide has rated Cape Breton Island as one of the best island destinations in the world.
Traditional music
Cape Breton is well known for its traditional fiddle music, which was brought to North America by Scottish immigrants during the Highland Clearances. The traditional style has been well preserved in Cape Breton, and ceilidhs have become a popular attraction for summer tourists. Inverness County in particular has a heavy concentration of musical activity, with regular performances in communities such as Mabou and Judique. Judique is recognized as 'Bhaile nam Fonn', (literally: Village of Tunes) or the 'Home of Celtic Music', featuring the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre. Performers who have received significant recognition outside of Cape Breton include Buddy MacMaster, Natalie MacMaster, Ashley MacIsaac, The Rankin Family, Aselin Debison, and The Barra MacNeils.
The Men of the Deeps are a male choral group of current and former miners from the industrial Cape Breton area.
Film and television
starring Adam Beach
Johnny Belinda by Elmer Blaney Harris.
Margaret's Museum starring Helena Bonham Carter.
The Bay Boy starring Kiefer Sutherland.
New Waterford Girl
The Hanging Garden
Marion Bridge
My Bloody Valentine
Pit Pony, TV movie and series adapted from the novel by Joyce Barkhouse
Mass for Shut Ins
Famous people
The arts
Nathan Bishop,singer-songwriter from Celtae
John Allan Cameron, singer-songwriter, from Glencoe Station, credited as the "Godfather" of Cape Breton's modern Celtic music revival
Lesley Crewe, Author of Relative Happiness and Shoot Me
Mark Day, film & television actor, writer, and producer from Port Hawkesbury
Aselin Debison, singer-songwriter
Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald, fiddle player from White Point, Victoria County, Nova Scotia
Danny Gallivan, Hockey Night in Canada sportscaster
Bruce Guthro, singer-songwriter
Mary Jane Lamond, Gaelic singer
Angus MacAskill, Giant and Circus Performer
Ashley MacIsaac, fiddle player from Creignish
Slowcoaster, jam rock band
Daniel MacIvor,actor, playwright, theatre director and film director from Sydney
Hugh MacLennan, Governor General's Awards winning Author Barometer Rising, and Two Solitudes.
Alistair MacLeod, Author
Steve Arbuckle, actor
The Barra MacNeils, singing group
Rita MacNeil,singer-songwriter, from Big Pond
Buddy MacMaster, fiddle player from Judique
Natalie MacMaster, fiddle player from Troy
Duncan Wells, singer-songwriter
Daniel Petrie, Hollywood filmmaker
The Rankin Family, singers-songwriters, from Mabou
Rick Ravanello Actor, Hart's War, various TV series including 24,, Desperate Housewives
Harold Russell, Academy Award winning actor for his portrayal of Homer Parrish, in the 1946 film The Best Years of Our Lives.
Gordie Sampson, singer-songwriter Big Pond
Athletes
Al MacInnis
Mike McPhee
Aaron Johnson
Johnny Miles
Bobby Smith
Politics and business
John Buchanan, Premier of Nova Scotia
Mayann Francis, First Black Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia
Angus L. MacDonald, Premier of Nova Scotia
Rodney MacDonald, Premier of Nova Scotia
Allan MacEachen, Former Deputy Prime Minister / Finance Minister
Russell MacLellan, Premier of Nova Scotia
Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada
John W. Morgan, Mayor of Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Irving Schwartz, Businessman, Philanthropist, member of the Order of CanadaFurther Information
Get more info on 'Cape Breton Island'.
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