How to Immigrate to Nova Scotia

4 minute read

"Nova Scotia is one of the 4 Atlantic Canadian Provinces and also a Maritime province. Its name is derived from the Latin words for New Scotland. Located along the eastern coastline, Nova Scotia is exactly between the equator and the North Pole."

Written by My Visa Source Team
Published on: Dec 6, 2021

Nova Scotia is one of the 4 Atlantic Canadian Provinces and also a Maritime province. Its name is derived from the Latin words for New Scotland. Located along the eastern coastline, Nova Scotia is exactly between the equator and the North Pole. While it is the second smallest province of Canada, it is also the second-most densely populated area in Canada.

Halifax is the capital city of Nova Scotia. It is technically a series of over 3800 coastal islands. It experiences a mixture of Continental and Maritime climates, which are warm summers and cold, wet winters.

What Are the Benefits of Living in Nova Scotia?

Nova Scotia is the perfect place to live with your family. With a high quality of life and a low cost of living, Nova Scotia will give you a life comparable to the southern provinces at half the price. The province also has the most affordable housing prices in all of Canada. In June 2020, the average price of a house in Nova Scotia was $286,227 compared to the national average of $538,831.

How Is the Economy in Nova Scotia?

The economy in Nova Scotia depends primarily on its natural resources, especially the fishing industry. The province also has a stable offshore oil rigging industry. There is also a thriving tourism industry catering to over 200,000 cruise ships that pass through the Halifax port every year.

The Information Technology industry in the province is also growing. Nova Scotia is the largest exporter of Christmas trees, lobsters, and wild berries. Therefore, there is a wide range of employment opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled foreign workers who want to immigrate to Nova Scotia.

What Are the Demographics of Nova Scotia?

The ethnic group with the majority in Nova Scotia are people of Scottish descent, followed by English, French and Aboriginal peoples. Nova Scotia is predominantly English speaking, with only 3.44% of the population speaking French and another 0.66% speaking Arabic.

There are also small communities of people of Italian, Polish, Lebanese, Chinese, African, East India, American, Norwegian, Spanish, Jewish, and Greek descent.

How Is Education in Nova Scotia?

Nova Scotia is one of the most popular destinations for international students. Excellent educational institutions are offering a wide variety of study programs for students from all over the world. Nova Scotia also has the lowest tuition rates in the English-speaking world. There are around 10 universities in Nova Scotia and over 90 private commercial colleges. The universities include the following:

Acadia University
Atlantic School of Theology
Cape Breton University
Dalhousie University
Mount Saint Vincent University
NSCAD University
Saint Francis Xavier University
Université Saint-Anne
University of King's College

What Support Services Are Available to New Immigrants in Nova Scotia?

The Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association (MISA) and Halifax Immigrant Learning Center (HICL) merged to create the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia. This organization is the largest immigrant service organization in Atlantic Canada.

It employs over 270 people from more than 64 countries. This organization will provide the following settlement services:

Orientation on life in Canada, including information regarding the government programs, community resources, rights and responsibilities of a resident, education system, etc

Solutions for settlement challenges

Connecting immigrants to other essential services such as the Resettlement Assistance Program, Nova Scotia Health Program, and the Canadian Child Tax Benefit Program

Connecting immigrants to other services provided by the organization such as Family Support program, employment assistance, language assistance programs, Community Connections for recreation and social programs, etc

Connecting immigrants to the public school system

Linking immigrants with other settlement organizations, Community Services (Income Assistance), and the Immigrant, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) programs

There is also the YMCA Centre for Immigrant Program which helps new immigrants by providing them assistance with language, culture, climate, and community.

The Le Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse (CDÉNÉ) offers settlement services to French-speaking immigrants. They have programs in education, humanities, pure sciences, business administration and many other programs. The Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse (FANE) also offers settlement and integration services to new French-speaking immigrants in Nova Scotia.