Society Initiatives
The Way Forward
The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society was established in 1878 and is one of the oldest historical societies in Canada. Over the past 148 years, its activities and publications have inevitably reflected changing social attitudes and values. The Executive and Council recognize and acknowledge the colonial roots embedded in the creation and life of the Society, and believe it is now time to examine our own history. Indeed, as The Lord Dalhousie Panel Report on Slavery and Race recently noted, it is important to look back in order to move forward.
Since 2021 council has been exploring, learning and reflecting on our role in shaping the interpretation of Nova Scotia’s settler historical narrative. The objective of this initiative is ultimately to craft brief new foundation statements that embody our current values of diversity and inclusion, and our commitments to the future. We greatly value the perspectives of our membership and invite all members of the Society to participate and help guide us through this undertaking.
We anticipate that opportunities for broader consultation will be identified and extended in the coming months, and that appropriate updates will be shared as the exercise proceeds. We look forward to these discussions and to the renewed sense of purpose that they will bring to the Society. While we continue to work with members in order to shape this initiative’s direction in the future, we have, through the Way Forward Working Group, developed a new land acknowledgement that is now included at the beginning of our journal, and is stated before each instalment of our public lecture series.
More recently, over the past year, council has been engaging with the Canadian Historical Association (CHA) and its Bridging the Gap initiative, which is a landmark survey of 14 Canadian historical societies that aims to bridge the divide between professional and amateur historians while fostering a national, inclusive dialogue that promotes the essential role of history in local culture and community vitality. This document reports on the survey results and aims to build bridges between academia, citizen associations, and various geographic regions.
As part of this initiative, our council member and VP of memberships, Dr. Grace McNutt, will be presenting a paper at the CHA’s annual conference this June on our role in and commitment to historical preservation and education work in Nova Scotia.
If you would like more information on the activities of the Way Forward initiative and our working group, please email us at info@rnshs.ca
On behalf of the RNSHS Executive and Council, Stefanie Slaunwhite, President.
Community Grants
Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society Community Support Grants – Now Accepting Applications!
The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society is pleased to announce that we are now accepting applications for our 2026 Community Support Grant. The Society will award one grant of $500 respectively to stimulate heritage initiatives and historical research and dissemination at the community, organization, and/or individual level. Applications are due no later than 30 June 2026. Eligible applicants include Nova Scotia community, heritage, or historical organizations and societies, graduate and undergraduate students who are not already well supported by funding agencies, or independent scholars who are conducting historical research on a Nova Scotia topic. For more information on how to apply and award conditions, please see the attached PDF file. If you have any questions, please direct your inquiries to info@rnshs.ca.
Historical Plaques
The Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society takes pleasure in launching its on-line series of virtual historical plaques. These represent a continuation of the physical plaques the Society erected at various sites around Nova Scotia through the first half of the twentieth century. The new memorials offer valuable information about crucial people, places, and events in this province’s remarkable past.
REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT COMES TO NOVA SCOTIA (1758)
Click here to learn more about the First Representative Government in British North America.
LAUNCHING THE PLANTER INFLUX INTO NOVA SCOTIA (1759-1760)
Click here to learn more about the arrival of the New England Planters to Nova Scotia.
THE SECOND AND FINAL FALL OF LOUISBOURG (1758)
Click here for more information about the fall of Louisbourg.
H.M.C.S. NIOBE’S ARRIVAL IN HALIFAX, 21 OCTOBER 1910
Click here to learn more about the birth of the Canadian Navy.
NOVA SCOTIA AND THE WAR OF 1812
Click here to learn more about Nova Scotia’s role in the events of the War of 1812.
TREATY DAY IN NOVA SCOTIA: THE PEACE AND FRIENDSHIP TREATIES
Click here for more information on the Peace and Friendship Treaties between the Malecites, Mi’kmaq, and Passamaquoddy and the Colonial Government.
