Canning, Nova Scotia, is a quaint village nestled in northeastern Kings County. Situated at the crossroads of Route 221 and Route 358, this charming community offers a rich history and a variety of attractions for visitors and locals alike.
Canning's history dates back to its original settlement by Acadians, who were expelled during the Acadian Expulsion in 1755. Following this, the area, initially known as Apple Tree Landing and later Habitant Corner, was settled in 1760 by New England Planters and Dutch immigrants post World War II. The village was renamed Canning in honor of the British Prime Minister, George Canning.
Canning was once a significant shipbuilding center and a shipping and rail hub for Kings County farmers. The Cornwallis Valley Railway, founded by Canning merchants and farmers, operated from 1889 to 1961, connecting the village to the Dominion Atlantic Railway mainline in Kentville, Nova Scotia. However, the village's prominence has diminished over the years, and it has endured three major fires in 1866, 1868, and 1912.
Prominent Canadian parliamentarian Sir Frederick William Borden, a cousin of Sir Robert Borden, had a home in Canning. The village also boasts a statue of Harold Lothrop Borden, the most famous Canadian casualty of the Second Boer War and a son of Sir Frederick. Country singer Wilf Carter, an honorary citizen of Canning since 1978, spent much of his childhood in the village.
Canning is home to Glooscap Elementary School, with over 200 students, and Northeast Kings Education Centre (NKEC), a middle school/high school with approximately 1000 students and 80 staff. NKEC holds the distinction of being the first AP Capstone designated school in Nova Scotia and the first worldwide to offer the virtual AP Capstone Program.
The Canning Lighthouse, built in 1904, served the port at Borden's Wharf. After over 50 years of disuse and abandonment, it was restored in the 1990s and used as a tourist information center. In 2003, it was relocated to a new waterfront site on the Habitant River behind the village's small museum, where its top section was rebuilt by NKEC students.
According to the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Canning had a population of 716, living in 311 of its 327 total private dwellings. This represented a -2.1% change from its 2016 population of 731. With a land area of 1.86 km2 (0.72 sq mi), the village had a population density of 384.9/km2 (997.0/sq mi) in 2021.
Canning offers a variety of attractions, including the Bigelow Trail, Blomidon Look-off Provincial Park, Bruce Spicer Park, and the Glooscap Arena, home to local hockey games. Other attractions include The Look Off, Merritt Gibson Memorial Library, Scots Bay Provincial Park, The ArtCan Gallery, and The Village Coffee Shop.
