LibGuides: Planning Research Guide: Nova Scotia Data

Sources of Data - By Subject

To expand your search, look at sources in the Canadian Data page. Some sources of Canadian Data allow you to retrieve provincial data or data for even smaller regions.

Canadian Data page
Helpful resources for finding Canadian data and statistics.

Nova Scotia Portal

Open Nova Scotia
Portal given access to many interesting datasets, including some geographical datasets.

Business and Industry

Canadian Cluster Data
Select Nova Scotia for provincial data, or select Halifax as a Canadian census metropolitain area. Interesting data on the contribution of clusters of traded industries to regional and national economies.

Economy and Finances

Consumer Price Index
Analysis of Nova Scotia's Consumer Price Index.
Finance and Treasury Board - Labour Market Report
"monthly analytical publication, comprised of the latest information from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey, as well as other indicators which describe labour-related trends in Canada, such as Employment Insurance, Average weekly earnings, and total wages and salaries."
Municipal finance and statistics
Financial, demographic and other indicators for each municipality in Nova Scotia.

Health

Department of Health and Wellness - Annual Statistics
Annual statistical reports on various topics including medical services insurance.
Department of Health and Wellness - Publications
Includes Alcohol Indicators report, drug related overdoses, emergency room closures. Click on items in the "Programs and Services Index" near bottom of page for subject specific publications and statistics.
Health Statistics LibGuide - Nova Scotia
Helpful resources for finding Nova Scotia health data and statistics.
National Treatment Indicators Report
Treatment indicators for substance abuse and gambling services in Canada, including by province.
Statistics Canada - Health Trends
Comparable time-series data for a range of health indicators from a number of sources including the Canadian Community Health Survey, Vital Statistics, and Canadian Cancer Registry (last released in 2014).

Housing

CMHC Data Tables
These tables provide an overview of housing conditions and trends in Canada and in each province and Census Metropolitan Area, including housing construction, prices, and sales; rental market trends; mortgage lending; and housing stock.
Royal LePage House Price Survey
Comprehensive reports from Halifax to the national market. Links to data tables are provided at the end of many releases.

Transportation

Road Safety Dashboard
Access the dashboard and click on map view to see safety data for HRM roads.
HRM Covid Mobility Patterns
Reports about how mobility in Halifax changed during the Covid pandemic.
Department of Transportation & Infrastructure Renewal - Statistics
Includes motor vehicle collision statistics, annual fatality graph, and weekly comparison (total, occupant, pedestrian, motorcycle, ATV, bicycle, and snowmobile fatalities).
GPI Transportation Accounts - 2008
Sustainable Transportation in Halifax Regional Municipality
Urban Transportation Indicators 2016
Includes indicators for several Canadian cities including Halifax.

Other

GPI Community Surveys - 2003 to 2004
Glace Bay, Kings County, Halifax
Halifax Crime Mapping
RCMP database of recently committed crimes.
Vital Statistics 2017
2017 Vital Statistics report from Service Nova Scotia. Contains some data tables for 1952 to 2017.
Census of Agriculture - Nova Scotia Profile
Article with data and tables from the 2021 Census of Agriculture.

Tips for Citing Statistical Sources

How to Cite Statistics Canada Products
Statistics Canada's guides to citing Statistics Canada data. The 2021 guide includes APA examples.
Citing guide for Statistics Canada and other statistical sources
Guide from Simon Fraser University's library.
Data citation: APA 7 style guide
Guide from uOttawa's library with advanced examples such as how to cite microdata from Statistics Canada.

Maps and geography

GIS Centre

Consider consulting the GIS Centre for additional help and information. See also GISciences Centre's In-house Data and the geospatial data page for more maps and geospatial data.

GIS Centre
The GIS Centre on the fifth floor of the Killam Library, provides support for Geographic Information Sciences research and teaching. It is the largest library based GISciences Centre in Canada.
GIS Centre's Internal Data
Collection of restricted datasets available to the Dalhousie community.
Geospatial Data page
List of helpful resources for finding geospatial data.

Nova Scotia Only

2021 Halifax Urban Census Tract Maps
Census Tract reference maps (PDFs) for Halifax from the 2021 census. Make sure to also download the inset maps.
2016 Halifax Urban Census Tract Map
Census Tract reference maps (PDFs) for Halifax from the 2016 Census. Make sure to also download the inset map.
Dal Libraries Census of Population 2016 page
2016 PDF DA maps and ADA maps for Nova Scotia, and 2016 census documentation

Handout about 2016 PDF maps for Nova Scotia
How to interpret the geographical codes and where to download the maps.

Explore HRM
Apply layers to identify features such as fire stations, zoning, wet lands, etc.
GeoNOVA
"the Province of Nova Scotia's gateway to geographic information about Nova Scotia."
Nova Scotia Civic Address File
Searching and mapping.

Canada

2021 Census - Maps and Geography
Collection of links to census geography products including reference (PDF) maps, boundary files (geospatial software), agriculture boundary files, etc.
Census page
More on census geography prior to 2021.
Scholars GeoPortal
Download boundary files from current and historical Canadian censuses.
Scholars GeoPortal - 2016 Census Tract Boundaries - Halifax example (slides and screen recordings)
Short demonstration (with no audio) on how to download a shapefile of Halifax census tracts in Scholars GeoPortal.
Health Regions
Reference maps (PDF) and boundary files (geospatial software) for health regions by province. Click on the most recent entry, select "Table of Contents".
Census of Agriculture - Reference Maps
PDF maps for the census of agriculture.

Historical Census pop/dwelling data for small communities

These publications are shelved on the second floor of the Killam Library in the
Government Documents collection,

1951 Population: unincorporated villages and hamlets.
2FG CS 98-1951 M-7
1956 Place-Names and Places of Nova Scotia
Available at Nova Scotia Archives.
1961 Census Population: unincorporated villages
2FG CS 92-526-92-529
1966 Census: unincorporated Places
2FG CS 92-633
1971: unincorporated settlements
http://2FG CS 92-771
1976 Census Population
2FG CS 92-800-92-811 (806)
1981 Place Name Reference List: Atlantic provinces
2FG CS 99-X-904
1986 Census: unincorporated places
2FG CS 92-105
1991 Census: unincorporated places: population and dwelling counts
2FG CS 93-306

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