Canso, Nova Scotia
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Canso (2001 population: 992) is a small Canadian town in Guysborough County, on the north-eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia.
Considered to be Nova Scotia's most historic fishing port, Canso is the closest harbour on peninsular Nova Scotia to the Grand Banks. It developed into an important fishing port during the period 1713-1756 when peninsular Nova Scotia was controlled by the British. In 1745 a fleet carrying soldiers en route from New England to Fortress Louisbourg stopped in Canso to reprovision.
During the mid-20th century, Canso became home to one of the largest fish processing plants in the world after National Sea Products received increased groundfish quotas for its offshore trawler fleet. During the 1980s it became apparent that fish stocks were collapsing and National Sea Products sold the plant to SeaFreeze in the early 1990s after the facility had been mothballed.
SeaFreeze attempted to operate for several more years but by 2000, it too had run out options for keeping the plant going. Canso entered into a state of decline during the 1980s and 1990s, with many attempts by local politicians to secure the rights for the plant to process other seafood fished in other parts of Canadian waters, or internationally, but to no avail. The experience left many in the town and surrounding region with a deep-rooted bitterness toward the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which allows fishing vessels working near Canso to sell seafood to plants in other locations.
From the 1996 census to the 2001 census, Canso's population declined 12% from 1,127 to 992. The retracting economy in the town has led to a perilous state of municipal finances with a large accumulated deficit. A provincial government-sponsored plebiscite was held on January 30, 2005 to consider merging the town with the municipality of Guysborough County. It was hoped that such a move would reduce administrative costs and be able to pass more on to the community. The proposal was rejected, mainly due to an appeal to the town's heritage and identity as an historic fishing port. The citizens of Canso are now engaged in fundraising to try and relieve the deficit.
Trivia
- The Stan Rogers Folk Festival is held in Canso every year to honor Stan Rogers.
- Canso crater on Mars is named after the town.