About Us
According to the 2001 federal census, 239,000 New Brunswickers are of Scottish ancestry while more than 263,000 of Nova Scotia’s identify themselves as Scots-Canadians. Add to that the third Maritime Province, Prince Edward Island, with a majority of its population being of Scots or Scots-Irish descent.
Historically, Scottish cultural group across Canada have focused on their particular jurisdictions, and have not typically collaborated to promote cultural and heritage projects. On August 16, 2006 that changed when the three provincial Scottish groups from Maritime formed an advisory body to promote Scottish culture and the Gaelic language across the region. The United Council of Scots in Atlantic Canada will represent the cultural interests of more than 500,000 Maritime Scottish-Canadians.
Then in 2007 the United Council of Scots in Atlantic Canada approached the Newfoundland Saint Andrews Society to see if there was an interest for that group to join. On September 15, 2007 a memorandum of understanding was signed by the provincially-based Scottish cultural organizations representing Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The groups were unanimous in their desire to cooperate for the benefit of people interested in preserving and promoting Scottish culture and heritage in Atlantic Canada. On October 20, 2009 the official Charter of the United Council of Scots in Atlantic Canada was approved and adopted at a meeting of the executive.
The four Scottish groups that make up the United Council of Scots are:
