Lieutenant Governor’s Community Spirit Award: St. Ann's Bay, North Shore, Cape Breton

- Jul 25, 2011
The Maritime’s highest waterfalls, North River Falls

The Maritime’s highest waterfalls, North River Falls

Lieutenant Governor’s Community Spirit Award

Featured Community:
St. Ann’s Bay/North Shore, Cape Breton

Date of Celebration:
Saturday, July 30, 6 p.m.
Lobster Supper
North Shore & District Fire Hall, Indian Brook

Along the magnificent Cabot Trail a community is thriving – literally by design.

St. Ann’s Bay/North Shore, Cape Breton Island, runs alongside the Cabot Trail with side roads from South Haven to the foot of Cape Smokey. The area is known for its beauty, its fast flowing rivers and is home to the highest waterfall in the Maritimes – North River Falls.

While the spellbinding surroundings are a reason you might visit, it’s the people, their passion and their purpose living there that could just lure you to stay. This community embodies all the Lieutenant Governor’s Community Spirit Award stands for and is the second of four communities to receive the award this year.

The community’s roots began with the Mi’kmaw people who were joined by Gaelic-speaking Scots in the 1800s, its livelihood built on lumber and fish, trapping and lobster. Today, a robust lobster fishery continues – joined by a community of widely recognized artists who create a vibrant economy from award-winning leather, writing, magazine publishing, fiddle-making, iron work, photography and theatre – which some say is ‘at the heart of the art of community collaboration’.

In addition to residents designing their own lives, this community has taken great pride in designing its future – a future built on a foundation of commitment. In 1992 a community survey asked, “Do you see yourself or your family living in this community 10 years from now? ” 82% said yes. Since then, the community has strategically focused on social development, health, education and security – knowing these all lead to economic prosperity.

A New Horizon’s grant called “I have something to share” brings young and old together learn to build a 12’ Herscoff design tender. Now completed, the boat was raffled off to raise funds for the fire department.
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Learn more about the Lieutenant Governmor's Community Spirit Awards.