Nova Scotia Online Historical Newspapers Summary

The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is November 2024)
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Nova Scotia is one of the Canadian provinces that does not have a single central online repository for searching historical newspapers. However, there are several good-sized collections of historical newspapers. Also, there are quite a few free publications available on other sites and there are collections available on subscription sites. Below is a list of where the titles are stored and the link so that you can access them. 

So go for it – find your Nova Scotia ancestors and all the interesting articles that capture the stories of their lives. 

Please note that I have not always entered the dates that are included in the collections, as I suspect they will change as more items are digitized. Also, I suspect that some of these links may change over time – so if there is a dead link – please use your favorite search engine to find their new location. 

Free Sites:

Provincewide Collections:

Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers – Beaton Institute

• Baddeck Telephone
• Billa Na Queg
• Bras D’Or Advertiser
• Eastern Beacon
• Forward
• Hawkesbury Bulletin
• Inverness County Bulletin
• Micmac News, 1965-1991
• Punching with Pemberton
• Social Justice
• Sydney Booster
• Sydney Mines Globe
• Sydney Mines Star
• The Canadian Commonwealth
• The Cape Breton Advocate
• The Cape Breton News
• The Cape Breton Times
• The Cape Bretoner
• The Christmas Island Bell
• The Clan Macneil News
• The Commercial Herald
• The Daily Gazette
• The Daily Record
• The Eastern Journal
• The Glace Bay Gazette
• The Inverness County Guardian
• The Inverness News and Mining and Shipping Gazette
• The Island Reporter
• The Morning Sun
• The North Sydney Herald
• The North Sydney News Boy
• The Nova Scotia Gleaner
• The Nova Scotia Miner
• The Referee
• The Spirit of the Times, and the Cape Breton Free Press
• The Times and Cape Breton Spectator

Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers

• The Nova Scotia Chronicle and Weekly Advertiser
• The Royal American Gazette
• The Port-Roseway Gazetteer and The Shelburne Advertiser
• The Nova-Scotia Packet and General Advertiser
• Acadian Recorder
• Liverpool Transcript
• The Bee
• The Eastern Chronicle
• The Daily Echo
• The Atlantic Advocate
• An Solus Iùil (Guiding Light)
• Fear na Céilidh (The Visitor)
• Mosgladh (The Awakening)
• Teachdaire nan Gàidheal (The Messenger of the Gaels)
• The Tiny Tattler
• Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse
• The Clarion
• The 4th Estate
• GRASP
• THE RAP

Google News Archive

• Halifax – Acadian Recorder
• Halifax – British Colonist
• Halifax – Halifax Citizen
• Halifax – Halifax Gazette
• Halifax – Halifax Morning Sun
• Halifax – Morning Journal
• Halifax – Royal Gazette
• Halifax – The Church Guardian
• Halifax – The Citizen
• Halifax – The Maritime Grocer and Commercial Review
• Halifax – The Maritime Merchant
• Halifax – The Maritime Merchant and Commercial Review
• Halifax – The Novascotian
• Halifax – The Wesleyan
• Halifax – Unionist and Halifax Journal
• Pictou – The Colonial Patriot
• Sydney – Cape Breton Post
• Yarmouth – The Yarmouth Herald

St. Francis Xavier Digital Collections

• Am Bràighe – Higher Ground (Mabou), 1993-2003
• An Cuairtear Òg Gaelach – The Gaelic Tourist (Antigonish), 1851-1852
• Guysborough Journal, 1994-1995

Student Collections:

Acadia University – Wolfville

• The Athenaeum

Cape Breton University – Sydney

• Caper Times

Dalhousie University – Halifax

• The Gazette

Mount Saint Vincent University – Halifax

• Picaro
• Sentinel
• Nexus
• Jargon

St. Francis Xavier University – Antagonish

• Xaverian Weekly
• Xaverian Weekly

Saint Mary’s University – Halifax

• The Journal

University of King’s College – Halifax

• The Watch Magazine

Miscellaneous Collections and Indexes:

Canadiana Online

• Acadia Mines, The Londonderry Arc-Light and Iron Enterprise, (1888-1890, 10 issues)
• Acadia Mines, The Londonderry Times, (1888, 10 issues)
• Acadia Mines, The Week’s Doings, (1885-1887, 8 issues)
• Amherst, Cumberland County, Amherst Gazette, (1866-1909?, 16 issues)
• Amherst, The Maritime Sentinel and North Shore advocate, (1873-1879?, 2 issues)
• Annapolis Royal, Annapolis Spectator, (1882-1916, 3 issues)
• Annapolis Royal, The Nova Scotia farmer and Annapolis County times, (1873-1877, 1 issue)
• Antigonish,  Excelsior, (1896- 1903, 28 issues)
• Antigonish,  The Casket, (1852, 35 issues)
• Aylesforf, The Aylesford union, (,)
• Baddeck, Cape Breton, Baddeck telephone, (1898-1908?, 7 issues)
• Baddeck, Cape Breton, The Island Reporter, (1884-1908?, 5 issues)
• Baddeck, Cape Breton, The Victoria news, (1909-1929?, 2 issues)
• Bridgetown,  The Weekly Monitor and Western Annapolis Sentinel, (1907-1908, 8 issues)
• Bridgetown,  The Weekly Monitor and Western Annapolis Sentinel, (1908-1915, 317 issues)
• Bridgetown,  The Weekly monitor, (1908, 15 issues)
• Bridgetown,  The Weekly Monitor, (1915-1946, 559 issues)
• Bridgetown,  The Weekly register, (1860-1863?, 2 issues)
• Bridgetown,  Weekly monitor, (1873-1907, 1426 issues)
• Bridgetown,  Western Annapolis Sentinel, (1908, 15 issues)
• Bridgewater, Bridgewater Bulletin, (1891-1938, 1 issue)
• Bridgewater, The Weekly Telephone, (1882-18– or 19–, 2 issues)
• Caledonia, The Gold Hunter and Farmers’ Journal, (1888-1941, 1 issue)
• Canning, The Canning Gazette, (1889?-1893, 1 issue)
• Clark’s Harbour and Yarmouth, The Coast-Guard, (1897-1912, 1 issue)
• Dominion,  The Dominion News, (1906-19–, 3 issues)
• Glace Bay, Cape Breton, The Clanny, (1903-1905?, 1 issue)
• Glace Bay,  The Glace Bay standard, (1909-191-?, 1 issue)
• Glace Bay,  The Standard, (191–1912?, 6 issues)
• Guysboro [i.e. Guysborough], The Guysboro Gazette, (1894-1897, 1 issue)
• Halifax, Carnival number, 1889, (1889, 57 pages, 54 with full-text search Help)
• Halifax, Halifax carnival Echo, (1899, 53 pages, 52 with full-text search Help)
• Halifax, King’s College University magazine, (1871, 1 issue)
• Halifax, Life story of The Chronicle, Nova Scotia’s greatest paper, 1827-1907, (1907?, 24 pages with full-text search Help)
• Halifax, Nova Scotia royal gazette, (1801-1843, 1 issue)
• Halifax, Our Society, (1890-1892, 36 issues)
• Halifax, The bullfrog, (1864-1865., 33 issues)
• Halifax, The Church times, (,)
• Halifax, The Colonial Farmer , (1841-1843, 38 issues)
• Halifax, The cross, (,)
• Halifax, The Free press, (1816-1834, 1 issue)
• Halifax, The guardian, (1838-1851, 35 issues)
• Halifax, The Halifax Herald, (1892-1948, 1 issue)
• Halifax, The Halifax journal, (1810-1852?, 1 issue)
• Halifax, The Halifax Philatelist, (1887-1889, 31 issues)
• Halifax, The home and foreign record of the Presbyterian Church of the Lower Provinces of British North America, (,)
• Halifax, The Nothern Light, (1891?-18–, 1 issue)
• Halifax, The Nova Scotian Journal of Agriculture, (1866-1885, 215 issues)
• Halifax, The Olla podrida, (1899?-19–, 2 issues)
• Halifax, The Provincial Wesleyan, (1852-1875, 1160 issues)
• Halifax, The theologue, (1889-1919, 49 issues)
• Halifax, The Weekly Mirror, (1835-1837, 103 issues)
• Halifax, The Wesleyan, (1838-1852, 208 issues)
• Kentville, The Advertiser, (1884-1925?, 323 issues)
• Kentville, The Western Chronicle, (1879-1893, 1 issue)
• Kentville, The Western chronicle, (1894-1925?, 1 issue)
• Liverpool, Liverpool Transcript, (, 2 issues)
• Liverpool, The Liverpool Times, (1875-1895?, 1 issue)
• Lunenburg, Lunenburg Progress, (1878-1900?, 11 issues)
• Lunenburg, Progress & Enterprise, (1900?-1905?, 1 issue)
• Lunenburg, Progress-Enterprise, (1905-2011?, 1 issue)
• Lunenburg, The Argus, (1889-1909?, 9 issues)
• Lunenburg, The Daily News, (1894-19–?, 1 issue)
• Lunenburg, The Lunenburg Daily News, (19–, 1 issue)
• Lunenburg,  The Colonial churchman, (1835-1841?, 132 issues)
• Middleton, The Echo, (1894, 1 issue)
• Middleton,  The Outlook, (1894-1968, 12 issues)
• Middleton,  The People, (1907, 11 issues)
• Milton, The standard, (,)
• New Glasgow, The Eastern Chronicle, (1867-1953, 2 issues)
• New Glasgow, The Eastern Federationist, (1918-1919, 1 issue)
• New Glasgow, The Enterprise, (1888-192-?, 1 issue)
• New Glasgow, The Reporter, (1891, 1 issue)
• New Glasgow,  The high school monthly, (1890- 189- or 19–, 4 issues)
• New Glasgow,  The Maritime Presbyterian, (1881-1891, 118 issues)
• New Glasgow,  The scholars’ monthly, (1886- 1890?, 1 issue)
• North Sydney, Cape Breton, The Times & Cape Breton spectator, (1848-1849, 1 issue)
• North Sydney, North Sydney Herald, (1872-194-, 12 issues)
• Pictou, Pictou observer and eastern advertiser, (1831-1843, 1 issue)
• Pictou, The Advocate, (1893-1901, 2 issues)
• Pictou, The Christian record, (,)
• Pictou, The Colonial Standard, (1858-1907, 1 issue)
• Pictou, The Eastern Chronicle, (1843-1865, 3 issues)
• Pictou,  The academy, (1884?-18– or 19–, 4 issues)
• Port Hastings, News of the week and Strait of Canso Shipping Gazette, (1873-18–, 2 issues)
• Port Hawkesbury, Inverness County bulletin and Port Hood greetings, (1926 or 1927-1928, 1 issue)
• Port Hawkesbury, Journal-Bulletin, (1910-1925?, 1 issue)
• Port Hawkesbury, The Hawkesbury Bulletin, And Strait of Canso Shipping Gazette, (1890?-19–, 2 issues)
• Springhill,  Nova Scotian church monthly, (,)
• Springhill,  Our church monthly, (,)
• Springhill,  The church observer, (1896?-190-?, 13 issues)
• St. Peters, Bras d’Or gazette, (1896-1903, 3 issues)
• Stellarton, The Journal and Pictou news, (1891-1898?, 1 issue)
• Stellarton, The Journal, (1890?-1891, 1 issue)
• Stellarton, The Workers’ Weekly, (1919-1925, 2 issues)
• Sydney Mines, Sydney Mines Star, (1904?-1907?, 1 issue)
• Sydney, An Solus iuil, (1925-1927?, 1 issue)
• Sydney, The Spirit of the times, (184–1846, 1 issue)
• Sydney,  Sydney morning news, (1907-19–, 1 issue)
• Sydney,  The Advocate, (1883?-1901?, 11 issues)
• Sydney,  The Cape Breton Advocate, (1872?-1883?, 3 issues)
• Sydney,  The Cape Breton news, (1850-1872?, 1 issue)
• Sydney,  The Cape-Breton advocate and general weekly miscellany, (1840-1841, 1 issue)
• Sydney,  The Labor Leader, (1919-1922?, 1 issue)
• Sydney,  The Sydney express, (1880-18–, 1 issue)
• Sydney,  The Sydney post, (1912?-1933, 7 issues)
• Sydney,  The Trumpet, (1869-1870, 3 issues)
• Truro and Acadia Mines The Signal and workman’s advocate, (1890, 2 issues)
• Truro, Canadian labor leader, (1912-1918, 1 issue)
• Truro, Lunn’s Weekly, (1911-1912, 6 issues)
• Truro, Morning Star, (1912, 1 issue)
• Truro, Push, (1894, 19 issues)
• Truro, The Citizen, (1908-1909?, 2 issues)
• Truro, The Colchester Sun, (1877-1906?, 1 issue)
• Truro, The Head Light, (1889-19–, 8 issues)
• Truro, The Mirror and Colchester County advertiser, (1867-1871?, 27 issues)
• Truro, The New era, (1911-19-?, 1 issue)
• Truro, The Nova Scotia normal, (1894?-19–, 4 issues)
• Truro, The Searchlight, (1899-1900?, 3 issues)
• Truro, The Sun and Colchester County General Intelligencer and Advertiser, (1871-1877, 1 issue)
• Truro, The Truro Citizen, (1910?-1924, 3 issues)
• Truro, The Truro Daily news, (1891-1936, 119 issues)
• Truro, The Truro Guardian, (1879?-1895?, 1 issue)
• Truro, The Truro Times, Colchester advertiser and Nova Scotia farmer, (1877?-18–, 1 issue)
• Truro, The Truro Weekly News, (1892-1936, 36 issues)
• Truro, The Victoria-Inverness Bulletin, (1928-1969, 1 issue)
• Truro, The Vindicator, general advertiser and farmer’s monitor, (1879, 3 issues)
• Truro, The Vindicator, general advertiser and temperate temperance journal, (1879-18–or 19–, 4 issues)
• Truro, The Weekly Times, (1893-1895?, 2 issues)
• Windsor, Nova Scotia Church Chronicle, (1865-1868, 40 issues)
• Wolfville, Acadia athenaeum, (1874-1961, 208 issues)
• Wolfville, Acadian Orchardist, (1893-190- or 191-, 54 issues)
• Wolfville, The Acadian and Berwick Times, (1888-1889, 57 issues)
• Wolfville, The Acadian and King’s Co. Times, (1889-190-, 559 issues)
• Wolfville, The Acadian, (1883-1888, 214 issues)
• Wolfville, The Acadian, (190–1931, 990 issues)
• Wolfville, The Young Acadian, (, 9 issues)
• Yarmouth, First Baptist Church pulpit, (,)

For Obituary Indexes, transcriptions, and other death/obituary information from historical newspapers, please check out the Obituaries page.

Other Free Sites:

Antagonish

• The Casket

Halifax

• Weekly Chronicle (1791-1826)

Subscription or Pay Sites:

Ancestry.com:

There are currently 2 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Ancestry – Nova Scotia Newspapers

Paper of Record:

There are currently 4 publications available on this site. See the titles at Paper of Record – Nova Scotia

Newspapers dot com

There are currently 5 publications available on this site. See all the titles at Newspapers dot com – Nova Scotia

And Finally:

You might want to check out the Nova Scotia Historical Newspapers site from time to time to see what is available online or otherwise.

Please note – even more may be available via a local or provincial library where a library card is required.  And of course, there is always microfilm for those that have not been made available online as yet.

For more links for different states, provinces, and countries – please see the Newspaper Links page on this website.