Municipality of the District of Chester

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This article is about the district municipality. For the village, see Chester, Nova Scotia.
Chester
District municipality
Municipality of the District of Chester
Official seal of Chester
Seal
Location of the Municipality of the District of Chester
Location of the Municipality of the District of Chester
Coordinates: 44°39′N 64°18′W / 44.65°N 64.3°W / 44.65; -64.3
CountryCanada
ProvinceNova Scotia
CountyLunenburg
IncorporatedApril 17, 1879
Electoral Districts    
Federal
South Shore—St. Margaret's
ProvincialChester-St. Margaret's / Lunenburg
Government
 • TypeChester Municipal Council
 • Municipal SeatChester
 • WardenAllen Webber
Area
[1]
 • Land1,122.11 km2 (433.25 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total10,310
 • Change 2011-16
Decrease2.7%
 • Census ranking
399 of 4,870
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-3 (ADT)
Area code902 - 275
Dwellings6,161
Median Income*$42,776 CDN
WebsiteOfficial website
  • Median household income, 2005 (all households)

The Municipality of the District of Chester is a Nova Scotia district municipality occupying the northeastern half of Lunenburg County, Canada.

The district boundary was originally drawn for court sessional purposes,[2] before the existence of elected local government. In 1879 it became a district municipality, to provide local government to the residents who live outside incorporated towns.[2] under the authority of the Municipal Government Act of 1998.[3]

The Municipality of the District of Chester is also a census division for Statistics Canada.[4]

Municipal Council

The Municipality of Chester has a town council that consists of 7 councillors and a warden who is appointed by the council, the municipal council was incorporated and founded in 1879. Elections to the council occur every four years unless there is a vacancy. If there is a vacancy in a district, a by-election occurs and the person who is elected will serve their term until the next scheduled election in the four-year cycle.[5]

Municipal Districts

Council Sessions

The current warden of the Municipality is Allen Webber, and the current deputy warden is Floyd Shatford[6]

Current Council Session, 2020-2024[6]
Party District Name
No Affiliation 1 Andre Veinotte
No Affiliation 2 Floyd Shatford
No Affiliation 3 Derek Wells
No Affiliation 4 Allen Webber
No Affiliation 5 Abdella Assaff
No Affiliation 6 Tina Conners
No Affiliation 7 Sharon Church

*Following the 2021 Nova Scotia general election, District 3 councillor Danielle Barkhouse was elected as MLA to the riding of Chester-St. Margaret's. Following her election, she tendered her resignation from the municipal council, triggering a by-election where Derek Wells was elected councillor, for the remainder of the 2020-2024 council session.[7]

2016-2020 Council Session[8]
Party District Name
No Affiliation 1 Andre Veinotte
No Affiliation 2 Floyd Shatford
No Affiliation 3 Danielle Barkhouse
No Affiliation 4 Allen Webber
No Affiliation 5 Abdella Assaff
No Affiliation 6 Tina Conners
No Affiliation 7 Sharon Church

Nova Scotian Municipal politics do not have party affiliations.[9]

Controversy

In the summer of 2020 the municipal council faced criticism after denying to raise the LGBTQ pride flag outside of its municipal office during pride month. The Municipality prohibited the raising due to an old policy from 2007 that prohibited what flags could be raised on municipal buildings. The policy allowed only the flags of municipal, provincial, federal and national foreign governments or the United Nations to be flown from municipal poles.[10] The council faced immense backlash about their decision to not raise the flag,[11] the CBC and other news sources reported on it and the council received immense backlash.[12] The backlash attracted the attention of promonant LGBTQ2IA+ actor Eliot Page who in turn told people to call the office to tell them to overturn the rule.[13] No individual councillors made a public media comment, however Allen Webber, warden for the Municipality did on behalf of the council. On July 23, one day after the CBC posted the original article that attracted the eyes of many people, the municipality overturned the controversial rule, that day the flag was raised on the side of the municipal offices.[14]

Departments and services

There are seven departments in the district:[15]

  • Community Development
  • Corporate Services (Municipal Clerk)
  • Engineering & Public Works
  • Finance
  • Information Services
  • Recreation & Parks
  • Solid Waste

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
198110,230—    
198610,579+3.4%
199110,762+1.7%
199610,602−1.5%
200110,781+1.7%
200610,741−0.4%
201110,599−1.3%
201610,310−2.7%
202110,693+3.7%
Source: Statistics Canada: [16][17]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Municipality of the District of Chester had a population of 10,693 living in 5,028 of its 6,482 total private dwellings, a change of 3.7% from its 2016 population of 10,310. With a land area of 1,120.61 km2 (432.67 sq mi), it had a population density of 9.5/km2 (24.7/sq mi) in 2021.[17]

Mother tongue language (2006)[18]
Language Population Pct (%)
English only 10,145 95.40%
Other languages 365 3.43%
French only 110 1.03%
Both English and French 15 0.14%

Parks, playgrounds and open spaces

The municipality operates 46 kilometres (29 mi) of trail on the former railway from Martins River to Hubbards. The trails are open to walkers, off-road vehicles, cyclists and horseback riders.[19]

Parks and outdoor areas include Anvil Park in Chester Basin, East River Property, Village of Chester Gazebo, Wild Rose Park in Western Shore and the Green Gym Park in Chester Basin.[20]

The Municipality of the District of Chester also has two playgrounds; Croft Road Playground located in Chester Basin and Gold River Playground located at the former Gold River Elementary School.[21]

Within the Village of Chester there is a skate park that was opened in 2009 after five years of planning and fundraising.[22]

Schools

The Municipality of the District of Chester has two schools that are also used for community use and open to the public.[23] These schools are Forest Heights Community School (FHCS)[24] which is located in Chester Grant and Aspotogan Consolidated Elementary School (ACES) [25] which is located in Mill Cove. These schools were developed as Community School from the beginning starting in 1992 for FHCS and 2000 for ACES.

Other schools located in the municipality include Chester Area Middle School,[26] Chester District Elementary School [27] and New Ross Consolidated School.[28]

References

  1. ^ 2011 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Chester Municipal District, Nova Scotia
  2. ^ a b "The Establishment of Elective Rural Municipal Government in Nova Scotia" (PDF). Government of Nova Scotia: Department of Municipal Affairs. pp. 1, 2. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  3. ^ "Municipal Government Act, Part XVII: Municipal Incorporation". Office of the Legislative Counsel. April 22, 1999. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  4. ^ "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names: From January 2, 2014 to January 1, 2015 (Table A: Census subdivision types by province and territory, as of January 1, 2015)". Statistics Canada. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  5. ^ "Government". Municipality of The District of Chester, Nova Scotia. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  6. ^ a b "Council". Municipality of The District of Chester, Nova Scotia. 2018-04-14. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  7. ^ "District 3 Special Election". Municipality of The District of Chester, Nova Scotia. 2021-09-09. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  8. ^ News. "RESULTS: 2016 Municipal and School Board Election". CKBW. Retrieved 2022-01-05. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ "Nova Scotian Municipal Government Act" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ Robyn, Simon. "Despite calls for change, Municipality of Chester won't fly Pride flag". CBC Nova Scotia.
  11. ^ "Pride Flag". Municipality of The District of Chester, Nova Scotia. 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  12. ^ Taylor, Evan. "After Backlash Chester Decides to Raise Pride Flag". CKBW. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  13. ^ "This is very unfortunate to say the least @chestermun Dear friends in Nova Scotia, perhaps you want to call The Municipality of Chester to let them know how you feel? +1 (902) 275-3554". Twitter. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  14. ^ "After coming under fire, Municipality of Chester raises Pride flag". CBC News Nova Scotia. July 23, 2020.
  15. ^ "Administration". Chester. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  16. ^ 1996, 2001, 2006 census
  17. ^ a b "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Nova Scotia". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  18. ^ 2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Chester Municipal District, Nova Scotia
  19. ^ "Municipality of the District of Chester - Trails in the Municipality". chester.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  20. ^ "Municipality of the District of Chester - Parks & Open Spaces". chester.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  21. ^ "Municipality of the District of Chester - Playgrounds". chester.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  22. ^ "Municipality of the District of Chester - Chester Skate Park". chester.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  23. ^ "Municipality of the District of Chester - Community Schools". chester.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  24. ^ "Home". forestheights.ednet.ns.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  25. ^ "Aspotogan Consolidated Elementary School | Mill Cove, Nova Scotia". www.aces.ednet.ns.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  26. ^ "Chester Area Middle School". cams.ednet.ns.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  27. ^ "Chester District School". Chester District School. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  28. ^ "New Ross Consolidated School | Empowering and supporting youth in education". www.nrcs.ednet.ns.ca. Retrieved 2016-12-02.

Coordinates: 44°39′N 64°18′W / 44.650°N 64.300°W / 44.650; -64.300

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