St. Andrews, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia

      Building on the legacy of pioneering Scottish and later Dutch immigrants, the community spirit of St. Andrews has inspired active and enthusiastic volunteers for a series of ambitious community initiatives - the building of a fire hall, a community centre, a curling rink and a seniors’ housing complex - maintaining a thriving rural community into the 21st century. These successes are built on a set of values that puts a premium on self-sufficiency, community spirit, and care for others. By pooling resources, ideas, and talents, the people of Saint Andrews have built tangible community services that are unusual for a community of its size (1,100). Success has not only motivated the residents to continue with new projects, but has inspired confidence in local partners and investors, both in government and in the private sector.

      For the About St. Andrews section of our site, the community of St. Andrews drew on its collective history and memory, as well as on a series of interviews carried out by the Coady International Institute, to provide “evidence, measurement, and anecdote” of achievements.  In northern Nova Scotia, St. Andrews has a long-standing reputation for being a “can do” community. The Coady International Institute, interested in how a community organizes itself and the unique features of communities that drive development, decided to do a case study of St. Andrews. After extensive interviews with community members of all ages, and researching the written and oral histories of the community, Gordon Cunningham and Kate Fiander, wrote “By Their Own Hands: 200 Years of Building Community in St. Andrews, Nova Scotia”[1].  For The About St. Andrews section, we have collaborated with the authors of this case study since it tells our story and we combined it with additional information.