Westmount, Nova Scotia

Coordinates: 46°8′27.3″N 60°12′36.7″W / 46.140917°N 60.210194°W / 46.140917; -60.210194
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Westmount, Nova Scotia
Country Canada
Province Nova Scotia
MunicipalityCape Breton Regional Municipality
Population
 (2001: From Statistics Canada)
 • Total3,000
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-3 (ADT)
Area code902

Westmount (2001 pop.: 3,000) is a suburban community in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Geography[edit]

Located on the west bank of the Sydney River at the point where Sydney Harbour begins, Westmount faces Sydney's downtown. Neighbouring communities include Point Edward, Coxheath and Edwardsville.[1]

Education[edit]

Westmount has two elementary schools, as well as one post-secondary institution. These include:

  • Robin Foote Elementary School (gr. P-6, latterly grades P-5)
  • Harbourview Montessori (elementary grades)
    • This facility was opened in a building, formerly used by Robin Foote Elementary to accommodate Primary and Grade 1 overflow classes.
  • MacLennan Junior High School (gr. 7-9, latterly grades 6-8)
    • MacLennan was decommissioned by the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board in the mid-2010's and demolished several years later.
    • MacLennan was the first public school in Nova Scotia to obtain an internet connection, and produce an educational CD-ROM.
  • Canadian Coast Guard College

Government[edit]

As part of the CBRM, Westmount is represented by the municipal councilor for District 4, Steve Gillespie. Westmount is also represented by Jaime Battiste in the federal riding of Sydney-Victoria, and by Murray Ryan in the provincial riding of Northside-Westmount

Religion[edit]

With the exception of a few families almost the entire population of Westmount is Christian. The churches located in Westmount include:

  • Holy Rosary Roman Catholic
  • Westmount United
  • Saint Aidan's Anglican
    • Saint Aidan's was a member of St Mark's Parish in Coxheath, but was closed and de-consecrated in the mid-2000's.
    • The building was used as a dance school for several years by the Cape Breton School of the Arts, but as of 2020 has been repurposed as apartments.

Amenities and places of interest[edit]

Westmount is home to Petersfield Provincial Park.[2] The park was formerly a private family estate and home to the 18th century Mayor of New York City, David Mathews and later the industrialist and Senator, John Stewart McLennan. The grounds have been designated as a historical property and are home to the ruins of a large manor house and caretaker's home.[3] Canada Day festivities are held at the park every year. The only building from the former estate that still stands is the boathouse, which was moved approx. 1 km down shore from the estate, and converted to a private residence.

Other amenities in Westmount include:

Notable people[edit]

People of note who live or have lived in Westmount include:

References[edit]

  1. ^ Satellite image of Westmount and Sydney from WikiMapia
  2. ^ "Info on Parks A - Z - Petersfield Provincial Park". Nova Scotia Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 2016-01-12. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  3. ^ . "McLennans at Petersfield". Cape Breton Regional Library. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  4. ^ "Howie MacDonald Artist Spotlight". Canadian Celtic Music. October 2002. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  5. ^ "MacDonald gets nod in Sydney-Victoria". The Chronicle Herald. May 27, 2004. Archived from the original on 2005-01-24. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  6. ^ "Past results Sydney—Victoria". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  7. ^ "Cape Breton lawyer among Queen's Counsel honourees". Cape Breton Post. December 12, 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  8. ^ Morgan, R. J. (1979). "Mathews, David". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. IV (1771–1800) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 2014-12-13.
  9. ^ Johnston, A.J.B. (2016). "McLennan, John Stewart". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XVI (1931–1940) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. Retrieved 2016-01-01.

External links[edit]

46°8′27.3″N 60°12′36.7″W / 46.140917°N 60.210194°W / 46.140917; -60.210194