Our Story

We are an independent non-profit whose story began in June 2012. Seventy-five residents of Nova Scotia, representing different regions and perspectives, came together to explore how our province could do better.

Together, we learned many initiatives are making a difference. We also learned that many people in Nova Scotia still feel left behind.

While many share a love for this province, there are challenges we face that must be fixed with a deeper understanding of issues, a long-term vision, and a relentless commitment to sustained action.

Our work was born out of this desire for Nova Scotia’s future to be more innovative, collaborative, and adaptive to change.

After Engage was founded, the Ivany Commission was established. It pointed to similar themes  – particularly the need for us to overcome traditional “barriers of division, distrust and discouragement.”  It also pointed to our work as being important in addressing these challenges.

Since Engage Nova Scotia began: 

  • Communities across Nova Scotia have worked with us to strengthen their public engagement capacity.

  • We’ve worked with Mi’kmaw and Municipal governments to foster more opportunities to collaborate with each other.

  • We’ve hosted projects to foster and strengthen social connections which included Share Thanksgiving, From Me to You, and Do a ____ thing.

  • We’ve managed a 3-year Sustainable Development Goals program which brought Nova Scotian residents together to collaborate for sustainable, equitable, and inclusive futures.

  • In 2022 we turned 10. Read about it in A Decade of Milestones.

  • The Nova Scotia Quality of Life Initiative has been our primary focus since 2017.

“At Farmers’ Markets of Nova Scotia, our cooperative and our member farmers' markets across the province have witnessed firsthand the interconnectedness of food access, public infrastructure, and community wellbeing.”

— Justin Cantafio (he/him),  Executive Director, Farmers' Markets of Nova Scotia

  • “Comprehensive data on how Nova Scotians eat, work, shop, and live helps our cooperative understand the barriers people face, while homing in on the opportunities we can build on to unleash the potential of the farmers' market model for public good in Nova Scotia. 


    For programs like our Nourishing Communities Food Coupon Program, the kind of information Engage Nova Scotia prepares is essential for us to ensure that families have access to fresh, healthy food in welcoming public spaces, farmers and vendors have access to the supports they need, and farmers' market managers get the most out of their markets. By deepening our understanding of food security across regions and demographics, Engage Nova Scotia’s survey helps our cooperative and our member farmers' markets to strengthen local food systems and contribute to healthier, more connected communities.”