Canning

Canning, NS, incorporated as a village in 1968, population (2011c), 798 (2006c). The Village of Canning is located 100 km northwest of Halifax. Once part of the Acadian district of Minas (Les Mines), in the 1760s Canning was resettled by New Englanders as part of Cornwallis Township. Although it was known as Apple Tree Landing and later as Habitant Corner, the residents changed the name to Canning in 1830 to honour the British PM George Canning. Situated on the Habitant R, Canning was one of the many Bay of Fundy communities to take part in the prosperous shipbuilding era of the mid-19th century.

Because of its location in the Annapolis Valley agricultural region, farming has always been important to the community. Troubled by devastating fires throughout its history, Canning received national attention in 1986 when a warehouse agricultural chemical fire on the community's main street caused the evacuation of 750 residents. The disaster raised questions regarding the contamination of air, soil and water and the appropriateness of chemical storage in residential areas.