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Sydney Sydney is the third city of Nova Scotia with a population of 24,115 in 2001. It is the centre of an industrial and mining region which contains nearly one-fifth of the people of the province. Within a few miles of the city, there are five towns ranging in population from 3,000 to 25,000 as well as dozens of thickly settled rural areas. The growth of Sydney has taken place recently. Before 1900 it was a rather quiet little seaport with about 2,500 people, in 1901 it had 10,000 and had become one of the important steel towns of the country. In the early days, Sydney Harbour was known as Spanish River and was frequented by fishermen from Europe. In May, 1784, the first English home was established and in 1785 Sydney became the capital of the newly created province of Cape Breton. Three shiploads of colonists arrived during the first year. At first the colony had considerable hardship, but within a few years the coal mines nearby were brought into production. The Highland Scots, who have set their seal upon Sydney and Cape Breton, began to arrive in 1802 and before long outnumbered all other colonists. In spite of recent immigration into this industrial area, the Scots are still the dominant group. Sydney has a large safe harbour, open most of the year. Its docks are well equipped with mechanical devices for loading and unloading. In volume of traffic it rivals Halifax and Saint John. Normally, the bulk of its outward trade is made up of coal for Saint Lawrence River ports while the incoming freight consists of iron ore and limestone for the steel works. The Sydney steel works is one of four centres of blast furnace activity in Canada. Coal comes from the nearby mines. The geographical relationships of the Sydney steel industry are similar to those of other great centres. The ore is brought to the coal for it requires from three to five tons of fuel to produce a ton of steel. The Sydney mining and industrial area contains, beside the city of Sydney, the towns of Glace Bay, New Waterford, Sydney Mines, North Sydney and Dominion, North Sydney is an important seaport and fishing station. Other places that are really unincorporated small towns are Florence, Reserve, Dominion No. 6 and Port Morien. Louisbourg is connected by rail with the Sydney area and serves as a winter port when Sydney harbour is blocked by ice. Nearby are the ruins of the old French fortifications. Home