News release

Heritage Day Honourees Announced for 2023-27

Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage

Rita Joe, a Mi’kmaw poet from Eskasoni and We’koqma’q First Nations in Unama’ki (Cape Breton Island) will be recognized on Heritage Day 2023.

Rita Joe’s (1932-2007) first collection of poetry was published in 1978 and she went on to publish six more works and earn many honours.

“Heritage Day celebrates our province’s cultural heritage and Nova Scotians who have contributed to our shared history,” said Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage Minister Pat Dunn. “I am excited to announce the honourees who have been chosen for the next five years as we tell the important stories of Nova Scotians and our history.”

Heritage Day is celebrated the third Monday in February each year. Following Rita Joe, the next four honourees will be William Hall (2024), Nora Bernard (2025), J. William Comeau (2026) and Carrie Best (2027).

These are the last of the 12 nominees selected by a three-member panel to follow the first Nova Scotian honoured, Viola Desmond (1914-65), who challenged segregation practices in the province. The Department is developing a process for selecting future Heritage Day honourees. When it is finalized, a call for nominations will be announced.

Quick Facts:

  • launched in 2015, Heritage Day is an annual statutory holiday that honours the remarkable people and places that have contributed to Nova Scotia’s history
  • William Hall (1827-1904), born in Horton, was the first person of African descent and third Canadian to get the Victoria Cross
  • Nora Bernard (1935-2007), of Millbrook, was an activist for residential school survivors
  • J. William Comeau (1876-1966), from Comeauville, was a political figure in Nova Scotia, first as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and later as a member of the Senate of Canada
  • Carrie Best (1903-2001), from New Glasgow, was co-founder of The Clarion, the first black-owned and published Nova Scotia newspaper, and an advocate for racial justice

Additional Resources:

More information about Heritage Day and the honourees is available at: https://heritageday.novascotia.ca

February Holiday Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/february%20holiday.pdf

Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage:

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