Antigonish General Information
Known as the Heart of the Highlands, Antigonish the town (population +/- 4,800) and the county it services approximately 20,000, sits on the northeastern shore of the province, bordered by the Northumberland Strait, St. George’s Bay and the Strait of Canso. Halfway between Halifax and Sydney, Antigonish is a gateway to Cape Breton Island. Antigonish is home to St. Francis Xavier University, founded in 1855 and once famed for its Antigonish Movement (Cody International Institute), a program of adult education and self-help. Antigonish is also home to the Highland Games, the oldest celebration of Scottish sport and dance in North America.
Besides the ambience, civility and learning opportunities of a university town, Antigonish offers gorgeous countryside at its very doorstep. The interior of the county is all rolling hills and pretty lakes. Le Village Acadien de Pomquet is an Acadian village -- complete with a beach and a provincial park -- just 10 kilometres east. The North Shore offers a wildlife sanctuary, and at the Cape George Point Lighthouse, you can peer into the distance and see Cape Breton Island and Prince Edward Island.
Health-care Services
St.
Martha’s Hospital in Antigonish has 75 beds. As the area’s regional
hospital, it offers emergency, outpatient, lab and clinical services, diagnostic
imaging, physiotherapy, diabetes education, geriatric assessment and
rehabilitation programs in a five-bed veterans’ unit. There are more
than 61 medical staff and five hospitals working within the health district that
includes Antigonish.