On October 2, 1758, the Nova Scotia House of Assembly met for the first time in a modest wooden building at the corner of Argyle and Buckingham streets in Halifax.

It was an assembly of twenty-two men, some of whom were from as far away as Britain, Germany, and New England, who came together to deliberate as a parliament on questions affecting the land in which they lived.

It was a modest beginning with the majority of citizens denied the vote. But it was an important beginning nonetheless. It was the first elected assembly of its kind in what is now Canada.

As the birth place of parliamentary democracy, as well as the birthplace of freedom of the press and responsible government in our country, Nova Scotia’s pioneering role in shaping our nation’s democratic institutions has helped secure the rights and freedoms Canadians today embrace.

It’s a story Nova Scotians can be proud of and all Canadians should celebrate.