The Nova Scotia Tartan was the first official provincial tartan in Canada!
The Nova Scotia Tartan was originally designed in 1953 for the Agricultural Exhibition in Truro. Mrs. Douglas Murray, an artisan, designed a panel for a historical display showing a shepherd tending his flock on the hills of Cape Breton. To avoid favouring any particular clan tartan, she designed a new tartan for the shepherd's kilt. The vivid blue tartan received rave reviews. Within two years, Mrs. Murray's creation was officially ratified by Province House (the legislative assembly) as Nova Scotia's tartan in 1955.
It is said that the blue and white in the tartan stand for the Atlantic Ocean and the whitecaps of the surf. The light green represents Nova Scotia's deciduous forests, while the dark green represents the coniferous. Red stands for the Lion Rampant prominently displayed on the Provincial Coat of Arms. Last, gold represents Nova Scotia's historic Royal Charter of 1621, and the subsequent Grant of Arms in 1625.