Partnerships

It's more than a “Twinship” - it’s a “Kinship” with Glasgow, Scotland

The Town of New Glasgow enjoys a long-standing kinship with the City of Glasgow, Scotland that dates back to the town’s very beginnings. One of New Glasgow’s early settlers Donald MacKay is given credit in some old records with bestowing the lovely hamlet with its name. Some other records suggest it was James Carmichael that named New Glasgow when he and George Argo opened the first store, a trading post, in 1809. The story goes that the name New Glasgow was chosen because of the resemblance this settlement or “clachan” on the East River bore to the City of Glasgow, which is situated on the River Clyde.

The New Glasgow of the 21st century has continued to preserve the historic relationship and heritage ties with its kindred City of Glasgow. In November 2010, Mayor Barrie MacMillan presented from the Town of New Glasgow a framed photograph of the statue of the piper located in Carmichael Park. The presentation was made on the occasion to celebrate the return of the Iain Dall MacKay bagpipe chanter. The chanter originally belonged to Iain Dall MacKay (the Blind Piper), is the oldest highland bagpipe antiquity in existence (estimated to date from the latter part of the 17th Century). It was brought to New Glasgow in 1805 by John Roy Sinclair (the grandson of Iain Dall), who was also a very talented piper. It has been with the family in New Glasgow and Halifax since that time. Iain Dall was an important composer of Pibroch (“classical” pipe music), as well as a talented poet. He could perhaps be considered the “Bach of the Highland bagpipes”. The photo was very well received by the officials at the National Piping Centre.

In 2006, retired Mayor Ann MacLean was an official guest of the Lord Provost Liz Cameron, chief magistrate of the City of Glasgow. Meetings in Glasgow initiated opportunities for the Town of New Glasgow to study and review best business practices of Glasgow which is today a cultural and heritage leader in the United Kingdom and Europe after transformation from an industrial base to one of the top cities in Europe lauded for it architecture, recreational focus and cultural accomplishments. New Glasgow's previous Marketing & Communications Director Kim Dickson and Town of New Glasgow CAO, Lisa MacDonald who was Executive Director of the Pictou Regional Development Commission at the time also travelled to Glasgow.  Their professional portfolios of heritage and tourism, marketing and communications, economic development, downtown revitalization and immigration offered them the occasion to meet with Glasgow representatives enabling Pictou County to leverage economic and marketing opportunities and best practices.

In 2005 the Deputy Lord Provost of Glasgow Baillie Christine Devine visited the Town of New Glasgow during the Festival of the Tartans.  Benefits for the town from the relationship have included such projects as the establishment of the official New Glasgow tartan, which was designed using the City of Glasgow's tartan. As inspiration this arrangement took place during Mayor MacLean's visit in 1999 when permission was granted for the New Glasgow tartan, enabling it to be in place for the town's 125th-anniversary celebrations of its incorporation and the millennium in 2000. Former New Glasgow Mayor Jack MacLean made several trips to the City of Glasgow during his term as mayor between 1985 and1991. During these visits, the Town of New Glasgow had its coat of arms officially registered and was given permission to officially incorporate the motto- Let New Glasgow Flourish, which comes from the Glasgow motto Let Glasgow Flourish, on the town's coat of arms.