Scouting in Nova Scotia has a long history, from 1908 to the present day. There is early record of Boys' Brigade scouts, Canadian Boy Scouts and Salvation Army's Life-Saving Scouts in Nova Scotia. Scouting in Nova Scotia is currently conducted by local Scout groups and various associations including Scouts Canada, L'Association des Scouts du Canada and Canadian Federation of Independent Scouts affiliates such as BPSA - Nova Scotia.
Several scout associations in Canada trace their roots to the Baden-Powell Scouts in the United Kingdom. They form the Canadian Federation of Independent Scouts, which is a member of the World Federation of Independent Scouts.
The 4th Halifax Highland Scouts, formed in 1922 by The Scots Society (then the North British Society of Halifax), was the largest Scout group in Nova Scotia for several decades. The society's scouts became known as "The Scots Highland Scouts". The society registered its scouts with The Boy Scouts Association's Canadian General Council, now named Scouts Canada but in 2001, it ceased registration and continued its scouts independently under the name The Scots Highland Company, for male youths, until 2007, after which the society re-organized it as The Scots Highland Company 848, Royal Canadian Army Cadets.