town, Inverness county, northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It lies along the Strait of Canso, at the southern end of Cape Breton Island, 36 miles (58 km) east of Antigonish. Originally called Ship Harbour, the town was renamed in 1860, possibly for Charles Jenkinson, Baron Hawkesbury (1729–1808). It was a transportation hub, serving as the island terminus for the rail and highway ferries to the mainland until 1955, when the Canso Causeway, 7,000 feet (2,100 m) long, was completed. Port Hawkesbury is now economically dependent upon sulfite pulp milling, supplemented by concrete production, boatbuilding and repair, and mixed farming. Inc. 1889. Pop. (2006) 3,517.