Canada's East Coast has a reputation for hospitality. Atlantic Canadians are thought to be warm and friendly, stopping to take the time to greet neighbours on the street and to give directions to strangers. As a predominantly rural region, Canada's East Coast can exude small-town charm. Even its cities can have a homey feel mostly absent from the bustling streets of Toronto or Vancouver. But is this hospitality more than skin deep, and does it apply to the thousands of newcomers who have moved to Atlantic Canada in recent years from around the world? The chapters of this book explore these and related questions. They examine whether the famed East Coast hospitality still exists--or ever really existed at all.

Melody Maxwell serves as associate professor of Christian history at Acadia Divinity College. She also directs the Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies as well as the International Conference on Baptist Studies. East Coast Theology is an initiative of Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia.