Captain Edward Walter, a retired officer of the Crimean War, founded The Corps of Commissionaires in England in 1859 to help veterans make the difficult transition back to civilian life and employment.

In an effort to find jobs for these veterans, he convinced friends and acquaintances that the exemplary discipline, loyalty and dedication to service that veterans possessed could be put to excellent use in business. He succeeded in finding jobs for seven veterans and thereby launched the Corps of Commissionaires.

In the summer of 1937, Major General King became aware of the necessity of establishing a Corps of Commissionaires in Halifax. Among the citizens who replied to General King’s appeal was Lieutenant Colonel S.C. Oland, VD, CD, LLD, DEng, who served as chairman of the meeting that led to the formation of the “H Division” of the Corps.

The Halifax Division (which would become the Nova Scotia Division in 1952) officially opened for business on January 24, 1938 when Sergeant Major James Shiels, the Division’s first Commissionaire, volunteered to assist Colonel Powers in operating the Division.

Commissionaires Nova Scotia has progressed in an above- average manner since its humble beginnings to become the second largest Division in Canada with over 1,100 employees. (the Commissionaires, An Organization with a Proud History 1925-1998)

In 2007 Commissionaires Nova Scotia marked it's 70th anniversary.