BackgroundThe goal of this study was threefold: (1) assess the prevalence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in a Nova Scotian population, (2) evaluate the validity of the Edinburg Claudication Questionnaire (ECQ) in a Nova Scotian context, and (3) evaluate Nova Scotian public knowledge about PAD. MethodsParticipants were recruited from eight sites across Nova Scotia. In 2022, they were recruited at Heartland Tour® (HLT) sites—a provincial health promotion campaign. In 2023 they were recruited in communities coinciding with HLT sites (Public). Participants completed a demographics questionnaire, ECQ, and had an Ankle-Brachial Index (ABI) measurement. ABI of <0.9 was considered positive for presence of PAD. ResultsThere were 417 recruited participants, 263 from HLT, and 154 Public. 398 participants had ABI scores resulting in a PAD prevalence of 2.81% (249) in the HLT group, and 5.37% (149) in the public group. 394 participants had both ABI and ECQ scores, resulting with a found a sensitivity of 6.67% (CI 0.17-31.95%) and specificity of 97.63% (CI 95.54%-98.91%). 75% (311/417) of participants did not have prior knowledge of PAD. ConclusionPAD prevalence in both cohorts were higher than anticipated, with the Public cohort being over double the national average. This raises the question: should there be specific PAD targeted primary and/or secondary prevention strategies within the province? Our study demonstrated that a public-awareness campaign would be highly impactful due to low awareness within both cohorts, and that the ECQ was not an effective screening tool when used on the Nova Scotian population.