Our Association was founded in 1945 by a small group of personnel practitioners known as the Maritime Personnel Association. They were seeking a better way to network. In the 1960s, with membership approaching 60, they became the Halifax and District Personnel Association. The numbers steadily grew throughout the '70's and '80's. In 1991, the organization revised its name and mandate to reflect the growing interest and membership from around the province. HRANS was registered as a not-for-profit organization in 1993 under the Societies Act of Nova Scotia. In October 2002, HRANS expanded to Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. In 2017, we added the business name of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources of Nova Scotia. Also in 2017, we invested in the establishment of CPHR Prince Edward Island as its own professional association.

In 1993, our association, along with several other provincial associations, met in Halifax to form the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations (CCHRA), now known as CPHR Canada.

We are a proud founding member of CPHR Canada.

In 2023, CPHR Nova Scotia was proud to launch the first ever CPHR Atlantic conference drawing in registrants across the full Atlantic region in collaboration with CPHR PEI, CPHR Newfoundland and Labrador and CPHR New Brunswick.

In 2025, we celebrate our 80th anniversary, marking a significant milestone in our journey of connecting and empowering HR professionals across the region.