[2][1] With the outbreak of the First World War, the 78th Pictou Regiment (Highlanders) raised volunteers for the overseas battalions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.
During the Second World War, The Pictou Highlanders were active in a defensive role but were never engaged in battle.
Details of the regiment were raised for local protective duty on September 1, 1939, and full mobilization occurred on January 1, 1941.
The first move that the regiment made was to Newfoundland for coastal defense duty from March until August 1943.
In September of the year, one company was dispatched to Nassau, Bahamas where it performed garrison duty until March 1946.