New Brunswick

This article is about the Canadian province; for the city in New Jersey, see New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Template:Canadian province or territory New Brunswick (French: Nouveau-Brunswick) is one of Canada's provinces, and the only officially bilingual province (French and English). Its capital is Fredericton. Its population is slowly growing, and now exceeds 750,000 (New Brunswickers).

Contents

1 Geography

Geography

New Brunswick is a Maritime Province, on the country's east coast. It is bounded on the north by Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula and Chaleur Bay and on the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Northumberland Strait. To the south, the narrow Isthmus of Chignecto connects it to peninsular Nova Scotia, most of which is separated from the mainland by the Bay of Fundy; on its west, the province borders the American state of Maine. The boundary with the U.S. was settled during the Aroostook War largely through the efforts of businessman and political activist John Baker.

The total land and water area of the province is approximately 70,000 square kilometres. About 80% of the province is forested, with the other 20% consisting of agricultural land and urban areas. New Brunswick lies entirely within the Appalachian Mountain range, a chain of ancient, eroded mountains which have created river valleys and low, gently rolling hills throughout large parts of the province. The eastern and central part of the province consists of the New Brunswick Lowland, whereas the Caledonia Highlands and St. Croix Highlands extend along the Bay of Fundy coast, reaching elevations of 300 metres. The northwestern part of the province is comprised of the remote and more rugged Miramichi Highlands, Chaleur Uplands, and the Notre Dame Mountains with a maximum elevation at Mount Carleton of 820 metres.

10 Largest Municipalities by population

Municipality	2001	1996
Saint John	69,661	72,494
Moncton	61,046	59,313
Fredericton	47,560	46,507
Miramichi	18,508	19,241
Edmundston	17,373	17,876
Riverview	17,010	16,684
Dieppe	14,951	12,497
Quispamsis	13,757	13,579
Bathurst	12,924	13,815
Rothesay	11,505	11,470

History

The aboriginal nations of New Brunswick include the Mi'kmaq (Micmac), Maliseet and Passamaquoddy. The population is majority English-speaking but with a substantial (35%) French-speaking minority Acadians from Acadia, from the former name of this region during the French colonial period during which large numbers of colonists migrated from the Vienne area of France. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in the country.

The colony of New Brunswick was created in 1784, when recently-arrived Loyalist refugees from the United States, who resented being governed from distant Halifax, Nova Scotia, petitioned the British Government to allow them to form a separate province out of Sunbury County which consisted of the portion of Nova Scotia west of the Isthmus of Chignecto and north of the Bay of Fundy.[1] (http://webhome.idirect.com/~cpwalsh/nb/birth.htm)

New Brunswick was named in honour of the British monarch, King George III, who was descended from the House of Brunswick. Fredericton, the capital city, was likewise named for George III's second son, Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York.

New Brunswick was one of the four originally provinces of Canada formed with Confederation in 1867.

Cities

New Brunswick has eight officially incorporated cities, listed here in descending order by population:

Saint John is a port city, with heavy industry in the form of pulp and paper, oil refineries, and drydocks, all owned by the family of the late K.C. Irving. The Irving family also controls much of the province's economy and 3 out of 4 of its daily English language newspapers. Saint John is conventionally written out in full, to distinguish it from St. John's (Harbour), the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, with which it is commonly confused by those outside of the Atlantic Provinces.

Moncton is the second largest city in New Brunswick and also the fastest growing. It is principally a transportation, distribution, commercial and retail center. Moncton has a sizeable francophone Acadian minority (35%) and is considered by the Acadians to be their unofficial "capital". The majority of Moncton's recent growth is traced to economic policies which has led to depopulation in the northeastern area of the province.

Fredericton, in addition to being the capital of the province, is a genteel university town, and home to the Lord Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Theatre New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame, and other amenities, including Christ Church Cathedral, whose foundation is the oldest in Canada or the United States. Fredericton is nicknamed the "City of Stately Elms". It has boasted of the largest stand of elms outside of Central Park since Dutch Elm Disease devastated this species in the early twentieth century.

Economy

The economy of New Brunswick is a modern service economy dominated by financial services, insurance and other services, but is best known for forestry, mining, mixed farming and fishing. The most valuable crop is potatoes, while the most valuable fish catches are lobster and scallops. The largest employers are the Irving group of companies, several large multinational forest companies, the Government of New Brunswick, and the McCain group of companies.

Education

New Brunswick has a complete network of English and French public schools serving from kindergarten to high school; there are also several private secondary schools having secular and religious affiliations.

The New Brunswick Community College system is province-wide with campuses in most major centres; the community college has both French and English campuses. There are also specialized training colleges not part of the NBCC system.

As with the rest of the Maritimes, New Brunswick's universities were started by various Christian denominations, although most are now public and any remaining affiliation with founding churches is largely symbolic.

The University of New Brunswick was founded as King's College in Fredericton in 1785 with Anglican affiliation. Today a medium-sized public English comprehensive university with its principal campus in Fredericton and a satellite campus in Saint John, it is the oldest public post-secondary education institution in North America.

St. Thomas University was founded in Chatham in 1910 with Catholic affiliation. Today a small public English undergraduate university located in Fredericton, the university's liberal arts program is complemented by professional programs in education and social work.

Mount Allison University was founded in Sackville in 1839 with Methodist affiliation. Today a small public English undergraduate university still located in Sackville, it has consistently topped the Maclean's magazine survey of Canadian universities in the undergraduate university category since the survey was begun. Mount Allison produces a Rhodes Scholar about once every two years on the average, and was the first university in the British Empire to grant a Bachelor's degree to a woman.

The Université de Moncton system was founded in 1963 and is comprised from founding Catholic colleges which were located in Memramcook, Bathurst and Edmundston. Today a medium-sized public French comprehensive university with its principal campus in Moncton and satellite campuses in Edmundston and Shippagan.

Atlantic Baptist University and St. Stephen's University are small private Christian undergraduate universities offering Bachelor's degrees. Both were started in the mid-twentieth century as bible training schools and grew to become accredited Liberal Arts universities. They do not receive any public funding. ABU is located in Moncton and remains directly controlled by the Atlantic Baptist Convention, whereas St. Stephen's is located in St. Stephen and is ecumenical but directly controlled by its founding denominations.

People

The Acadians are survivors of the Great Expulsion (1755) which drove several thousand French residents into exile in North America, the U.K. and France for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to George II of Great Britain during the French and Indian War. American Acadians, who wound up in Louisiana and other parts of the American South, are often referred to as Cajuns.

Many of the English-Canadian population of New Brunswick are descended from United Empire Loyalists who fled the American Revolution. This is commemorated in the province's motto, Spem reduxit (hope was restored). There are also a significant number with Irish ancestry, especially in Saint John and the Miramichi Valley. People of Scottish descent are scattered throughout the Province with especial concentrations in the Miramichi and in Campbellton. A small number of Danish origins may be found in New Denmark.

First Nations in New Brunswick include the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet.

See: Famous people from New Brunswick

Demographics

Racial Composition

96.4% White
2.3% Aboriginal
0.5% Black
0.8% all others

Religious Profile

53.4% Roman Catholic
35.7% Protestant
1.4% other Christian
0.8% other religions
8.7% no-religion

The Catholic Church is the largest denomination because of the large French and Irish populations. The three largest Protestant denominations in New Brunswick are: United Church of Canada and the Baptist and Anglican churches.

Facts

The provincial flower is the purple violet. The provincial bird is the black-capped chickadee, in common with the American states of Maine and Massachusetts.
Entered Confederation - July 1, 1867
Employment rate - 52.4%
Urban population - 48.8%
GDP per capita - $20,833
Area - 28,150 Sq. Mi.
Agriculture - Dairy farming, Potatoes, oats, hay, clover, berries, and fruit
Industries - Mining: Zinc, Lead, Silver, Cadmium, Copper, Bismuth, Coal, Gold, Potash, Gypsum; Energy: Natural Gas, Oil Refining, Nuclear, Fossil Fuel, Hydro; Forestry: Pulp and Paper, Lumber; Manufacturing: Frozen Food (agriculture and seafood), metalurgy; Services: Information Technology, Health, Education, Financial
Tourist Attractions - Fundy National Park, Kouchibouguac National Park, Fortress Saint John, Hopewell Rocks, Imperial Theatre, Magnetic Hill Zoo
Land Features - Mount Carlton - Highest point (2,680 ft.); Appalachian Mountains.
Water Features - Bay Of Fundy, Gulf of Saint Lawrence, Northumberland Strait, Chaleur Bay, St. John River, Southwest Miamachi River, Restigouche River

Map

External Links

Symbols of New Brunswick (http://www.moncton.net/info/infoPage.aspx?id=314)

Provinces and territories of Canada

Provinces:			Missing image Manitoba_flag.png Manitoba
	Alberta	British Columbia	Manitoba	New Brunswick	Newfoundland and Labrador
			Missing image Ca-pe.png Prince Edward Island
	Nova Scotia	Ontario	Prince Edward Island	Quebec	Saskatchewan
Territories:		Missing image Nwt-flag-thb.png Northwest Territories
Territories:	Yukon	Northwest Territories	Nunavut