About New Brunswick

Geography

The largest among the three Atlantic provinces, New Brunswick shares her borders with Québec in the North, Maine/US in the West and and the two other Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in the South. The entire Eastern limits are made up by the natural border of the Atlantic ocean.
Famed rivers like the Main SW Miramichi, the Northwest Miramichi, the Renous as well as the Restigouche, Nepisiquit, Tobique and others have a very special ring in the ears of fly-fisher(wo)men around the world.

But not only sports(wo)men find their pleasures in New Brunswick. The Bay of Fundy astonishes with the world's highest tide, resulting in the area's spectacular coast-line.
Here, the visitor finds some of the last unspoiled sand-dunes along North America's Eastern seaboard. Visit some of the peaceful islands in the Bay of Fundy, where the clock seems to have stopped.

Former US president Roosevelt found the islands so intriguing, he built his summer home there. Nowadays, you can visit the mansion and dip into a world of historical bounty. The Hopewell Rock Interpretive Center, located on the coast, informs the visitor of the region's natural history. Last but not least, let's not forget that New Brunswick boasts the warmest beaches North of the Carolinas but definitely without the vast crowds of people that you find elsewhere …

History

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the area was inhabited by Micmac and Maliseet Indians. During the 17th century, the first French arrived to settle along the Bay of Fundy: They were the Acadians. In 1755, more than 5000 of them were forced into exile, a indirect result of the American revolution, as more and more British royalists invaded the area to the North. The British themselves settled in the river valleys of the St. Croix and the St. John. In 1785 they founded Canada's first town: St. John.

The 19th century saw a boom in the forestry- and shipping industries. The depression brought it to a sudden halt and the center of economic and political power thus moved towards central Canada. With improved infrastructures and product diversification, the orientation was now centered on timber- and paper production. Today still these industries play the major economic role in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick, formerly known as Acadia, had it's first settlement in Port Royal, (today Annapolis Royal). The founding father was Pierre de Monts. Throughout the 17th century, French and British fought many bloody battles in order to establish superiority and reign over the territory. Before the founding of Halifax in 1749, no large British settlement existed in the area.
The Germans settled around Lunenburg, while thousands of Scots followed one another to the Cape Breton peninsula, thus establishing Nova Scotia.

Timber and the ship-building industry brought an economic upsurge to New Brunswick and during the 19th century, the first (coal)mines were established. New Brunswick was a founding member of the Canadian confederation in 1867. Following the great wars, many Europeans found a new home in New Brunswick.

Some facts and figures

• In July of 2000 approx. 757,000 people lived in NB
• NB is the only officially bi-lingual province in Canada
• Of NB's 73,440 square km, 85 % is forest land
• The province stretches over 242 km (East to West) and 322 km (North to South)
• Fredericton is the capital with 46,507 inhabitants - Moncton the economic metropolis
• St. John is New Brunswick's largest and oldest town with a population of 72,494
• Mt. Carleton is, at 820 m above sea level, NB's highest elevation