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Home > New Brunswick's Trans-Canada Highway --> Provincial Overview
TransCanadaHighway.com New Brunswick Overview
Location
Bordering on Nova Scotia, Quebec and the American state of Maine, New Brunswick is almost rectangular in shape, about 322 kilometres tall and 242 kilometres wide. It is the most westerly of the Maritime Provinces, that border on the Atlantic Ocean.
The province borders on the Bay of Fundy, which funnels the tides in an unusual
manner, creating the world's most extreme tides, measuring over 14 metres (48
feet). The province is also home to the famous Reversing Falls, that change
direction with the tides! The province uses Atlantic Time, as do the other maritime Provinces (except Newfoundland). There are ferry connections between Saint John and southern Nova Scotia. Note: some people often confuse the names of Saint John (singular) New Brunswick with St. John's (possessive) Newfoundland
See provincial map.
History
New Brunswick was known to European fishermen in the late 1400s. At that time, the region was inhabited by the Malecite and Micmac Indians. The first French settlers, known as Acadians, arrived in 1604. The Acadians, endured wars and feuds between the British and French before many of them were shipped, following a Briitsh victory in war, to the French colony of Louisiana, where they are known today as "Cajuns." Their land was then granted to British colonists, but the French population remained a steady force in the region. New Brunswick joined the other provinces in 1867 to form the Dominion of Canada.
People.
Today, New Brunswick still has the highest percentage of Francophones outside
Quebec, making up 250,000 of its 738,000 residents. When the Canadian Constitution was "repatriated," New Brunswick was the only province that enshrined its official bilingualism in the document. The coasts and river valleys are the most populated areas. Saint John is the largest city, followed by Moncton and Fredericton,
which is the provincial capital.
New Brunswick Economy
New Brunswick's economy is led by manufacturing industries such food and beverages, followed by wood-based manufacturing, transportation equipment, and processing of non-metallic ores and primary metals.
New Brunswick has an abundance of natural resources. Forests (mostly spruce and fir) occupy 85 percent of the land mass; consequently, wood and wood products (pulp and paper, sawmills, and furniture ) are a key to the provincial economy. New Brunswick has several large mines that extract silver, bismuth, cadmium, coal, copper, natural gas, gold, oil, lead, potash, peat, tungsten, silica, salt and zinc. Many of these non-metallic ores and primary metals are processed in the province.
Tourism is a vital part of the province's economy. Over 1.5 million people visited New Brunswick's tourist attractions, including its two national parks and numerous provincial parks.
Fishing and agriculture are also very important. More than 50 varieties of fish and shellfish are caught here; in fact, the town of Shediac has been called the "lobster capital of the world." In agriculture, New Brunswick's potatoes are renowned in over 25 countries; strawberries, apples, blueberries and vegetables are produced for local consumption and for export, and the province is self-sufficient in the production of milk and poultry. The processing of food & beverages is a key manufacturing sector in the province.
In recent years, New Brunswick has undertaken an effort to further promote economic development focusing on information and communication technologies. The province now calls itself as the "Call Centre Capital of North America," with well over a dozen companies having established facilities in the province.
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