NEW BRUNSWICK



New Brunswick

New Brunswick

ORIGIN OF PROVINCE NAME: Named by King George III of England in honor of his German lands, the Duchy of Brunswick-Lunenberg.

CAPITAL: Fredericton.

NICKNAME: Picture Province.

ENTERED CONFEDERATION: 1 July 1867.

MOTTO: Spem reduxit (Hope was restored).

COAT OF ARMS: In the center, the provincial shield of arms displays (in a fashion similar to that of the provincial flag) a golden lion at the top and an ancient oared galley riding waves below. Above the shield is an Atlantic salmon carrying a royal crown on its back, on a coronet with four maple leaves, which rests on a helmet. Supporting the shield are antlered white-tailed deer on both the right and the left, each with a collar of Maliseet wampum; from the collar of the deer on the left hangs a small shield displaying the Union Jack (the flag of Great Britain), while the other deer's shield has three fleur-de-lys on a blue background. Beneath the shield the provincial motto appears on a scroll, with a grassy mound, purple violets, and fiddleheads.

FLAG: The flag is based on the province's coat of arms. The golden lion appears in the top third against a red background; the ancient oared galley is displayed in the lower two-thirds riding waves represented by blue and white wavy lines, all against a golden background.

FLORAL EMBLEM: Purple violet.

TARTAN: Blue, forest green, and meadow green, interwoven with gold on red.

PROVINCIAL BIRD: Black-capped chickadee.

TREE: Balsam fir.

TIME: 8 AM AST = noon GMT.

1 LOCATION AND SIZE

New Brunswick borders Québec on the north, Nova Scotia at the Chignecto Isthmus on the southeast, and the US state of Maine on the west. It is almost rectangular in shape, extending 200 miles (322 kilometers) north to south and 150 miles (242 kilometers) east to west. It is more or less surrounded by water on three sides (the Baie des Chaleurs to the northeast, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait to the east, and the Bay of Fundy to the south). New Brunswick has a land area of 28,400 square miles (73,500 square kilometers).

2 TOPOGRAPHY

The northern part of the province is quite mountainous, the tallest peak being Mount Carleton, which is 2,690 feet (820 meters) high. The interior consists mainly of a rolling plateau, flatter in the east and more hilly in the southeast.

The main rivers are the Miramichi, Nepisguit, Restigouche, and Saint John. Known as oa-lus-tuk or "beautiful river" to the Indians, the Saint John River waters the fertile lands of the western part of the province over a distance of 451 miles (725 kilometers). Downstream, in the Madawaska area, the river traces a natural boundary between the state of Maine and Canada.

Twice a day, with the rising tide of the Atlantic Ocean, 110.2 billion tons (100 billion metric tons) of water stream past a rocky headland in the Bay of Fundy. The tides rushing back to the Saint John River actually force the river to temporarily flow upstream at Reversing Falls. The current created is practically equal to the flow of all the world's rivers over a 24-hour period. The eastern end of the Bay of Fundy has tides of nearly 50 feet (15 meters), the highest in the world, which would be sufficient to completely submerge a four-story building.

3 CLIMATE

The climate is generally drier and warmer inland than in the coastal areas. The highest recorded temperature in New Brunswick was 103° F (39.4° C ) on 18 August 1935 at Nepisiguit Falls; the lowest recorded temperature was -53° F (-47.2° C ) on 2 February 1955 at Sisson Dam. The beach waters on New Brunswick's Gulf of St. Lawrence coast are the warmest of any along the Atlantic north of Virginia.

New Brunswick Population Profile

New Brunswick

Estimated 2003 population 750,600
Population change, 1996–2001 -1.2%
Percent Urban/Rural populations
Urban 50.4%
Rural 49.6%
Foreign born population 3.1%
Population by ethnicity
Canadian 415,810
French 193,470
English 165,235
Irish 135,835
Scottish 127,635
German 27,490
Acadian 26,220
North American Indian 23,815
Dutch (Netherlands) 13,355
Welsh 7,620
Italian 5,610
Métis 4,955

Population by Age Group
Population by Age Group

Top Cities with Populations over 10,000
Top Cities with Populations over 10,000

City Population, 2001
Saint John 90,762
Moncton 90,359
Fredericton 54,068
Bathurst 16,427
Edmundston 14,867
Chatham–Douglas 13,784
Campbellton 12,463

4 PLANTS AND ANIMALS

Hundreds of thousands of piping plovers and other shorebirds annually take flight

New Brunswick
The Saint John River waters the fertile lands of western New Brunswick. Communications NB.
The Saint John River waters the fertile lands of western New Brunswick.
Communications NB.
from the salt marshes along the coastline at Marys Point, near Riverside-Albert. Every summer, more than 20 different kinds of whales come to the Bay of Fundy to feed in the plankton-rich waters, which also attract large schools of herring and mackerel.

5 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

The New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government is responsible for preserving, protecting, and enhancing the environment for the benefit of all residents. Major regulatory legislation the Department oversees includes the Clean Water Act, the Clean Environment Act, the Clean Air Act, the Pesticides Control Act, and the Beverage Containers Act. As well, it monitors compliance and initiates enforcement of these acts. It also performs a stewardship role in managing issues that require proper environmental management.

New Brunswick has substantially reduced airborne emissions from pulp and paper production facilities, asphalt plants, and other industries since 1973, when the Clean Environment Act was instituted. But prevailing winds carry a great deal of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide from the highly industrialized areas of central Canada and New England into and across the province. As a result, the amount of acid deposited in New Brunswick from acid rain is high. The highest measured ground-level ozone (a main ingredient of smog) in Canada was recorded in the summer of 1993 in Fundy National Park. In 2002, however, sulphate in precipitation, a main indicator of acid rain, was about 10 percent lower in New Brunswick than in 2001.

The Watershed Protection Program protects 30 designated watershed areas throughout the province; about 300,000 residents (40 percent of New Brunswick's population) rely on these areas for fresh water. The program aims to control the quality of water resources by keeping chemical contamination and physical damage to a minimum, and by controlling runoff and erosion from agricultural operations.

Solid waste generation amounts to about 0.5 tons per person per year. All provincial dump sites closed in 1998. By that year, 300 "open dumps" had been replaced with six regional sanitary landfills and five transfer stations. In order to reduce the solid waste stream, the government has initiated recycling programs and encourages backyard composting. Over 1 billion beverage containers and over 3 million tires have been diverted from landfills and the landscape.

6 POPULATION

In 2001, the population of New Brunswick was 729,498. The coasts and river valleys are the areas of heaviest population. Saint John, Canada's oldest incorporated city, is the largest city, followed by Moncton and Fredericton, the provincial capital. Saint John had a population of 90,762 in 2001.

New Brunswick had one of the oldest populations among the provinces in 2001. The median age was 38.6. Seniors age 65 and older made up 14 percent of the population. Between 1991 and 2001, the number of preschool children age 4 and under fell 20 percent.

7 ETHNIC GROUPS

The heritage of New Brunswick's people is a blended one, combining elements of the French, British, Scottish, and Irish traditions, with later elements of German, Scandinavian, and Asian. The little municipality of New Denmark boasts North America's largest Danish colony. The Aboriginal peoples (Native Peoples) of New Brunswick number over 23,800, most of them Micmac and Malecite.

8 LANGUAGES

New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province. In 2001, 64.6 percent of New Brunswick's residents reported English as their mother tongue and 32.9 percent declared French as their first language (the highest percentage outside Québec).

9 RELIGIONS

Besides Québec, New Brunswick is the only province where Catholics form the religious majority. In 2001, 54 percent of the population, or about 386,050 people, were Catholic. There were about 263,075 Protestants (36.5 percent of the population), including Baptists, United Church of Canada members, Anglicans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, and Lutherans. New Brunswick also had about 1,275 Muslims, and less than 750 people each of the following: people of Eastern Orthodox faith, Jews, Buddhists, and Hindus. About 57,665 New Brunswickers had no religious affiliation in 2001.

10 TRANSPORTATION

The TransCanada 2 highway enters New Brunswick from Québec in the northwest and connects Edmundston to Fredericton by following the Saint John River before continuing on to Moncton and Nova Scotia in the southeast. Provincial highways traverse New Brunswick and connect with I-95 and US Highway 1 at the Maine border. As of 2003, there were 467,574 registered motor vehicles, 2,697 registered buses, 11,492 registered motorcycles and mopeds, and 72,535 registered trailers. Urban transit utilizes over 60 buses.

The world's longest covered bridge, spanning the Saint John River, was completed at Hartland in 1899. New Brunswick has some 2,900 bridges, seawalls, causeways, dams, and other water-related structures. The province also has 47 commercial ports. The port of Saint John handles about 20 million tons of cargo each year.

11 HISTORY

France and Britain Clash over New Brunswick

The existence of New Brunswick was known to the Europeans as early as the 1400s. At that time, daring people of Basque descent (people of unknown origin who lived in northwestern Spain and nearby France) fished the waters surrounding Miscou Island in the northeast of the province. The region was already inhabited by the Malecite and Micmac Indians. The Micmacs were the first to greet French explorer Samuel de Chaplain and his associates when they landed in New Brunswick in 1604. From the very beginning, the Indians established good relations with the French in two key ways: by helping the French settlers, known as Acadians, to adapt to their new country, and by taking part in the French attacks on New England.

Great Britain and France quarreled over the New Brunswick area for the entire seventeenth century. Control passed back and forth between the two powers until 1713, when all of Acadia was given over to the British under the Treaty of Utrecht. Great Britain called the region Nova Scotia. After a while, the French lost interest in the Acadians and instead turned their attention to New France and the developing fur trade there.

By 1755, England had established its dominance as a colonial power in the northernmost sections of North America. Some Acadians, however, steadfastly refused to swear their allegiance to the British Crown. British leaders were outraged. Fearing that the security of the Crown was being compromised, they decided to deport, or send away, those Acadians who would not pledge their loyalty to Britain. The offending Acadians were sent south to the area of North America that would later become the United States. It was not until eight years

Two oxen—Bright and Lion—demonstrate farming methods of the 1800s at Kings Landing. When the Mactaquac Dam was built across the St. John River, many river communities were flooded. To preserve their history, Kings Landing was created near Fredericton. Visitors can experience provincial life in the 1800s. EPD Photos/Peter Langer
Two oxen—Bright and Lion—demonstrate farming methods of the 1800s at Kings Landing. When the Mactaquac Dam was built across the St. John River, many river communities were flooded. To preserve their history, Kings Landing was created near Fredericton. Visitors can experience provincial life in the 1800s.
EPD Photos/Peter Langer
later that they were allowed to return to their homeland.

In 1783, the western part of Nova Scotia became the home of thousands of British Loyalists who had taken flight in the aftermath of the American Revolution. These American colonists, wishing to remain faithful to the British Crown, founded communities in the northern part of the province. The settlement of large numbers of Loyalists created tension between the eastern and western parts of Nova Scotia. In June of 1784, the western half of the region became the separate province of New Brunswick. More than eighty years later, in 1867, New Brunswick joined other provinces to form the Dominion of Canada.

A Shaky Economy

After Confederation (the joining of the provinces), it seemed that New Brunswick would become a prosperous industrial center. The country's new railways brought an increase in population and new business to the province, but—for a variety of political and economic reasons—New Brunswick did not gain economic strength until well into the 20th century.

Back in the late 1800s, in an effort to stimulate trade in central Canada, the new government placed high tariffs on foreign goods coming into all the Maritime Provinces (provinces, like New Brunswick, that were situated near the water). New Brunswick's economy suffered significantly when its industries were forced to bring in expensive goods from Ontario and Quebec. In addition, the strength and prosperity of the area's shipbuilding industry declined rapidly after lighter iron-hulled ships were introduced. Saint John, a particularly prosperous shipbuilding centre, was among the cities hardest hit by this advancement. Saint John was dealt another blow in 1877. On a day now remembered as "Black Wednesday," a fire raged through the city leaving 13,000 people homeless and causing over $27 million in damages.

Canada experienced losses of over 68,000 soldiers in World War I (1914–1918), and veterans returning to New Brunswick faced a bleak future of scarce, low-paying jobs. At the same time, tariffs (taxes) on imports kept prices for consumer goods high. Overall, Canada experienced a period of rapid industrialization in the 1920s. Improvements were made to railways and roads, and this helped trade to flourish. Automobiles, telephones, electrical appliances, and other consumer goods became widely available. Consumer confidence led to the rapid expansion of credit, which allowed businesses to grow. But the Maritime Provinces did not enjoy the same rate of economic expansion as the rest of Canada. Before any solutions to the problem could be implemented by government agencies, the entire Canadian economy was devastated by the Great Depression, a period of severe economic downturn that began in 1929.

The effects of the Depression on Canada were compounded by droughts and frequent crop failures—bad news for a region that still heavily relied on agriculture. Social welfare programs expanded rapidly during the 1930s, with much of the monetary burden being placed on the local governments.

Following World War II (1939–1945), consumer spending and immigration to most of Canada increased significantly. In New Brunswick, however, the economy remained at a standstill. Education and health care were poorly funded, and in the 1940s and 1950s the rates of illiteracy and infant mortality (death rates among newborns) were among the highest in Canada.

It wasn't until 1960—when Louis Joseph Robichaud was elected Premier—that New Brunswick's economy and social conditions began to improve. Under his administration, over 125 new laws were passed. These laws helped create sorely needed social services and encouraged economic development. During the 1960s and 1970s, new highways were constructed, hydroelectric plants were built, the mining and forestry industries were expanded, and manufacturing continued to grow. New companies such as Lantic Sugar, the largest sugar refinery in Canada, and T. S. Simms Co. Ltd., the largest brush manufacturing company in Canada, moved to Saint John and boosted the city's economy. In more recent years, New Brunswick has expanded into high technology and describes itself as the Call Center Capital of North America. Call centers for more than 50 major companies such as Xerox, IBM, and Air Canada are located there.

The Québec Question

Canada's unity has been threatened by the possibility of Québec's secession, or separation, from the rest of the country. Québec is a French-speaking area that places high value on the preservation of its French culture. The Meech Lake Accord (1987) and the Charlottetown Accord (1992) both proposed the recognition of Québec as a "distinct society" within the nation. The Canadian government had hoped that these accords would alleviate Québec's fears of cultural loss and discrimination while maintaining a unified Canada. Québec's separation issue remains unresolved, and New Brunswick is stuck in a particularly difficult position because of its geographical location. If Québec ever becomes a separate state, New Brunswick will be isolated, or cut off, from the rest of Canada, and that would no doubt have a profoundly negative effect on the province's already weak economy.

Facing the Future

New Brunswick has been under the leadership of Premier Bernard Lord since 1999. Although social services such as health care and education are now comparable to those in other Canadian provinces, the unemployment rate is still high and the average income remains low. The government's main challenge in the twenty-first century is to strengthen New Brunswick's economy.

In 1999, a Canadian Supreme Court ruling declared that same-sex couples were entitled to the same benefits and obligations as opposite-sex couples in long-term relationships that the government recognizes as "common law" marriages. The New Brunswick legislature later amended its civil code to mandate equal treatment for same-sex partners.

12 PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

The structure of the provincial government reflects that of the federal government. For example, the provincial premier, as the majority party leader of the legislature, functions much like the Canadian prime minister. Provincial legislators, like their federal counterparts in Parliament, are elected to represent a constitutional jurisdiction and pass legislation. They do so as members of the 55-seat Legislative Assembly. A provincial lieutenant-governor approves laws passed by the legislature, much like the Governor General at the federal level. There is no provincial equivalent, however, to the federal Senate.

13 POLITICAL PARTIES

The Liberal and Progressive Conservative parties control local politics in New Brunswick. The Liberal Party receives much of its support from the ethnic French and Irish Roman Catholic communities, while the Conservative Party is backed largely by ethnic British and Protestant people.

The most recent general election was held in 2003. The parties held the following number of seats in New Brunswick's Legislative Assembly in 2003: Progressive Conservative Party, 28; Liberal Party, 26; and New Democratic Party, 1.

Premiers of New Brunswick
Premiers of New Brunswick

Term Premier Party
1866–67 Peter Mitchell
1867–70 Andrew Rainsford Wetmore
1871–72 George Luther Hatheway
1872–78 George Edwin King
1878–82 John James Fraser
1882–83 Daniel Lionel Hanington
1883–96 Andrew George Blair Liberal
1896–97 James Mitchell Liberal
1897–1900 Henry Robert Emmerson Liberal
1900–07 Lemuel John Tweedie Liberal
1907 William Pugsley Liberal
1907–08 Clifford William Robinson Liberal
1908–11 John Douglas Hazen Conservative
1911–14 James Kidd Fleming Conservative
1914–17 George Johnson Clarke Conservative
1917 John Alexander Murray Conservative
1917–23 Walter Edward Foster Liberal
1923–25 Peter John Veniot Liberal
1925–31 John Macaulay Baxter Conservative
1931–33 Charles Dow Richards Conservative
1933–35 Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley Conservative
1935–40 Albert Allison Dysart Liberal
1940–52 John Babbitt McNair Liberal
1952–60 Hugh John Flemming Conservative
1960–70 Louis Joseph Robichaud Liberal
1970–87 Richard Bennett Hatfield Conservative
1987–97 Frank Joseph McKenna Liberal
1997–98 Joseph Raymond Frenette Liberal
1998–99 Camille H. Theriault Liberal
1999– Bernard Lord Conservative

14 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The provincial government provides all municipal services for rural areas. Cities are required to have 10,000 inhabitants for incorporation; towns, 1,000. Villages need no specific minimum population for incorporation.

15 JUDICIAL SYSTEM

The Canadian Constitution grants provincial jurisdiction over the administration of justice, and allows each province to organize its own court system and police forces. The federal government has exclusive domain over cases involving trade and commerce, banking, bankruptcy, and criminal law. The Federal Court of Canada has both trial and appellate divisions for federal cases. The nine-judge Supreme Court of Canada is an appellate court that determines the constitutionality of both federal and provincial statutes. The Tax Court of Canada hears appeals of taxpayers against assessments by Revenue Canada.

New Brunswick's provincial court system consists of a Provincial Court, which deals with most criminal offenses, family law matters, young offenders, traffic violations, and small claims; the Court of Queen's Bench, which hears the most serious civil and criminal cases; and the Court of Appeal, which is the highest court in the province.

In 2002, there were 9 homicides in New Brunswick. That year, there were 974 violent crimes per 100,000 persons, and 2,812 property crimes per 100,000 persons.

16 MIGRATION

Historically, migration in the province has involved the forced deportations of Acadians (the descendants of the original French settlers) and their return during the early to mid-18th century, and an influx of British Loyalists from the American colonies following the American Revolution later in the 18th century.

In 2001, 35.4 percent of all immigrants living in New Brunswick had come from the United States, and 23.6 percent from the United Kingdom. Almost 15 percent came from other Northern and Western European countries, mostly from Germany.

In 2001, about 0.6 percent of New Brunswick's residents age five and older were living abroad. Some 9.3 percent were living elsewhere in New Brunswick, while 4.8 percent were living in another province. The most interprovincial migration is with Ontario.

17 ECONOMY

The most important areas of New Brunswick's economy are finance, insurance, and real estate; community and personal services; manufacturing; government; construction; retail trade; utilities; transportation and storage; wholesale trade; logging and forestry; mining; agriculture; and fishing and trapping. In 2002, New Brunswick's gross domestic product (GDP) totaled C $21.2 billion, or about 1.8 percent of Canada's total GDP.

18 INCOME

Average weekly earnings in 2000 were C $554.05. Average family income in the province was C $54,086 in 2000 for a family of five.

19 INDUSTRY

Leading the manufacturing industries are food and beverages, pulp and paper, saw-mills,

The mix of French Acadian and English culture give Moncton a cosmopolitan quality. Communications NB.
The mix of French Acadian and English culture give Moncton a cosmopolitan quality.
Communications NB.
manufacturers of furniture and other wood-based industries, metal processing, transportation equipment, and processing of nonmetallic ores and primary metals. In 2002, manufacturing shipments amounted to C $12.6 billion. In 2002, the leading growth industries were refined petroleum products and seafood products. The lumber industry showed solid growth, and the telecommunications industry advanced.

20 LABOR

In 2003, 384,600 persons were actively in the labor force. Employment amounted to 348,400 in 2003, and 36,200 persons were unemployed. The unemployment rate was 9.4 percent. The hourly minimum wage as of January 2004 was C $6.20.

In 2003, the sectors with the largest numbers of employed persons were: trade, 56,400; manufacturing, 45,300; health care and social services, 45,200; accommodation and food services, 22,800; educational services, 22,600; management, administrative, and other support, 20,800; construction, 20,100; transportation and warehousing, 18,800; public administration, 18,700; other services, 17,400; finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, 14,800; professional, scientific, and technical services, 14,700; forestry, fishing, mining, and oil and gas, 12,400; information, culture, and recreation, 9,800; agriculture, 4,900; and utilities, 3,600.

21 AGRICULTURE

New Brunswick is self-sufficient in the production of forage. Its potatoes are renowned in over 25 countries; strawberries, apples, blueberries, and vegetables are produced for local consumption and for export. In 2001, there were 3,034 farms in the province, with a total area of 958,918 acres (388,053 hectares), of which 367,905 acres (148,883 hectares) were used for growing crops. Total farm receipts (excluding forest products sold) were C $445 million in 2000. Farm operating expenses were C $384 million. The average farm operator was left with C $20,421 before interest payments and taxes.

Major crops harvested in the province are hay, potatoes, barley, oats, and blue-berries. Wheat, strawberries, tobacco, apples, and raspberries are also grown.

Vegetables are grown on more than 220 farms. Some 150 farms are greenhouses under glass, plastic, or other protection. Vegetable growers produce sweet corn, squash, pumpkins, zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Maple syrup production annually amounts to over C $4 million. There were 8 sod farms in 2001, and 252 farms produced Christmas trees. Twenty-five farms in 2001 were producing organic products.

22 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS

New Brunswick produces enough milk and poultry to satisfy local demand. Ninety percent of New Brunswick's dairy cows are Holsteins. In 2001, there were 18,978 dairy cows in New Brunswick. The province has some 300 dairy farms, which produce milk, butterfat, and cream. In recent years, the number of dairy farms has decreased, but production per cow has increased.

The poultry population in New Brunswick in 2003 was over 4 million. There were 12 hatcheries.

In 2001, the livestock inventory also included 100,297 cattle, 74,471 hogs, and 7,266 sheep. Total farm receipts from livestock operations in 2003 were C $202.9 million.

About 500 commercial beekeepers produce honey and wax from 4,900 hives. Minks and foxes are raised for their pelts.

A logging operation. Wood-based products are one of the leading industries in New Brunswick. © Mike Yamashita/Woodfin Camp.
A logging operation. Wood-based products are one of the leading industries in New Brunswick.
© Mike Yamashita/Woodfin Camp.

23 FISHING

More than 50 varieties of fish and shellfish are caught in New Brunswick. There are over 8,000 anglers operating from almost 3,000 boats, with an additional 12,500 persons employed at fish processing plants. Lobster and snow crab are the highest fish products in value. Lobster accounts for about 50 percent of all shell-fish value. The town of Shediac is known as the "lobster capital of the world." In 2003, New Brunswick's fish and shellfish exports totaled 88,807 tons valued at C $794.5 million, most of which was sent to the United States.

Fish farms are growing in importance. An average 98 percent of all fish farm products are Atlantic salmon. Oyster and mussel farming account for the rest.

As of 2000, there were 53,132 residents actively engaged in sport fishing within New Brunswick.

24 FORESTRY

Forests occupy some 15 million acres (6.1 million hectares), or 85 percent of the land mass. Consequently, wood and wood products are a cornerstone of the economy, with black spruce and fir the leading species. Furniture-making by Acadians became prominent during the 18th and 19th centuries from such plentiful local wood as pine, birch, maple, and butternut. Crown (provincial and federal) lands account for 48 percent of the province's forests, while industry owns 20 percent and private woodlot owners account for the remaining 32 percent. In 2000, the area harvested was 275,609 acres (111,533 hectares), yielding 420.3 million cubic feet (11.9 million cubic meters) of wood. In 2002, forestry directly accounted for 17,300 jobs. The value of New Brunswick's forestry exports in 2002 was C $2.4 billion, mainly paper and paperboard (28 percent), softwood lumber (22 percent), wood pulp (21 percent), and newsprint (10 percent).

Three nurseries are maintained at Kingsclear, Madran, and St. Paul de Kent to produce seedlings for Crown land and some private woodlot reforestation.

25 MINING

New Brunswickers mine silver, bismuth, cadmium, copper, gold, lead, potash, peat, tungsten, silica, salt, uranium, and zinc. The value of mineral production in 2003 was nearly C $671.9 million, with metals accounting for C $441.3 million of the total. In 2003, New Brunswick was Canada's leading producer of zinc, antinomy, peat, bismuth, and lead. Zinc is the leading metal produced by value, representing over 72 percent ( C $318.9 million) of the total value of provincial metal production in 2003. Much of the metals mining occurs in the counties of Restigouche, Northumberland, and Gloucester. Peat moss is mined from the Acadian Peninsula.

26 ENERGY AND POWER

The first coal mined in North America was taken in 1639 from the shores of Grand Lake, and coal is still mined near Minto. Natural gas, oil, oil shale, and albertite (a rare solid hydrocarbon) are found in southeast New Brunswick near Hillsborough. Crude oil and natural gas production began at Stoney Creek near Moncton in the early 1900s, but production ceased in 1991.

About one-quarter of New Brunswick's electricity generating power is produced by hydroelectricity. However, nuclear energy, coal, oil, and Orimulsion are also used to generate electricity. In 2001, New Brunswick announced a new energy policy that called for competition in the electricity sector in 2003. New Brunswick Power previously was the sole electricity wholesaler and retailer. Power supply in New Brunswick exceeds demand by about 30 percent, leaving room for exports. In 2002/03, 18.9 million kilowatt hours of electricity was available for distribution in New Brunswick.

27 COMMERCE

In 2002, total merchandise exports in New Brunswick amounted to C $8.26 billion and imports totaled C $5.72 billion. The United States was by far the largest export market and import supplier for New Brunswick. Other major export markets are Japan, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Brazil. Major import suppliers are Norway, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.

New Brunswick lobster. The town of Shediac is known as the "lobster capital of the world." © Stephanie Maze/Woodfin Camp.
New Brunswick lobster. The town of Shediac is known as the "lobster capital of the world."
© Stephanie Maze/Woodfin Camp.

In 2000, retail trade in New Brunswick totaled C $6.9 billion. During 2003, consumers in New Brunswick gradually reduced their spending in retail stores. Retail sales in November 2003 were C $595 million. This was a -0.6 percent decline in retail sales from November 2002.

28 PUBLIC FINANCE

The fiscal year runs from 1 April to 31 March. For fiscal year 2002/03, total revenues were estimated at C $5.288 billion; expenditures totaled C $5.267 billion. The largest expenditure areas were health, education, interest on debt, municipal affairs, income assistance, economic development, central government, and transportation. In the 2002/03 fiscal year, provincial debt amounted to 32.3 percent of the gross domestic product, or C $6.577 billion.

29 TAXATION

The personal income tax rate in 2003 was 43.5 percent. The retail sales tax was 8 percent. Major consumption taxes are levied on gasoline ( C $0.145 per liter) and tobacco ( C $23.50 per carton).

The average family of four (two parents and two children) in 2003 earned C $68,105. Such a family paid C $30,727 in taxes.

Corporate income tax rates in 2003 were as follows: small business rate, 3 percent; general business rate, 13 percent; and capital tax rate, 0.3–3 percent.

30 HEALTH

In 2001, there were 7,195 live births in New Brunswick, a decrease of 2.1 percent from 2000. There were 6,062 deaths that year, a decrease of 0.4 percent from 2000. Reported cases of selected diseases in 2002 included salmonellosis, 114; chicken pox, 31; giardiasis, 94; and gonococcal infections, 29. The incidence of cancer was estimated at 3,600 in 2001. Between November 1985 and June 2003, 307 residents had become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

31 HOUSING

The value of all residential construction in 2002 amounted to C $996.6 million.

New Brunswick had 283,820 households in 2001, with an average size of 2.5 persons. There were 206,765 households living in single-detached houses, 3,525 households living in apartments in buildings with five or more stories, 10,565 households living in mobile homes, and 62,960 households living in other dwellings, including row houses and apartments in buildings with fewer than five stories.

32 EDUCATION

Public education classes and services in New Brunswick are delivered in both English and French. There are 9 anglo-phone (English-language) public school districts and 5 francophone (French-language) districts. There are slightly less than 130,000 students enrollled in elementary and secondary schools in the province. Enrollment has declined about six percent since 1995. The number of elementary and secondary school teachers has also declined (by three percent), to just under 7,500. The student-teacher ratio is about 17 to 1.

The province's universities and their 2003/04 full-time enrollments are as follows: the University of New Brunswick (Fredericton and Saint John), 9,000; St. Thomas University (Fredericton), 2,800; Mount Allison University (Sackville), 2,250; and the University of Moncton (l'Univeristé de Moncton), 5,000 students. The New Brunswick College of Craft and Design at Fredericton is the only postsecondary institute of its kind in Canada.

33 ARTS

New Brunswick's performing arts companies give about 500 performances before a total attendance of over 200,000 each year. The Capitol Theatre in Moncton features plays, musicals, and dance troupes. The Playhouse in Fredericton offers performances in dance, music, and theater. Based in Saint John, Symphony New Brunswick performs some 30 concerts a year in Saint John, Fredericton, and Moncton. There is a vibrant film industry in New Brunswick. There are also artists and photography coopertatives, and many galleries. Per capita provincial spending on the arts and culture in New Brunswick in 2000/01 was C $55. In 2002/03, the Canada Council for the Arts provided grants worth C $2.2 million to the arts in New Brunswick. The largest percentage of funding went to theater, followed by visual arts and writing and publishing.

34 LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS

The New Brunswick Public Library System, a partnership between the provincial government and individual communities, provides access to the province's collections of more than 1.8 million items. NBPLS regional libraries include Albert-Westmorland-Kent, York, Chaleur, Saint John, and the Bibliothéque Regionale du Haut-Saint-Jean. The University of New Brunswick's libraries in Fredericton are the province's main academic libraries. The Owens Art Gallery in Sackville opened in 1895, making it the oldest university art gallery in Canada. Moncton has the Lutz Mountain Heritage Museum, the Moncton Museum, and the Musée Acadien de

St. John is Canada's oldest city. Twice a day at high tide, the St. John River temporarily flows upstream as water surges into the Bay of Fundy. Communications NB.
St. John is Canada's oldest city. Twice a day at high tide, the St. John River temporarily flows upstream as water surges into the Bay of Fundy.
Communications NB.
l'Univeristé de Moncton. In June 1997, the New Brunswick Internment Museum opened in Minto to preserve the history of the imprisonment there of Jewish men and boys (1940–41) and Germans and Italians (1941–45).

35 COMMUNICATIONS

As of 2001, New Brunswick had 16 AM and 22 FM radio stations, and 12 television stations.

36 PRESS

Daily newspapers in New Brunswick include the Telegraph Journal/Evening Times Globe (Saint John), the Daily Gleaner (Fredericton), The Times-Transcript (Moncton), and the French-language L'Acadie Nouvelle (Caraquet).

37 TOURISM, TRAVEL, AND RECREATION

Tourism is a vital part of the province's economy. In 2001, tourism revenues were C $900 million. In 2002, about 2 million non-residents visited New Brunswick's tourist attractions, including its two national parks and numerous provincial parks. The eroded "flowerpot" rocks along the shore of Shepody Bay in the Bay of Fundy, Hopewell Cape, are a main attraction. Numerous beaches and dunes line the coastline. Mount Carleton in the Appalachian range is Atlantic Canada's highest peak.

Fredericton annually hosts the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival; Canada's Irish Festival is held in Miramichi. The annual Chocolate Festival in Saint Stephen is a tribute to the Ganong candy factory there, where the first chocolate bars were developed in 1910.

38 SPORTS

Professional American Hockey League (AHL) hockey is played in Moncton; local baseball, soccer, and football matches are also popular spectator sports. Sailing, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, cycling, golf, and bird-watching are popular outdoor activities.

39 FAMOUS NEW BRUNSWICKERS

Andrew Bonar-Law (1858–1923), prime minister of Great Britain from 1922 to 1923, was born in Rexton and was the United Kingdom's only prime minister born outside the British Isles. Canadian prime minister Richard Bennett (1870–1947) was born in Hopewell.

Film mogul Louis B. Mayer (b.Russia, 1885–1957) grew up in Saint John. Actors Walter Pidgeon (1897–1984) and Donald Sutherland (b.1935) also came from Saint John.

Noted authors include francophone (French-language) novelist Antonine Maillet (b.1929) and anglophone (English-language) playwright Sharon Pollock (b.1936).

James H. Ganong (1841–88) operated a growing confectionery in Saint Stephen; in 1910, the family business invented the modern chocolate bar.

40 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Campbell, Kumari. New Brunswick . Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1996.

LeVert, Suzanne. New Brunswick. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2001.

Sorensen, Lynda. Canada: Provinces and Territories . Vero Beach, FL.: Rourke Book Co., 1995.

Web sites

Canada Tourism. http://www.canadatourism.com/ctx/app (accessed on March 19, 2004).

Government New Brunswick. http://www.gnb.ca/index-e.asp (accessed on March 19, 2004).

Statistics Canada. http://www.statcan.ca/english (accessed on March 19, 2004).

Welcome to New Brunswick. http://new-brunswick.net/index.html (accessed on March 19, 2004).



Also read article about New Brunswick from Wikipedia

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