Top 15 Most Interesting Facts About New Brunswick

1. Province Motto: Spem Reduxit, Latin for "Hope was restored." It honors the Loyalists who came here after the American Revolution and rebuilt their lives.
2. Province Bird: The Black-capped Chickadee, a small, friendly and hardy songbird that stays through the winter and is easy to spot at backyard feeders.
3. Province Mammal: New Brunswick has no official provincial mammal. The moose, white-tailed deer and black bear are the large animals most often seen in its forests, and the province is also a summer feeding ground for whales in the Bay of Fundy.
4. Province Flag: Adopted in 1965, it shows the provincial coat of arms. A golden lion on a red field fills the upper third, and below it a galley ship rides blue and white waves on a gold field, a reminder of the province's shipbuilding past and its Loyalist heritage.
5. Total Area: About 72,908 square kilometers (28,150 square miles), making it one of the three Maritime provinces and the largest of them. About 80 percent of the province is forested.
6. Capital and Confederation: The capital is Fredericton. New Brunswick was one of the four original provinces of Canada, joining on July 1, 1867. Moncton is the largest city by population, and Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, chartered in 1785.
7. Canada's Only Officially Bilingual Province: English and French both have official status, and roughly one third of the population is Francophone. The Acadian culture here is strong, with its own flag, music and National Acadian Day on August 15.
8. The Highest Tides: The Bay of Fundy has the highest tides on Earth, with a range that tops 12 meters (40 feet) on the New Brunswick shore. At Hopewell Rocks, you can walk on the ocean floor at low tide and paddle around the same "flowerpot" sea stacks at high tide.
9. The Longest Covered Bridge: The Hartland Covered Bridge, over the Saint John River, is 391 meters (1,282 feet) long and is the longest covered bridge in the world. It was built in 1901 and given its roof in the early 1920s.
10. Reversing Falls: At Saint John, the incoming Fundy tide forces the Saint John River to flow backward for part of each day. The rapids change direction with the tide, which makes it one of the Maritimes' best-known natural wonders.
11. Magnetic Hill and the Tidal Bore: Near Moncton, a famous optical illusion makes cars appear to roll uphill, and the Petitcodiac River still produces a small tidal bore, a wave of seawater surging upriver, twice a day.
12. A Roosevelt Summer Home: Campobello Island holds Roosevelt Campobello International Park, where Franklin D. Roosevelt spent his boyhood summers and later returned as a young adult. It is jointly run by Canada and the United States and is the only such park in the world.
13. Salmon Country: The Miramichi River is world-famous for Atlantic salmon fishing, and the province is also known for lobster, scallops, maple syrup and fiddleheads, the young curled fern fronds that appear in spring.
14. Mount Carleton and the Night Sky: Mount Carleton Provincial Park holds the highest point in the Maritimes and is a designated Dark Sky Preserve, where the stars are brilliant on clear nights.
15. Two UNESCO Designations: The Fundy Biosphere Reserve and the Stonehammer UNESCO Global Geopark, around Saint John, were both recognized for their natural and geological value. Stonehammer was the first geopark in North America.

Geography of New Brunswick

New Brunswick is a roughly rectangular province in the northern Appalachians, bordered by Quebec to the northwest, Maine to the west, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Northumberland Strait and Bay of Fundy to the east and south. It is joined to Nova Scotia by the narrow Isthmus of Chignecto. The land is mostly forested, rolling highlands cut by large river valleys, with long sandy beaches along the east coast and rugged cliffs along the Fundy shore. The Saint John River, which flows for about 700 kilometers (435 miles), is the province's main waterway, and the Miramichi, Restigouche and Petitcodiac rivers are also important.

• Highest Point: Mount Carleton, at 820 meters (2,690 feet), in the northern highlands. It is the highest point in the Maritime provinces.
• Lowest Point: Sea level along the Bay of Fundy, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait.
• Mountain Ranges: The northern Appalachians, including the Notre Dame Mountains in the north, the Miramichi Highlands in the central region, and the Caledonia Highlands along the Fundy coast.
• Major Regions:
  • Fundy Coast: Saint John, St. Martins, Fundy National Park, St. Andrews and the Fundy Isles, with high tides, cliffs and whale watching.
  • Saint John River Valley: Fredericton, Woodstock and Hartland, with farmland, historic villages and covered bridges.
  • Southeast (Albert and Westmorland): Moncton, Shediac and Hopewell Rocks, with warm beaches and Acadian communities.
  • Miramichi Region: Miramichi and Kouchibouguac National Park, a land of salmon rivers, dunes and lagoons.
  • Acadian Peninsula: Caraquet, Shippagan and Lamèque, home to strong Acadian traditions and a large fishing industry.
  • Chaleur Region and Restigouche: Bathurst, Campbellton and the shores of Chaleur Bay, with warm water, mountains and the Restigouche River.
  • Northwest and Madawaska: Edmundston and Grand Falls, with Quebec-style French culture and highland forests.

A Brief History of New Brunswick

The Mi'kmaq, Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) and Passamaquoddy peoples have lived in this region for thousands of years. In 1604, Pierre Dugua de Mons and Samuel de Champlain wintered on Saint Croix Island, and French settlers soon founded the Acadian communities of the region. Britain took control in 1713, and in 1755 began the forced deportation of the Acadians, many of whom later returned and rebuilt. After the American Revolution, about 14,000 Loyalists arrived in 1783 and 1784, and in 1784 New Brunswick was created as a separate province from Nova Scotia and named for the German Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The nineteenth century was an age of timber, shipbuilding and Irish immigration, including thousands who passed through the Partridge Island quarantine station in Saint John in 1847. A border dispute with Maine led to the bloodless Aroostook War of 1838 and 1839, settled by treaty in 1842. New Brunswick helped form Canada in 1867, and today it is known for its bilingualism, forestry, fishing and tourism. Places to explore this story:

• Visit Saint Croix Island International Historic Site near St. Andrews to learn about the 1604 French settlement.
• Visit Village Historique Acadien in Caraquet to see a living re-creation of Acadian life from 1770 to 1949.
• Visit Kings Landing Historical Settlement near Fredericton to experience Loyalist and 19th-century life with costumed interpreters.
• Visit Fort Beauséjour-Fort Cumberland National Historic Site near Sackville, which overlooks the Isthmus of Chignecto and tells the story of the French and British struggle for the region.
• Visit the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John, the oldest continuously operating museum in Canada, for natural history, art and the province's story.
• Visit the Fredericton Region Museum and the Garrison District to see the city's military history and the changing of the guard in summer.
• Visit the Miramichi Salmon Museum or the Acadian Historic Village at Grand-Pré's counterpart communities to learn about local traditions and industries.

Top 10 Things to Do in New Brunswick

1. Visit Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park and walk the ocean floor at low tide, then return at high tide to see the water cover the same spot.
2. Visit the Reversing Falls in Saint John and watch the river change direction with the tide, then wander the Saint John City Market, one of the oldest continuing farmers' markets in North America.
3. Visit Fundy National Park and the Fundy Trail Parkway to hike coastal trails, see waterfalls and walk along dramatic cliffs.
4. Visit Grand Manan Island by ferry for whale watching, sea cliffs and puffin colonies, or visit Campobello Island for Roosevelt Campobello International Park and Head Harbour Lighthouse.
5. Visit the Hartland Covered Bridge and tour the Saint John River Valley, stopping at the many covered bridges and small towns on the way.
6. Visit Magnetic Hill in Moncton and watch the Petitcodiac tidal bore, then wander the Moncton downtown.
7. Visit Kouchibouguac National Park to paddle the lagoons, cycle the forest trails and walk the boardwalk across the dunes to see seals and shorebirds.
8. Visit Parlee Beach in Shediac, famous for some of the warmest salt water north of Virginia, and try a fresh lobster roll nearby.
9. Visit Village Historique Acadien in Caraquet and join the Acadian celebrations around August 15 for music, food and parades.
10. Visit Mount Carleton Provincial Park to hike to the summit, then stay for an evening of stargazing under the dark sky.

Top 10 Destinations in New Brunswick

1. Visit Saint John, a historic port city with Victorian architecture, the Reversing Falls, a famous market and a vibrant uptown.
2. Visit Fredericton, the provincial capital, with tree-lined streets, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the Boyce Farmers Market and a lively arts scene along the river.
3. Visit Moncton, a busy and friendly city with Magnetic Hill, the tidal bore and Acadian culture, and an easy base for the southeast.
4. Visit Hopewell Rocks, with its flowerpot sea stacks carved by the highest tides in the world.
5. Visit Fundy National Park and the village of Alma, where lobster boats sit on the mud at low tide and the sticky buns are a local legend.
6. Visit St. Andrews by-the-Sea, a beautiful seaside resort town with whale watching, the Algonquin Resort and Kingsbrae Garden.
7. Visit Grand Manan Island, a quiet island in the Bay of Fundy, known for whales, birds, hiking and fishing villages.
8. Visit Caraquet, the heart of Acadian culture, with a historic village, fresh seafood and an annual festival.
9. Visit Campobello Island, the summer home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, with lighthouses, whale watching and quiet beaches.
10. Visit Mount Carleton Provincial Park, the highest point in the Maritimes, with remote forests and a dark sky preserve.

Plan Your Visit

For more information about New Brunswick, visit the province's official tourism site: Travel New Brunswick