About New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of three Maritime provinces, on the east coast of Canada.

Being relatively close to Europe, New Brunswick was among the first places in North America to be explored and settled, starting with the French in the early 1600s, who eventually colonized most of the Maritimes and some of Maine as the colony of Acadia. The area was caught up in the global conflict between the British and French empires, and in 1755 became part of Nova Scotia, to be partitioned off in 1784 following an influx of refugees from the American Revolutionary War.

In 1785, Saint John became the first incorporated city in Canada. The same year, the University of New Brunswick became one of the first universities in North America. The province prospered in the early 1800s due to logging, shipbuilding, and related activities. The population grew rapidly in part due to waves of Irish immigration to Saint John and Miramichi regions, reaching about a quarter of a million by mid-century. In 1867 New Brunswick was one of four founding provinces of Canada, along with Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario.

After confederation, wooden shipbuilding and lumbering declined, while protectionist policy disrupted traditional economic patterns with New England. The mid-1900s found New Brunswick to be one of the poorest regions of Canada, but that has been mitigated somewhat by federal transfer payments and improved support for rural areas.

As of 2002, provincial gross domestic product was derived as follows: services (about half being government services & public administration) 43%; construction, manufacturing, and utilities 24%; real estate rental 12%; wholesale & retail 11%; agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, mining, oil and gas extraction 5%; transportation & warehousing 5%.

According to the Constitution of Canada New Brunswick is the only bilingual province. About two thirds of the population declare themselves anglophones and a third francophones. One third of the overall population describe themselves as bilingual. Atypically for Canada, only about half of the population lives in urban areas, mostly in the capital Fredericton, Greater Moncton, and Greater Saint John.

Unlike the other Maritime provinces, New Brunswick's terrain is mostly forested uplands, with much of the land further from the coast, giving it a harsher climate. New Brunswick is 83% forested, and less densely-populated than the rest of the Maritimes.

Tourism accounts for about 9% of the labour force directly or indirectly. Popular destinations include Fundy National Park and the Hopewell Rocks, Kouchibouguac National Park, and Roosevelt Campobello International Park. In 2013, 64 cruise ships called at Port of Saint John carrying on average 2600 passengers each.

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