 ABOUT NEW BRUNSWICK
Capital: Fredericton
Motto: Spem Reduxit (Hope was restored)
Flower: Purple Violet
Population (2009): 755,500 THE LAND
New Brunswick is one of the three Maritime provinces, and included as one of the four Atlantic provinces of Canada, bounded on the north by the Province Quebec and Chaleur Bay, on the east by the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Northumberland Strait, on the south east by Nova Scotia, on the south by the Bay of Fundy, and on the west by the state of Maine. The province is joined to Nova Scotia by the narrow Isthmus of Chignecto. New Brunswick entered the Canadian Confederation on July 1, 1867, as one of the four original provinces. The province has traditionally had an economy based on the exploitation of its natural resources. In the early 1990's forestry and mineral industries remained important, but services and manufacturing were the dominant sectors. The province is named for the British royal family of Brunswick-Lüneburg (the house of Hannover). New Brunswick is called the Loyalist Province.
New Brunswick covers 73,440 square kilometres in roughly a rectangle shape about 242 kilometres (150 miles) from east to west and 322 kilometres (200 miles) north to south. Its northern reaches are dominated by mountains that are part of the Appalachian Range.
The north half of New Brunswick has a distinctly continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers. The south half has a more moderate maritime climate, with milder winters and slightly cooler summers. The average annual temperature ranges from 2.8° C (37° F) in the north to 5° C (41° F) in the south. The recorded temperature has ranged from -47.2° C (-53° F) in 1955, at Sisson Dam in the northwest, to 39.4° C (102.9° F) in 1935, at Nepisiguit Falls in the northeast. The average annual precipitation ranges from 889 mm (35 in) in the north to 1143 mm (45 in) in the south. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year. Fog is common in the spring and early summer along the Bay of Fundy coast.
THE PEOPLE
New Brunswick is the only official bilingual (French and English) province in the country, with a substantial (32%) French-speaking minority, mostly of Acadian origin.
First Nations in New Brunswick include the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik). The first European settlers, the Acadians, are today descendants of survivors of the Great Expulsion (1755), which drove thousands of French residents into exile in North America, Britain and France for refusing to take an oath to King George III during the French and Indian War. Acadians who were deported to Louisiana are often referred to as Cajuns in English.
Much of the English Canadian population of New Brunswick is descended from Loyalists who fled the American Revolution. This is commemorated in the province's motto, Spem reduxit ("hope was restored"). There is also a significant population with Irish ancestry, especially in Saint John and the Miramichi Valley. People of Scottish descent are scattered throughout the province, with higher concentrations in the Miramichi and in Campbellton.
THE 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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