List of counties of New Brunswick
This is a list of the county territorial divisions in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
!n 1966 the New Brunswick Equal Opportunity program brought about the end of the counties. Since they no longer serve an administrative role, they are historical. In law, the fifteen county regions and their divisions continued. The Territorial Divisions Act of New Brunswick is the legislation that describes the county regions and their towns.
Today they are used as census units, and for registration of real-estate. Because the county area is in use by Statistics Canada as a census division, we know their populations. Also, former county seats (known in the province as shire towns) are included in the list.
A lot of New Brunswickers know which county they are in, and there are road signs that continue to mark some boundaries. Maps continue to depict the county regions.
In the English period of Canadian history, New Brunswick territory was part of Nova Scotia, when it was included in Cumberland and Sunbury Counties.[1] Counties were at the top of a three-layer government system which saw appointments of officials and members of governors assembly. After the split of the provinces in 1784 following the Revolutionary War and Loyalist emigration, the original eight counties were created. Saint John and County was the first city to receive a Royal Charter in the colonial Maritime Provinces.
| County Name | Population, 2021[2] | Population, 2016[2] | Population, % change[2] | Shire town (County seat) | Land area (km2)[2] | Population density (per km2)[2] | Formation[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert County | 30,749 | 29,158 | 5.5 | Hopewell Cape | 1806.23 | 17.0 | Formed in 1845 from part of Westmorland County and a small part of Saint John County. |
| Carleton County | 26,360 | 26,178 | 0.7 | Woodstock | 3309.06 | 8.0 | Formed in 1831 from part of York County. |
| Charlotte County | 26,015 | 25,428 | 2.3 | St. Andrews | 3418.24 | 7.6 | One of the original 8 counties. |
| Gloucester County | 78,256 | 78,444 | -0.2 | Bathurst | 4734.30 | 16.5 | Formed in 1826 from part of Northumberland County. |
| Kent County | 32,169 | 30,475 | 5.6 | Richibucto | 4550.38 | 7.1 | Formed in 1826 from part of Northumberland County. |
| Kings County | 71,184 | 68,941 | 3.3 | Hampton | 3482.35 | 20.4 | One of the original 8 counties. |
| Madawaska County | 32,603 | 32,741 | -0.4 | Edmundston | 3454.97 | 9.4 | Formed in 1873 from part of Victoria County. |
| Northumberland County | 45,005 | 44,952 | 0.1 | Newcastle, now part of Miramichi | 12843.39 | 3.5 | One of the original 8 counties. |
| Queens County | 10,998 | 10,472 | 5.0 | Gagetown | 3681.05 | 3.0 | One of the original 8 counties. |
| Restigouche County | 30,700 | 30,955 | -0.8 | Dalhousie | 8566.82 | 3.6 | Formed in 1837 from part of Gloucester County. |
| Saint John County | 76,558 | 74,020 | 3.4 | Saint John | 1461.05 | 52.4 | One of the original 8 counties. |
| Sunbury County | 27,864 | 27,644 | 0.8 | Burton | 2692.97 | 10.3 | One of the original 8 counties. |
| Victoria County | 18,312 | 18,617 | -1.6 | Andover, now part of Perth-Andover | 5492.85 | 3.3 | Formed in 1844 from part of Carleton County. |
| Westmorland County | 163,576 | 149,623 | 9.3 | Dorchester | 3659.74 | 44.7 | One of the original 8 counties. |
| York County | 105,261 | 99,453 | 5.8 | Fredericton | 8095.10 | 13.0 | One of the original 8 counties. |
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Pincombe, Alexander (1984). The Birth of a Province. p. 2. ISBN 0888387873.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (9 February 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census divisions". www150.statcan.gc.ca.
- ↑ "Provincial Archives of New Brunswick". archives.gnb.ca. Retrieved 2017-02-10.