New Brunswick (French: Nouveau-Brunswick) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both French and English as its official languages.
New Brunswick is bordered by Quebec to the north, Maine to the west, Nova Scotia and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the east, and the Bay of Fundy to the south. New Brunswick is about 83% forested and its northern half is occupied by the Appalachians.[7] The province’s climate is continental with snowy winters and temperate summers.
New Brunswick has a surface area of 72,908 km2 and possesses 747,101 inhabitants (2016).[8] Atypically for Canada, only about half of the population lives in urban areas. New Brunswick’s largest cities are Moncton and Saint John, while its capital is Fredericton.
In 1969, New Brunswick passed the Official Languages Act which began recognizing French as an official language, along with English.[9] New Brunswickers have the right to receive provincial government services in the official language of their choice.[10] About 2/3 of the population are anglophone and 1/3 are francophone. New Brunswick is home to most of the cultural region of Acadia and most Acadians. New Brunswick’s variety of French is called Acadian French and 7 regional accents can be found.[11]
New Brunswick was first inhabited by First Nations like the Miꞌkmaq and Maliseet. In 1604, Acadia, the first New France colony, was founded with the creation of Port-Royal. For 150 years afterwards, Acadia changed hands a few times due to numerous conflicts between France and the United Kingdom. From 1755 to 1764, the British deported Acadians in mass, en event known as the Great Upheaval. This, along with the Treaty of Paris, solidified Acadia as British property. In 1784, following the arrival of many loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, the colony of New Brunswick was officially created, separating it from what is now Nova Scotia.[12] In the early 1800s, New Brunswick prospered and the population grew rapidly. In 1867, New Brunswick decided to confederate with Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada (now Quebec and Ontario) to form Canada. After Confederation, shipbuilding and lumbering declined, and protectionism disrupted trade with New England.
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