List of counties of New Brunswick

Counties of New Brunswick
Albert Carleton Charlotte Gloucester Kent Kings Madawaska Northumberland Queens Restigouche Saint John Sunbury Victoria Westmorland York
Location	Province of New Brunswick
Number	15
Populations	10,998 (Queens) – 163,576 (Westmorland)
Areas	1,461 km² (Saint John) – 12,843 km² (Northumberland)
Government	County government (defunct since 1966)
Subdivisions	Parishes [lower-alpha 1]

The Canadian province of New Brunswick has 15 counties according to the Territorial Divisions Act of New Brunswick. ^[1] While they are former counties, ^[2] they continue to define a regional community.

With the reorganization of local government legislation contained in the Robichaud government's reforms, collectively called the New Brunswick Equal Opportunity program, county municipalities ceased to function in 1966 and their councils were dissolved.

Another form of regional local government did not replace the county. Instead, many small village municipalities were created, with the surrounding predominantly rural areas remaining unincorporated.

Their use as census divisions continues, and are used along with their parishes, for registration of real estate among other things. They figure prominently in residents' sense of place and continue as significant threads in the Province's cultural fabric (i.e., most citizens always know which county they are in), and they still appear on some maps.

History

Origin

The territory of what is now New Brunswick was previously a part of the colony of Nova Scotia, which, in 1759, separated into counties for the first time. As part of this, all territory north of Kings County, including all of present-day New Brunswick, was erected as Cumberland County, ^{[lower-alpha 2]} until on April 30, 1765, when the Saint John River valley was erected as Sunbury County, although it would not be until 24 May 1770 that a boundary would be established between the two counties. Sunbury’s western boundary was described as starting at the head of the St. Croix River, following the north line to the Saint John River and then to the southern Canadian border. This description actually overlapped a part of Maine’s territory, as you would have needed to go far west, towards the area near the source of the Chaudière River. ^[3] No further changes would be made until 1785, when, now being a British colony, New Brunswick had new counties established for itself. ^[4]

Creation

In 1784, New Brunswick was separated from Nova Scotia to be established as its own colony. Within the next year, the new colony was divided into eight counties: Charlotte, Kings, Northumberland, Queens, Saint John, Sunbury, Westmorland and York. In January 1786, the first session of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly was held in Saint John, at which the MLA’s passed An Act for the better ascertaining and confirming the Boundaries of Several Counties within this Province, and for subdividing them into Towns or Parishes. ^[5] As the council worked on developing the original county lines, they desperately needed maps of the province, which, at the time, they seemingly lacked. As a result, they relied on two maps by Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres from 1780, the best candidates for a map of New Brunswick at the time. ^[6] As the new boundaries were established, the former counties of Cumberland and Sunbury were disregarded, with the exception of the starting point of the boundary between Westmorland and Northumberland counties, which shared a resemblance to the old boundaries, though this might have been a coincidence. ^[7]

The county lines were strategically drawn to align with the watersheds, a logical decision given that New Brunswick's settlements were developed along waterways. ^[8] Additionally, the counties were able to be divided into three groups: the Bay of Fundy, the Saint John River and the North Shore. ^[9]

List

County [10]	Shire town [10]	Established [11]	Origin [11]	Etymology	Population (2021) [12]	Population (2016) [12]	Change [12]	Land area (km2) [12]	Population density (per km2) [12]	Map
Albert County	Hopewell Cape	1845	Erected from Westmorland County	Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria.	30,749	29,158	+5.5%	1,806.23	17.0
Carleton County	Woodstock	1831	Erected from York County	Thomas Carleton, the first Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick.	26,360	26,178	+0.7%	3,309.06	8.0
Charlotte County	St. Andrews	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III.	26,015	25,428	+2.3%	3,418.24	7.6
Gloucester County	Bathurst	1826	Erected from Northumberland County	Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, fourth daughter of King George III.	78,256	78,444	−0.2%	4,734.30	16.5
Kent County	Richibucto	1826	Erected from Northumberland County	Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, father of Queen Victoria.	32,169	30,475	+5.6%	4,550.38	7.1
Kings County	Hampton	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	To express loyalty to The Crown.	71,184	68,941	+3.3%	3,482.35	20.4
Madawaska County	Edmundston	1873	Erected from Victoria County	The Madawaska River, derived from a Maliseet word meaning unknown.	32,603	32,741	−0.4%	3,454.97	9.4
Northumberland County	Newcastle, now part of Miramichi	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	The Northumberland Strait	45,005	44,952	+0.1%	12,843.39	3.5
Queens County	Gagetown	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	To express loyalty to The Crown and after early settlers from Queens, Long Island, New York.	10,998	10,472	+5.0%	3,681.05	3.0
Restigouche County	Dalhousie	1837	Erected from Gloucester County	The Restigouche River, derived from the Mi'kmaq name meaning five-fingered river.	30,700	30,955	−0.8%	8,566.82	3.6
Saint John County	Saint John	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	The Saint John River.	76,558	74,020	+3.4%	1,461.05	52.4
Sunbury County	Burton	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, had been styled Viscount Sunbury prior to his Earl of Halifax title.	27,864	27,644	+0.8%	2,692.97	10.3
Victoria County	Andover, now part of Perth-Andover	1844	Erected from Carleton County	Queen Victoria	18,312	18,617	−1.6%	5,492.85	3.3
Westmorland County	Dorchester	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	The county of Westmorland in North West England.	163,576	149,623	+9.3%	3,659.74	44.7
York County	Fredericton	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, second son of George III.	105,261	99,453	+5.8%	8,095.10	13.0

See also

• Administrative divisions of New Brunswick
• List of municipalities in New Brunswick
• List of parishes in New Brunswick
• Local government in Canada
• Local service district (New Brunswick)
• Provinces and territories of Canada

Notes

1. Parishes are the normal subdivision. Saint John, Fredericton, and the town of Grand Falls are also included in the Territorial Division Act, all with different boundaries than the municipalities have today. Fredericton was originally a parish, while Grand Falls Parish and the town are legally separate.
2. Cumberland County still exists in modern-day Nova Scotia.

References

1. "NB Territorial Divisions Act, 1991".
2. "Municipalities Act, SNB 1966(1), c 20, p.192" . Retrieved 3 February 2024.
3. Ganong 1901, p. 226.
4. Ganong 1901, p. 227.
5. Ganong 1901, p. 413.
6. Ganong 1901, pp. 413–414.
7. Ganong 1901, p. 414.
8. Ganong 1901, p. 415.
9. Ganong 1901, pp. 416–417.
10. "Territorial Division Act". Government of New Brunswick. June 30, 1998. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
11. "Provincial Archives of New Brunswick". archives.gnb.ca.
12. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (9 February 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and census divisions". www150.statcan.gc.ca.

Further reading

Ganong (1901). A monograph of the evolution of the boundaries of the province of New Brunswick.

External links

• New Brunswick Parishes
• New Brunswick Communities Past and Present: County Listing