New Brunswick

Introduction

Lobster Shack

© mtlchica

Walk the ocean floor in the Bay of Fundy and climb the heights of the 400 million year old Appalachian Range in this maritime province. Eat fresh lobster pulled from the Atlantic Ocean. See the forests turn magical colours in the fall. Try ice fishing. Eat Fiddleheads.

New Brunswick is located under Quebec 's Gaspé Peninsula and beside the State of Maine, USA. New Brunswick was one of the first provinces, along with Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, to join together to form the Dominion of Canada in 1867. New Brunswick has experienced immigration on a smaller scale from all over the world, and today boasts a varied and increasingly multicultural population.

Geography

New Brunswick is bounded on the north by Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula and Chaleur Bay. Along the east coast, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Northumberland Strait are found. In the south-east corner of the province, the narrow Isthmus of Chignecto connects New Brunswick to the Nova Scotia peninsula. The south of the province is bounded by the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tide in the world, with a rise of 16m. On the west, the province borders the American state of Maine.

New Brunswick covers 73,440 square kilometres in roughly a rectangle shape about 242 kilometres from east to west and 322 kilometres north to south. Its northern reaches are dominated by mountains that are part of the Appalachian Range. Mt. Carleton, at 820 metres, is the highest. The interior of the province is mostly rolling plateau virtually covered by forests. The eastem region is fairly flat, the southern terrain is rugged. The magnificent St. John River, often called The Rhine of North America, splits the province from north to south. Anglers, white-water rafters and sailors also appreciate the Miramichi, Restigouche, Nepisiguit, Salmon, St. Croix and Tobique rivers as well as Grand, Chiputneticook, Magaguadavic and Oromocto lakes.

New Brunswick is on Atlantic Standard or Atlantic Daylight Time. Entering New Brunswick from Maine or Quebec, set your watch ahead one hour.

Cities

• Sackville - Sackville is a small Atlantic coast fishing village on the the coast of the Bay of Fundy. Sights include the Campbell Carriage Factory Museum is an authentic example of 19th century manufacturing and the Sackville Waterfowl Park where over three kilometers of trails, boardwalks and viewing platforms reveal the private lives of dozens of wetland wildlife species.
• Dieppe - This suburb of Moncton is the fastest growing city in New Brunswick, has Champlain Place, the largest shopping centre east of Quebec City, and is the site of the Moncton airport. The city was named in honour of the Canadian soliders killed at Dieppe, France during World War II
• Moncton - Moncton and it's suburbs, including Dieppe form the largest urban area in the province, Moncton is a modern city. However, visitors can still find a rich blend of English and Acadian tradition, Moncton has a vibrant downtown, top-notch restaurants and variety of festivals.
• Saint John - The largest city in New Brunswick, this city at the mount of the Saint John river is a historic seaport and Canada's oldest incorporated city. It is home to the reversing falls.
• St. Andrews - Stop on the Fundy trail.
• St. Stephen - Stop on the Fundy trail.
• Shediac - Lobster capital of the world, a vacation town on the eastern seashore. Known as The Lobster Capital of the World for lobster fishing, processing plants, live lobster tanks and the famous Lobster Festival.
• Fredericton - New Brunswick's capital city, Fredericton is an important cultural, artistic and educational centre for the province and boasts two universities - the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University. Fredericton hosts cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the York-Sunbury Museum and The Playhouse, the latter which serves as a venue for theatre, concerts and other entertaining diversions. The city hosts an annual Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival every fall, attracting regional and international jazz and blues artists.

Sights and Activities

Ice fisshing community - St John New Brunswick

© sunraybret

Bay of Fundy

The Bay of Fundy - Discover the highest tides in the world in the Bay of Fundy measuring highs of 16 metres. At low tide, comb the beach for amethyst stones and crustaceans. The Bay of Fundy is a favourite destination to many shorebirds and whales, eagles and osprey. The Fundy Coastal Drive is a popular way to see the Bay of Fundy. The route, which runs from Sackville to St. Stephen, through the cities of Dieppe, Moncton, Saint John, and St. Andrews. The map of the drive can be downloaded as a PDF from the Tourism New Brunswick website, and you can get more details on the Bay of Fundy from the Tourism New Brunswick website.

Magnetic Hill

Drive to the bottom of the world-famous Magnetic Hill, take your foot off the brake and your car will roll uphill. It's just an optical illusion, but an impressive one. The hill is located in Moncton. Rates are $5 per car, or free for motorcycles, payable in cash only. More details can be found at the Magnetic Hill page at the Tourism Moncton website.

Reversing Falls

Located in Saint John, twice a day the powerful tides of the Bay of Fundy, the highest in the world, do something that doesn’t happen anywhere else - they push the St. John River backwards, a phenomenon called the Reversing Falls. Open year round and free to visit, the falls can be accessed by taking Route 1 and getting off at either exit 119 A or B. Restaurants and observation decks are open daily, year round. Visitor Information Centre, gift shop and theatre are open from mid-May to mid-October.

Check the following online Tourisme New Brunswick Guide for tide information, or ask your local accommodations on details when to see the tides. More information on the Reversing falls can be found at The Saint John Tourism website and the Tourism New Brunswick website.

Shop

The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) is applied at a single rate of 14% to a base of goods and services. Visitors to New Brunswick may be able to receive a 14% tax rebate on eligible sales receipts submitted for accommodations and most tangible goods exported from Canada. Tax Refunds for Visitors to Canada booklets are available at all Provincial Visitor Information Centres and the New Brunswick Duty Free Shop in Woodstock.

Whale Watching

Whale Watching in the Bay of Fundy offers the potential to see 12 different spieces of whales: Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas); Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus); Finback Whale (Balaenoptera physalus); Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena); Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae); Long-Fin Pilot Whale (Globicephala melaena); Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata); Northern Bottlenose Whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus); Orca (Orcinus Orca); Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis); Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis); and Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus). More details can be found at Tourism New Brunswick website.

Skiing

There are three ski resorts in New Brunswick: Crabbe Mountain (in the community of Lower Hainesville, 45 minutes from Fredericton), Mont Farlagne (just outside Edmundston) and Poley Mountain (10 kilometres south east of Sussex).

More details on sights and activities can be found at the Tourism New Brunswick website.

Events and Festivals

There are numerous festivals throughout the year in New Brunswick. Check the Tourism New Brunswick website for details on festivals during your trip.

Weather

New Brunswick has a blend of climates typical of a coastal area and of an inland province. January is generally the coldest month in New Brunswick and July is the warmest; however, influxes of moist Atlantic air produce mild spells in winter and periods of cool weather in summer.

Summers are typically warm and comfortable, but not too hot. Along the Bay of Fundy coast, average daytime highs vary between 20 and 22 °C in the summer, with higher temperatures as you move inland.

Many pleasant but cooler days are experienced in spring and autumn. Spring and early summer are notably dry over New Brunswick, but there is ample water during the growing season. The interior highlands record about 1,200 millimetres of rainfall a year, with the heaviest amounts falling during the summer months.

In winter, average temperatures decrease noticeably from south to north. The interior, which has elevations above 600 metres and is more directly in the path of continental air masses, often experiences very cold winters. As one moves south, however, this coldness is gradually tempered by the effects of latitude and, to a greater extent, the sea. Coastal locations such as St. Andrews and Saint John experience moist Atlantic air most of the year, producing mild periods during the winter and cool weather the rest of the year. ^[1].

Getting There

By Plane

New Brunswick has three major airports:

• Fredericton International Airport (YFC), Fredericton;
• Greater Moncton International Airport (YQM), Moncton;
• Saint John Airport (YSJ), Saint John.

Major carriers include:

• Air Canada (1-888-247-2262) - daily direct service with Air Canada Jazz to Halifax, Montreal and Toronto from Saint John, Moncton and Fredericton, and more limited service to Bathurst.
• Continental Airlines (1-800-523-3273) - daily direct flights from Moncton to Newark Airport.
• Corsair - Paris, France to Moncton.
• Delta Airlines (1-800-241-4141) - daily direct service from Boston to Fredericton.
• West Jet (1-800-538-5696) - offering service from Ottawa and Hamilton (near Toronto) to Moncton.

By Train

Via Rail’s (1-888-VIA-RAIL; 506-842-7245) Ocean travels between Montreal and New Brunswick every day but Tuesday. Board the train in Montreal in the evening, and be in Campbellton, Bathurst, Miramichi or Moncton before noon the next day.

By Car

New Brunswick is well serviced by highways to both Canada and the USA. There are several routes from Nova Scotia, including the ones via the Trans Canada Highway. You can cross from Quebec as well and the Confederation Bridge connects New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island. Traffic to and from Maine passes via two major points; route 95 linking Woodstock and Houlton, and route 1, which links St. Stephen in New Brunswick and Calais in Maine. Route 95 is the larger of the two connections, however the scenery in the St. Stephen/Calais area is unquestionably more attractive.

By Bus

Acadian provides service in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Greyhound provides services across Canada and within New Brunswick.

By Boat

Bay Ferries Ltd offers service from Saint John to Digby, Nova Scotia (year round). Contact 1-888-249-SAIL.

Getting Around

By Train

Via Rail provides a somewhat limited service along the Eastern coast of New Brunswick, entering the province at Aulac, and then passing through Moncton, up to Bathurst, and then from Campbellton across the border into Quebec, eventually terminating in Montreal. This service passes through the province once per day in each direction.

By Car

Speed limits are posted in kilometres and permit a maximum of 80 km/h on provincial highways and 50 km/h in urban districts unless otherwise indicated. Seat belts are mandatory for drivers and passengers. Children under five years of age and under 18 kg must be in an infant carrier or approved child restraint. Certified safety helmets are required by law, when operating a bicycle and a motorcycle in New Brunswick.

THE CARRYING (TRANSPORTING) OF RADAR DETECTORS IN VEHICLES IS PROHIBITED WHETHER THE DEVICE IS IN USE AND CONNECTED OR NOT.

Unleaded gas and diesel fuel are available throughout the province and are sold by the litre.
Some of the options to rent a car include the following companies:

• Avis
• Budget
• Discount
• Hertz
• National
• Enterprise
• Thrifty

By Bus

Acadian provides service in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Greyhound provides services across Canada and within New Brunswick.

By Boat

Ferries operating within New Brunswick include:

• Coastal Transport, offering service between Blacks Harbour to Grand Manan Island (year-round). Limited reservations available one day in advance for crossings originating on Grand Manan Island only. Contact at 506-662-3724.
• East Coast Ferries, offering service between Deer Island to Campobello Island from the Last weekend of June through Labour Day. Contact at 506-747-2159.
• The New Brunswick Department of Transportation operates the year round ferry from Letete to Deer Island. There are no reservations required and no charge. Contact the DOT at 506-466-7340.
• Quoddy Link Marine offers service between St. Andrews to Campobello Island for group charter only. To arrange a charter, contact them at 1-877-688-2600.

Language

New Brunswick is Canada’s only officially bilingual province with approximately 33% of the population French speaking.

Eat

Shediac New Brunswick

© malmn

Drink

Legal drinking age in licenced premises is 19 years. Bottled liquor (spirits, wine, beer) is sold in government stores. There are various private stores throughout the province that sell liquor as agencies for the NB Liquor Corporation.

Sleep

Just like the rest of Canada, there are numerous options, from camping and hostels to upscale hotels and many B&B's and guesthouses as well in between.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website
• Official Tourism Website