List of counties of New Brunswick Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids 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

New Brunswick, a province in Canada, has 15 areas called counties. These counties are defined by the Territorial Divisions Act of New Brunswick. Even though they no longer have their own local governments, people still use them to describe where they live.

In 1966, the government of Louis Robichaud made big changes to how local areas were managed. These changes were part of a plan called the New Brunswick Equal Opportunity program. Because of this program, the county governments stopped working, and their councils were closed down. No new big regional governments took their place. Instead, many smaller towns and villages got their own governments, while the countryside around them didn't.

Today, counties are still important for several reasons. They are used for counting people (like a census) and for keeping track of land ownership. Many people in New Brunswick know exactly which county they live in, showing how much these areas are still a part of the province's culture. You can also still see them on some maps.

History of New Brunswick's Counties
- How Counties Began
- Creating New Brunswick's Counties
List of Counties
See also

History of New Brunswick's Counties

How Counties Began

Before New Brunswick became its own colony, it was part of Nova Scotia. In 1759, Nova Scotia first divided its land into counties. At that time, all the land north of Kings County, Nova Scotia, which included all of what is now New Brunswick, became part of Cumberland County.

Later, on April 30, 1765, the area around the Saint John River was made into Sunbury County. It took a few more years, until May 24, 1770, for the exact border between Cumberland and Sunbury counties to be set. Sunbury's western border was described as starting at the St. Croix River and going north to the Saint John River. This description actually included some land that is now part of Maine. No more changes were made until 1785.

Creating New Brunswick's Counties

In 1784, New Brunswick became its own separate British colony, no longer part of Nova Scotia. The very next year, the new colony was divided into eight counties. These first eight counties were: Charlotte, Kings, Northumberland, Queens, Saint John, Sunbury, Westmorland, and York.

In January 1786, the first meeting of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly took place in Saint John. During this meeting, the members of the assembly passed a law to clearly define the borders of these counties and to divide them into smaller areas called towns or parishes. To draw these original county lines, the council needed maps of the province. They used two maps from 1780 by Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres, which were the best available at the time. When the new borders were set, the old Cumberland and Sunbury counties were no longer used.

The county lines were drawn in smart ways, often following natural features like rivers and watersheds. This made sense because most early settlements in New Brunswick grew along waterways. The counties could also be grouped into three main areas: those along the Bay of Fundy, those along the Saint John River, and those on the North Shore.

List of Counties

Here is a list of the 15 counties in New Brunswick, along with information about each one:

County	Shire town	Established	Origin	Etymology	Population (2021)	Population (2016)	Change	Land area (km²)	Population density (per km²)
Albert County	Hopewell Cape	1845	Erected from Westmorland County	Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria.	30,749	29,158	&10000000000000005456478+5.5%	&&&&&&&&&&&01806.2300001,806.23	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Carleton County	Woodstock	1831	Erected from York County	Thomas Carleton, the first Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick.	26,360	26,178	&10000000000000000695240+0.7%	&&&&&&&&&&&03309.&600003,309.06	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Charlotte County	St. Andrews	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III.	26,015	25,428	&10000000000000002308478+2.3%	&&&&&&&&&&&03418.2400003,418.24	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Gloucester County	Bathurst	1826	Erected from Northumberland County	Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester, fourth daughter of King George III.	78,256	78,444	Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.2%	&&&&&&&&&&&04734.3000004,734.30	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Kent County	Richibucto	1826	Erected from Northumberland County	Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, father of Queen Victoria.	32,169	30,475	&10000000000000005558654+5.6%	&&&&&&&&&&&04550.3800004,550.38	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Kings County	Hampton	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	To express loyalty to The Crown.	71,184	68,941	&10000000000000003253506+3.3%	&&&&&&&&&&&03482.3500003,482.35	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Madawaska County	Edmundston	1873	Erected from Victoria County	The Madawaska River, derived from a Maliseet word meaning unknown.	32,603	32,741	Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.4%	&&&&&&&&&&&03454.9700003,454.97	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Northumberland County	Newcastle, now part of Miramichi	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	The Northumberland Strait	45,005	44,952	&10000000000000000117903+0.1%	&&&&&&&&&&012843.39000012,843.39	^{[convert: invalid number]}
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	&10000000000000005022918+5.0%	&&&&&&&&&&&03681.&500003,681.05	^{[convert: invalid number]}
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	Template:Number table sorting/negative−0.8%	&&&&&&&&&&&08566.8200008,566.82	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Saint John County	Saint John	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	The Saint John River.	76,558	74,020	&10000000000000003428803+3.4%	&&&&&&&&&&&01461.&500001,461.05	^{[convert: invalid number]}
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	&10000000000000000795832+0.8%	&&&&&&&&&&&02692.9700002,692.97	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Victoria County	Andover, now part of Perth-Andover	1844	Erected from Carleton County	Queen Victoria	18,312	18,617	Template:Number table sorting/negative−1.6%	&&&&&&&&&&&05492.8500005,492.85	^{[convert: invalid number]}
Westmorland County	Dorchester	1785	One of the original 8 counties.	The county of Westmorland in North West England.	163,576	149,623	&10000000000000009325437+9.3%	&&&&&&&&&&&03659.7400003,659.74	^{[convert: invalid number]}
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	&10000000000000005839944+5.8%	&&&&&&&&&&&08095.1000008,095.10	^{[convert: invalid number]}

List of counties of New Brunswick facts for kids

Contents

History of New Brunswick's Counties

How Counties Began

Creating New Brunswick's Counties

List of Counties

See also