New Brunswick

A

Libraries

Major research libraries are located at the universities in Fredericton, Moncton, and Sackville. The Irving Library of the University of New Brunswick has among its collection many rare volumes and valuable manuscripts. The province’s legislative library is located at Fredericton. There are five regional public library systems in the province. The New Brunswick library service at Fredericton coordinates and supplements the regional libraries.

B

Museums

The New Brunswick Museum at Saint John includes collections dedicated to heritage, history, fine arts, humanities, and natural science. Founded in 1842 as a private museum, it is the oldest continuing museum in Canada. It became the provincial museum in 1930. The Miramichi Natural History Museum in Chatham is devoted to wildlife and local history. At the Village Historique Acadien, in Caraquet, visitors can view the culture and life of early Acadian settlers. Fredericton is home to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, which was donated by Lord William Beaverbrook, a noted British statesman and newspaper publisher. One of Canada’s major galleries, the museum includes many important works by British and Canadian painters.

C

Arts

New Brunswick’s distinctive culture has often revealed a tension between outside influences and local sources. In colonial times, cultural activity was usually judged against forms of expression popular in Europe, and New Brunswick’s artists and intellectuals struggled for recognition. In the late 19th century, following confederation, New Brunswick contributed a small school of nationalist poets dedicated to the promotion of a Canadian identity rooted in a romantic appreciation of nature. Sometimes known as the Fredericton poets, they included Bliss Carmen, Charles G. D. Roberts, and Joseph Sherman. In his lifetime, Carmen was widely considered Canada’s greatest poet.

During the 20th century the poetic tradition continued under intellectuals such as Alfred G. Bailey, who in 1945 founded the literary magazine The Fiddlehead. The magazine continues to publish works by poets from all over the English-speaking world. New Brunswick’s literary tradition has also been enriched by writers such as Elizabeth Brewster and Alden Nowlan, who wrote poetry and fiction exploring the difficulties of life in the province. Other notable contemporary English-language writers in this vein include Herb Curtis and David Adams Richards.

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The evolution of French-language literature has involved a similar movement towards greater independence from outside influences. In 1847 the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published a poem, Evangeline, which in its French translation captured the imagination of Acadian society. With its portrayal of a woman separated from her true love, the poem provided a rallying point for the dispersed Acadian community, and it was widely credited for sparking a renaissance of Acadian culture. In the 20th century Acadian culture was maintained by enthusiastic collectors of folklore and by historians such as Anselme Chiasson. More recently, the voice of Acadian New Brunswick has been heard in the novels and short stories of Antonine Maillet. Other notable contemporary Francophone writers include Jacques Savoie, France Daigle, and Herménégilde Chiasson, the last of whom is also an artist, playwright, and filmmaker.

In the visual arts, Saint John emerged as a center of painting in the 1930s and 1940s, featuring such internationally regarded artists as Miller Brittain, Jack Humphrey, and Fred Ross. New Brunswick’s contemporary art scene includes the painters Mary Pratt and Molly Bobak, and the sculptor and muralist Claude Roussel.

For both language groups, music has been an important part of local culture. Performers from New Brunswick who have achieved wide recognition include fiddler Don Messer; country singer-songwriter Tom Connors; country-folk musician Roch Voisine; and Acadian folksinger Edith Butler. The Miramichi Folk Song Festival helps keep traditional music alive in the province. Events such as the International Festival of Baroque Music held at Lamèque every July and the Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival held in Fredericton every September have contributed to the diversity of musical culture.

Several theatrical productions are staged annually at the Playhouse in Fredericton, the headquarters of Theatre New Brunswick. This company is the oldest professional touring theater in Canada and performs throughout the province. There are also theater groups in Saint John and Moncton.

D

Communications

The province has 5 daily newspapers, including the daily French-language paper L’Acadie Nouvelle, published at Caraquet and Moncton, and the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal, published in Saint John. New Brunswick has 11 AM and 20 FM radio stations and 3 television broadcasters. Most broadcast in English, but several stations offer French-language programs.

VI

Recreation and Places to Visit

New Brunswick offers numerous recreational opportunities related to its natural environment and cultural traditions. Many visitors are attracted to the province’s forests, rivers, beaches, and many parks. All seasons have something to offer vacationers. The fishing season opens in spring, and the province’s salmon streams—especially the Miramichi—are particularly well known. In summer, resorts flourish along the beaches of the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while hikers and campers explore the northern woods. Autumn brings hunters to the province’s acres of game country, where deer is the principal quarry. In winter ski enthusiasts flock to northern resorts such as Sugarloaf, located in Campbellton.

New Brunswick has two national parks. Fundy National Park, opened in 1948, is located between Saint John and Moncton on the Bay of Fundy. It offers camping facilities and cottages for visitors who come to enjoy its forests, lakes, streams, and ocean beaches. Kouchibouguac National Park on Northumberland Strait, established in 1969, offers campsites, trails, windswept dunes and beaches, and waters rich with fish.

New Brunswick is home to many historic sites and museums. Fort Beauséjour, near Sackville, includes the site of a fort built by the French in the 18th century and later used by the Acadians when they were under British attack. The Village Historique Acadien (Acadian Historic Village), at Caraquet, re-creates the Acadian way of life in northeast New Brunswick. Kings Landing Historical Settlement, near Fredericton, focuses on pioneer life in the Saint John River Valley. Also in the valley, at Hartland, is the world’s longest covered bridge, which was built in 1901 and spans 391 m (1,282 ft) over the Saint John River. Popular museums include the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John; the forestry and woods museums at Kedgwick in the north and at Boiestown in central New Brunswick; and marine museums at Saint Andrews in the south and Shippagan in the northeast. There are also many local museums throughout the province.

On Campobello Island, in the Bay of Fundy, is the summer home of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945). It is maintained as Roosevelt Campobello International Park by the Canadian and U.S. governments and includes facilities for small conferences. Other popular attractions include the Trappist monastery at Rogersville; Magnetic Hill near Moncton, where vehicles appear to roll uphill because of an optical illusion; and the rocks at Hopewell Cape, fantastic shapes of sandstone carved by the tides of the Bay of Fundy.

VII

Government

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