Demographics of New Brunswick
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces, and the only officially bilingual province (French and English) in the country. The provincial Department of Finance estimates that the province's population in 2006 was 749,168 of which the majority is English-speaking but with a substantial (35%) French-speaking minority of mostly Acadian origin.
First Nations in New Brunswick include the Mi'kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet). The first European settlers, the Acadians, are today survivors of the Great Expulsion (1755) which drove several thousand French residents into exile in North America, the UK and France for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to King George III during the French and Indian War. American Acadians, who wound up in Louisiana and other parts of the American South, are often referred to as Cajuns.
Many of the English-Canadian population of New Brunswick are descended from Loyalists who fled the American Revolution. This is commemorated in the province's motto, Spem reduxit ("hope was restored"). There is also a significant population with Irish ancestry, especially in Saint John and the Miramichi Valley. People of Scottish descent are scattered throughout the Province with higher concentrations in the Miramichi and in Campbellton. A small population of Danish origin may be found in New Denmark in the northwest of the province.
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[edit] Population of New Brunswick since 1851
| Year | Population | Five Year % change |
Ten Year % change |
Rank Among Provinces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1851 | 193,800 | n/a | n/a | 4 |
| 1861 | 252,047 | n/a | 30.0 | 4 |
| 1871 | 285,594 | n/a | 13.3 | 4 |
| 1881 | 321,233 | n/a | 12.5 | 4 |
| 1891 | 321,263 | n/a | 0.0 | 4 |
| 1901 | 331,120 | n/a | 3.1 | 4 |
| 1911 | 351,889 | n/a | 6.3 | 8 |
| 1921 | 387,876 | n/a | 10.2 | 8 |
| 1931 | 408,219 | n/a | 5.2 | 8 |
| 1941 | 457,401 | n/a | 12.0 | 8 |
| 1951 | 515,697 | n/a | 12.7 | 8 |
| 1956 | 554,616 | 7.5 | n/a | 8 |
| 1961 | 597,936 | 7.8 | 15.9 | 8 |
| 1966 | 616,788 | 3.2 | 11.2 | 8 |
| 1971 | 634,560 | 2.9 | 6.9 | 8 |
| 1976 | 677,250 | 6.7 | 9.8 | 8 |
| 1981 | 696,403 | 2.8 | 9.7 | 8 |
| 1986 | 709,445 | 1.9 | 4.8 | 8 |
| 1991 | 723,900 | 2.0 | 3.9 | 8 |
| 1996 | 738,133 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 8 |
| 2001 | 729,498 | -1.2 | 0.8 | 8 |
| 2006* | 749,168 | 2.7 | 1.5 | 8 |
*Preliminary 2006 census estimate.
Source: Statistics Canada [1][2]
[edit] Ethnic origin
| Ethnic Origin | Population | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| "Canadian" | 415,810 | 57.77% |
| French | 193,470 | 26.88% |
| English | 165,235 | 22.96% |
| Irish | 135,835 | 18.87% |
| Scottish | 127,635 | 17.73% |
| German | 27,490 | 3.82% |
| Acadian | 26,220 | 3.64% |
| North American Indian | 23,815 | 3.31% |
| Dutch (Netherlands) | 13,355 | 1.86% |
| Welsh | 7,620 | 1.06% |
| Italian | 5,610 | 0.78% |
The information at left is from Statistics Canada[3] The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 5,000 responses are included.
[edit] Religion
The Catholic Church (53.4%) is the largest denomination. The three largest Protestant denominations (35.7%) in New Brunswick are the United Church of Canada and the Baptist and Anglican churches. Other Christians (1.4%), other religions (0.8%) and no religious affiliation (8.7%) make of the remainder of the population.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Population urban and rural, by province and territory (New Brunswick). Statistics Canada, 2005.
- ^ Canada's population. Statistics Canada. Last accessed September 28, 2006.
- ^ 2001 Canadian Census. Statistics Canada.
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