Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick
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- "Tracadie-Sheila" redirects here. For the electoral district, see Tracadie-Sheila (electoral district).
Tracadie-Sheila (2001 pop.: 4,724) is a Canadian town in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.
Tracadie and Sheila are separate communities whose municipal governments were merged in 1991. Tracadie is significantly larger than Sheila, and the area is often still referred to simply as "Tracadie".
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[edit] Tourism & Culture
The area is home to a number of sandy beaches, Val-Comeau being the most popular, which is protected as a Provincial Park. The beaches can usually be enjoyed from June until September, the water being too cold before and after that period.
Signage is in French as most inhabitants of the Acadian Peninsula, where the town is located, are predominantly french speaking.
The community has recently become known as the hometown of Wilfred Le Bouthillier, winner of the 2003 Quebec reality show Star Académie. The success of the young singer, known simply as Wilfred, resulted in a significant rise in tourism of the region.
The town is also home to pop singer Jean-François Breau. Well-known AIDS activist Dr. Réjean Thomas and opera singer Michèle Losier, (both now residing in Montréal), are from the neighbouring village of St-Isidore, part of the greater Tracadie area.
Tracadie-Sheila is also home to a number of nightclubs on the main street through town, known as "The Strip", which attracts party-goers from surrounding communities.
[edit] Economy
The region suffers from high unemployment and depends on federal government assistance to compensate for the weak economic performance of the last decades. Most well paid jobs tend to be government-related, including teachers, nurses and doctors. Other important employers are in the service industry with a few industrial plants in the town's Parc Industriel. Tourism is an important seasonal employer, particularly in the summer months of June, July and August as thousands of vacationers, mostly from neighbouring Québec, come for the sea and hospitality.
[edit] Education
Tracadie-Sheila is home to three French schools: the École La Ruche, a 1 to 5 primary school, the École Le Tremplin for students from grades 6,7 and 8, and the École Polyvalente W.-A. Losier, a high school for students from grades 9 to 12. The public library is located in the Hotel de ville, located where the old hospital formely stood.
[edit] Transportation
The closest public airport is Bathurst Airport (IATA code: ZBF), 75 kilometres west of the town. It is served by Air Canada Jazz with twice daily flights to Montreal.
The community was once served by CN Rail for freight rail transport, but the rail line was abandoned in the 1980s. Today the nearest rail service is at Miramichi or Bathurst with the New Brunswick East Coast Railway; Via Rail Canada provides 6-day/week passenger rail service at Bathurst and Miramichi using its train the Ocean, running to Montreal and Halifax.
The town is located on Highway 11 which links the town to Caraquet and Shippagan to the northeast and Miramichi to the southwest. The town is connected to Highway 8 to Bathurst via Highway 365 and Highway 160 through St-Isidore and Allardville.
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