Tracadie–Sheila

Tracadie-Sheila
—  Town  —
Downtown Tracadie

Seal
Tracadie-Sheila
Location of Tracadie-Sheila in New Brunswick
Coordinates:
Country  Canada
Province  New Brunswick
County Gloucester
Parish Saumarez
Town of Tracadie 1966
Village of Sheila October 1, 1978
Town of Tracadie-Sheila January 1, 1992
Government[1]
 • Type Town Council
 • Mayor Aldéoda Losier
 • Deputy Mayor Bobby Ferguson
 • Councillors
 • Executive Director Denis Poirier
Area[2]
 • Total 24.64 km2 (9.5 sq mi)
Elevation 0 - 22 m (-72 ft)
Population (2006)[2][3]
 • Total 4,474
 • Density 181.6/km2 (470.3/sq mi)
 • Change 2001-06 5.3%
 • Census Ranking 736 of 5,008
Time zone AST (UTC-4)
 • Summer (DST) ADT (UTC-3)
Postal code(s) E1X
Area code(s)
Dwellings 2,010
Median Income* $39,887 CDN
NTS Map 021P10
GNBC Code DATGK
Website www.tracadie-sheila.ca

Tracadie-Sheila [prn Tra-k-a-dee Sh-ī-la] (2006 population: 4,474) is a Canadian town in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.[4]

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".

Contents

Demographics

Population trend[5]

Census Population Change (%)
2006 4,474 5.3%
2001 4,724 1.0%
1996 4,773 8.9%
1991 4,383 N/A

Mother tongue language (2006)[2]

Language Population Pct (%)
French only 4,110 95.69%
English only 115 2.68%
Other languages 70 1.63%
Both English and French 0 0.00%

Tourism and culture

Located on the Acadian Peninsula, the area has a number of sandy beaches. Val-Comeau, the most popular, is protected as a Provincial Park. The beaches can usually be enjoyed from June until September, when the water is a moderate temperature.

Signage is in French, as most inhabitants of the Acadian Peninsula are predominantly French speaking. The community became 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 to 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 Montreal), are from the neighbouring village of St-Isidore, part of the greater Tracadie area.

Tracadie-Sheila has several nightclubs on the main street, which are available for youths and adults. Those who are 14-18 years old go to the Célibat; those 19 years old and up enjoy the Bel-Air, which is a nightclub/restaurant, and the Jukebox. The Deauville is also a nightclub/restaurant, which attracts many local singers to perform for guests.

Economy

The region suffers from high unemployment because of its relative isolation from centers of greater population. It 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 employers are in the "Parc Industriel".

Tourism is an important seasonal employer, particularly in the summer months of June, July and August. Thousands of vacationers, mostly from neighbouring Québec, come for the beaches, ocean, and hospitality.

Education

Tracadie-Sheila is home to four French schools: the École La Ruche, a kindergarten to 5 primary school, the école La Source, a kindergarten to 8, 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 formerly stood.

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.

See also

References

  1. ^ Government of New Brunswick website: Tracadie-Sheila
  2. ^ a b c 2006 Statistics Canada Community Profile: Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick
  3. ^ Statistics Canada Population and dwelling counts, for Canada and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data
  4. ^ New Brunswick Provincial Archives - Tracadie-Sheila
  5. ^ Statistics Canada: 1996, 2001, 2006 census

External links