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Capital: Fredericton
Motto: Spem Reduxit - (Hope was restored)
Flower: Purple Violet
Population, 1998: 752,351
The Land
New Brunswick has a land mass of 73 500 km2, 85 percent of which is forest. The northern part of the province is quite mountainous, the tallest peak being Mount Carleton at 820 metres high. The interior consists mainly of a rolling plateau, flatter in the east and more hilly in the southeast.
Twice a day, with the rising tide of the Atlantic Ocean, 100 billion tonnes of water stream past a rocky headland in the Bay of Fundy. The current created is practically equal to the flow of all the world's rivers over a 24-hour period. The eastern end of the Bay has tides of nearly 15 metres, the highest in the world, sufficient to completely submerge a four-storey building.
Economy
Leading the manufacturing industries is food, followed by wood-based industries, pulp and paper and related products, metal processing and transportation equipment. Processing of non-metallic ores and primary metals is also a significant manufacturing industry.Tourism is a vital part of the province's economy. In 1998, nearly 1.5 million people visited New Brunswick's tourist attractions, including its two national parks and numerous provincial parks.
 The People
New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province, with the highest percentage of Francophones outside Quebec (almost 35 percent), The heritage of New Brunswick combines French, British Loyalist, Scots and Irish traditions, with later elements of German, Scandinavian and Asian. The Aboriginal people of New Brunswick number more than 12 000, most of them Mi'Kmaq and Malecite. The heritage of New Brunswick's people is a blended one, combining elements of the French, British Loyalist, Scottish and Irish traditions, with later elements of German, Scandinavian and Asian. The little municipality of New Denmark boasts North America's largest Danish colony. The Aboriginal people of New Brunswick number more than 10 000, most of them Micmac and Malecite.
*Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2003. |