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New Brunswick: Quick Facts

Quick Facts

• Capital - Fredericton
• Motto - Spem Reduxit - (Hope was restored)
• Flower - Purple Violet
• Entered Confederation - 1 July 1867
• Members of the Legislative Assembly - 55
• Members of Parliament - 10
• Senators - 10
• Population, 1998 - 752,351
• Average annual family income, 1996 - $46,284
• Employment rate, 1997 - 52.4%
• Per capita health expenditures, 1995 - $2,407
• Inflation as measured by the CPI, 1997 - 1.9%
• Average weekly earnings, 1997 - $522.72
• Housing starts, 1997 - 2,702
• Harmonized sales tax, 1998 - 15%
• Urban population, 1996 - 48.8%
• GDP per capita, 1995 - $20,833
• Land area out of Canada's total area - 0.7%

Sources: Statistics Canada, 1999 Canadian Encyclopedia

Cities

A 1733 French census counted 83 souls in 15 families in the Fredericton area. Today the greater Fredericton area has a population of more than 110,656 people and the capital itself has 46,507 citizens

Saint John is the largest city (125,000) in New Brunswick, followed by Moncton and Fredericton, the provincial capital.

Climate

New Brunswick has a typically continental climate. (Continental climates, compared with true maritime climates, have an earlier spring and shorter fall, wider fluctuations of temperature from day to day and from season to season, and more snowfall but less total precipitation.)

In summer, the predominant air mass is warm continental, with occasional incursions of hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico. The cold Gulf waters retard warming of the air in spring, keep the summer maximum temperature low, and provide a slight warming of the air in fall - provided the winds are off the water. Moist influxes of Atlantic air produce mild spells in winter and periods of cool weather in summer. Near the Bay of Fundy, continental air masses are modified by the ocean. Coastal locations such as Saint John experience moist Atlantic air most of the year, producing mild periods during the winter and cool weather the rest of the year.

July is the warmest month in New Brunswick. Average summer temperature range from 22C on the Fundy coast to 25C and higher inland. Extremes have exceeded 37.8C (100F). January is the coldest month. Along the south-eastern shores, the January mean is around -7.5C. In the north-west extreme low temperatures of -30 to -35C are reported every winter. The all-time provincial low is -47.2C.

Time Zones

New Brunswick is in the Atlantic Time zone.