Edmundston

Edmundston
—  City  —
Flag
Motto: La ville six étoiles. (The six-star city.)
Location of Edmundston in New Brunswick
Coordinates: 47°21′47″N 68°19′34″W / 47.36292°N 68.32603°W / 47.36292; -68.32603
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Madawaska
Parish	Madawaska
Established	1850
City	April 1, 1952
Electoral Districts    Federal	Madawaska—Restigouche
Provincial	Edmundston-Saint Basile
Government [1]
- Type	City Council
- Mayor	Jacques P. Martin
- Councillors	List of Members Martin Albert Ben Beaulieu Michel Dubé André Lang Jean Guy Marquis Gérald G. Morneault Aldéo D. Nadeau Denis M. Pelletier
Area [2]
- Land	106.92 km2 (41.3 sq mi)
- Metro	902.18 km2 (348.3 sq mi)
Highest elevation	264 m (866 ft)
Lowest elevation	151 m (495 ft)
Population (2006)[2][3]
- City	16,643
- Density	162.5/km2 (420.9/sq mi)
- Metro	21,442
- Metro Density	23.8/km2 (61.6/sq mi)
- Change 2001-06	▼4.2%
- Census Ranking	232 of 5,008
Time zone	AST (UTC-4)
- Summer (DST)	ADT (UTC-3)
Postal code(s)	E3V, E7B
Area code(s)	506 Area exchanges: 253, 733, 735, 736, 737, 739, 740
Dwellings	7,804
Median Income*	$42,551 CDN
NTS Map	021N08
GNBC Code	DALZZ
Website	www.ville.edmundston.nb.ca

Edmundston (2006 population: 16,643) is a Canadian city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick.^[4]

It is located at the edge of the New Brunswick "pan handle" at the junction of the Saint John and Madawaska Rivers in the northwestern part of the province.

Edmundston is strategically situated only a few kilometres from the border with Quebec and on the border with the United States, opposite the town of Madawaska, Maine, to which it is connected by the Edmundston-Madawaska Bridge.

History

The area was at the centre of the Aroostook War over the boundary line between the U.S.A. and what was then British North America. It was because of the boundary disputes in this entire area that the francophone Brayon residents on both the Canadian and U.S. sides took to referring to the region as the Republic of Madawaska. The tradition is carried on to this day, with each mayor of Edmundston being automatically given title as the "President of the Republic of Madawaska".

Originally named Petit-Sault (Little Falls), the settlement was renamed Edmundston in 1850 after Sir Edmund Walker Head, who was Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick from 1848 to 1854 and Governor-General of Canada from 1854 to 1861.

Demographics

Edmundston had a population of 16,643 people in 2006, which was a decrease of 4.2% from the 2001 census count. The median household income in 2005 for Edmundston was $42,551, which is below the New Brunswick provincial average of $45,194.^[6]

The city is 98 per cent francophone, the highest of all cities in the province. Edmundston is also the largest majority-francophone city in North America outside Quebec, with Clarence-Rockland, Ontario being second with 68 per cent francophones. There are higher numbers of francophones in other Canadian cities such as Ottawa (122,665), Sudbury (45,420), Toronto (34,900), Winnipeg (26,855), Moncton (20,425), Dieppe (18,565) and Timmins (17,390), although francophones are a minority group in those cities. Unlike most other francophones living in the Maritimes most people living in the Edmundston area do not consider themselves Acadians other than for statistical purposes. Most of them descend from French-Canadians who originally came from Lower Canada (now Quebec) along with a few Irish immigrants to settle the area in the century between 1820 and 1920, and absorbed the small group of Acadians who had arrived earlier. Nor do they consider themselves Québécois despite their heritage, mainly due to the politicization of Quebec-specific issues they do not feel concerned with. The local accent is reminiscent of that spoken in certain areas of western Quebec and typically not considered a variant of Acadian French.

Economy

Forestry is one of the city's major industries, with several sawmills and paper plants in the vicinity, the largest being the Fraser pulp mill. The Edmundston pulp mill is paired with a Fraser paper mill directly across the Saint John River in Madawaska, Maine, through which liquified pulp slurry is piped - the only such installation anywhere along the Canada-United States border. Sign and plastics manufacturing are also important to the city's economy.

Media

Edmundston is served by four newspapers (Le Madawaska, La République, L'Acadie Nouvelle and Info Weekend), two local radio stations (CJEM-FM, CFAI-FM) WAGM-TV of Presque Isle, Maine and a regional bureau of Radio-Canada.

Festivals and Tourism

Each June, Edmundston plays host to the Festival Jazz et Blues d'Edmundston (the Edmundston Jazz and Blues Festival).

Every year in August, there is a large cultural festival in Edmundston called the Foire Brayonne. The festival is one of the biggest French themed festivals held in Canada east of the province of Quebec.

Tourist attractions include Le Jardin de la Republique (Camping Ground), Fort du Petit-Sault (former British military fort during the mid-1800s), an 18 hole golf in the city (1 minute car drive out of downtown), a walkable downtown with a lot of boutiques, stores, restaurants, Bed and Breakfasts and a hotel. There is also a convention centre in downtown and the Museum of The Automobile and Madawaska Historic Museum are also interesting local attractions.

New Brunswick Botanical Garden

New Brunswick Botanical Garden

The New Brunswick Botanical Garden is in suburban Saint-Jacques, on seven hectares with over 80,000 plants, making it the largest arboretum east of Montreal.

Notable people from Edmundston

• Maurice Bolyer (born Beaulieu), banjo player who appeared on the Tommy Hunter Show.
• Dave Hilton, Sr., professional boxer who won a Canadian championship in three different weight divisions.
• Ty LaForest, Major League Baseball player who played with the Boston Red Sox.
• Maryse Ouellet, 2003 Ms. Hawaiian Tropic Canada and Playboy model. Competed in the 2006 WWE Diva Search.
• Natasha St-Pier, singer, better known in France.
• Shawn Sawyer, figure skater, finished 12th overall at the XXth Winter Olympics held in Turin, Italy.
• Bernard Valcourt, former Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.
• Roch Voisine, singer, actor (born and raised in nearby St-Basile).
• Cédrick Desjardins, hockey goaltender, plays for the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL.

See also

• List of communities in New Brunswick

References

External links

• City of Edmundston website
• New-Brunswick Botanical Garden Official Website

		Dégelis  Quebec
	Baker Brook		Rivière-Verte
		Edmundston
	Saint-Hilaire	Madawaska, Maine  United States

Coordinates: 47°22′35.4″N 68°19′31.25″W / 47.3765°N 68.3253472°W / 47.3765; -68.3253472 (Edmundston, New Brunswick)