Acadia (region)
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Acadia is a North American cultural region in the Maritime provinces of Canada where approximately 300,000 French-speaking Acadians live. Acadia is a region without clear borders, and it is usually considered to be the north and east of
New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
as well as a few isolated localities in
Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...
and
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
. Some also include a few localities in
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
and/or
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
. The present-day region of Acadia's name is based the historic colony of Acadia, a colony of
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
which covered the Maritimes, and that was inhabited by Acadians until the
Deportation of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...
. A few Acadians managed to escape the deportation by fleeing to the most rural parts of the old territory and re-settling there, which is mostly the North and East of New Brunswick today. Their descendants came to dominate these areas, leading to the emergence of modern-day Acadia. Acadia has always been a poor region for a variety of reasons. For example, after the British conquest, a
test oath A loyalty oath is a pledge of allegiance to an organization, institution, or state of which an individual is a member. In the United States, such an oath has often indicated that the affiant has not been a member of a particular organization or ...
was put in place, preventing Catholics from voting or being a candidate. The Acadians were also firmly opposed to the
Confederation of Canada Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominion of ...
, which would severely affect the local economy. Furthermore, the lands of Acadia are not very fertile, making them a poor choice for agriculture. In the 1960s, the
Quiet Revolution The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...
took place, which modernized and secularized Acadia. This not only allowed the socio-economic standing of Acadians to improve, but also created a national identity for Acadians. Symbols and institutions were created, and a desire to protect Acadian culture and the French language emerged. Today, rural exodus, anglicization and the aging of the population influence the demography of Acadia.


Geology and topography

File:Île Miscou, Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada 2010.jpg, The Miscou plains in fall. File:Piste Cabot près de Cap-Rouge.jpg, The Cabot Trail in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. File:Plage Parlee.JPG,
Parlee Beach Parlee Beach Provincial Park is a provincial park located in Pointe-du-Chêne, New Brunswick, Canada. Geography Parlee Beach Provincial Park is located in eastern Westmorland County fronting the Northumberland Strait on the northeast side of P ...
at Pointe-du-Chêne near
Shediac Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a heavily Acadian town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The town is home to the famous Parlee Beach and is known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts ...
. File:Belliveau Cove Lighthouse (3).jpg, The Anse-des-Belliveau lighthouse in Clare.
Acadia's main rivers are the Restigouche and Nepisiguit rivers which flow into the Chaleur Bay, the
Miramichi River The Miramichi River is a river located in the east-central part of New Brunswick, Canada. The river drains into Miramichi Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The name may have been derived from the Montagnais words "Maissimeu Assi" (meaning Mi'km ...
which flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Petitcodiac and Saint John rivers which flow into the Bay of Fundy. Acadia has many small lakes and wetlands. Wetlands are particularly common on the
Acadian Peninsula The Acadian Peninsula (french: Péninsule acadienne) is situated in the northeastern corner of New Brunswick, Canada, encompassing portions of Gloucester and Northumberland Counties. It derives its name from the large Acadian population located ...
and in Kent County. Most of Acadia is located at the northern end of the
Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
, and this is where its highest peak
Mount Carleton At 817m, Mount Carleton, in Mount Carleton Provincial Park is the highest peak in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, and the Maritime Provinces. It is one of the highlights of the Canadian portion of the International Appalachian Trail ...
stands at 817 metres high. However, other massifs are in Acadia, notably the Cape Breton Plateau whose highest peak, White Butte, has an altitude of 532 metres. The rocks are generally
Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...
in age (543 to 250 million years old), but there are Precambrian (4.5 billion to 542 million years old) rocks in Cheticamp and
Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...
(251 to 65.5 million years old) rocks on the seafloor near Clare. Most of the area is composed of sedimentary rocks but there are volcanic rocks in the vicinity of Bathurst, Campbellton and Grand Falls, as well as intrusive rocks in Bathurst,
Belledune Belledune (2011 population: 1,548) is a Canadian village that straddles both Restigouche County and Gloucester County, New Brunswick. The community of Belledune was created through the amalgamation of Jacquet River, Armstrong Brook, and Bell ...
and Argyle, while in Cheticamp there is a mix of sedimentary, volcanic, intrusive and metamorphic rocks. Earthquakes are weak and rare in Acadia, though in NB earthquakes of magnitude greater than 5.0 can occur. The Grand Banks 1929 earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, caused the only Acadian tsunami ever witnessed.


Economy

Since 1960s, Acadia's economic situation has improved compared to the Canadian average because of increased access to post-secondary education, increased participation in the labor market, more entrepreneurialism, more well-paid public service jobs, and the rise of the
welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equita ...
(income transfers represent 20% of total income for Acadians compared to 16% for maritime
anglophones Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
). Some organisations offer support to entrepreneurs, like the
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency In Canada, the Regional Development Agencies (RDA) are the seven federal government agencies responsible for addressing key economic challenges and furthering economic development, diversification, and job creation specific to their respective regi ...
. Despite this progress, a large development gap persists between Acadia and the Canadian average. This can be explained in part by the smaller workforce and the higher unemployment rate. Several regions of Acadia have a lot of seasonal employment because of their main industry (ex. fishing, forestry, agri-food, etc...), so high unemployment during certains parts of the year are the norm there, and many rely on employment insurance. There is strong opposition to the reform of some government programs, particularly in the fishing sector, because employment insurance allows workers to provide for their needs during periods of inactivity.


See also

*
Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...
*
Deportation of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...
*
Canada (New France) The colony of Canada was a French colony within the larger territory of New France. It was claimed by France in 1535 during the second voyage of Jacques Cartier, in the name of the French king, Francis I. The colony remained a French territory u ...
* List of proposed provinces and territories of Canada


References

:''This article was partially translated from its French-language counterpart Acadie; please see its history for full authorship attribution.'' {{Acadia Acadia History of the Maritimes Culture of the Maritimes Geography of the Maritimes