Grand-Bouctouche ( ) is a town in Kent County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada.

History

Bouctouche was originally named Tjipogtotjg (pronounced ''Chebooktoosk''), a Mi'kmaq word meaning "Great Little Harbour". The region was next settled by brothers Francois LeBlanc and Charles LeBlanc, and brothers Isidore Bastarache and Joseph Bastarache in 1785 as an

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

community. "La Croix commémorative aux fondateurs de Bouctouche" was unveiled August 29, 1954, to pay tribute to the founders of the town, who first arrived in 1785. It says "We remember François and Hélène (née Breau) LeBlanc; Charlitte and first wife Marie (née Breau) LeBlanc, and his second wife Madeleine (née Girouard); and Joseph and Marie (née Girouard) Bastarache". The stones at the base of the cross indicate the origins of the settlers who came from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Grand-Pré, Memramcook and Bouctouche. During the 19th century the area also attracted immigrants from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

among them the forefathers of one of Bouctouche's best-known sons, K.C. Irving. Bouctouche was struck by a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

on August 6, 1879. On 1 January 2023, Bouctouche was renamed Grand-Bouctouche and annexed the

local service district Local service district may refer to these administrative units in Canada: * Local service district (New Brunswick) A local service district (LSD) was a provincial administrative unit for the provision of local services in the Canadian province o ...

(LSD) of Sainte-Anne-de-Kent and portions of the LSDs of the parish of Richibucto, the parish of Sainte-Marie, and the parish of Wellington. The community's name remains in official use. Revised census figures have not been released.

Geography

The town is located at the mouth of the Bouctouche River on the coast of the

Northumberland Strait The Northumberland Strait (French: ''détroit de Northumberland'') is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada. The strait is formed by Prince Edward Island and the gulf's eastern, southern, and western sho ...

, approximately 40 kilometres northeast of

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

. It is the first municipality in New Brunswick to adopt a Green Plan for the working of the municipality in 2006.

Climate

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Grand-Bouctouche had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Population trend Religious make-up (2001) Income (2006) Mother Tongue language (2016) Statistics Canada
/ref>

Tourist attractions

*La Dune de Bouctouche, known by its first inhabitants as the Great Little Harbour, has hiking and cycling trails that are part of the New Brunswick Trail system. There are 12 kilometres of whispering sands making up the dunes easily viewed from a boardwalk along a conservation area known as the Irving Eco Centre. La Dune de Bouctouche consists of a 9.7 km long ridge of sand formed over centuries by the wind and stormy seas. The dune has almost enclosed the bay area over its full length leaving an opening to the bay at its mouth that is a 1.8 km wide opening and the dune is still expanding today. * Le Pays de la Sagouine, based on

Antonine Maillet Antonine Maillet (10 May 1929 – 17 February 2025) was an Acadian novelist, playwright and scholar. Early life and education Maillet was born on 10 May 1929 in Bouctouche, New Brunswick"Antonine Maillet." ''Paroles d'Acadie : Anthologie de ...

's award-winning book ''La Sagouine'', is a theme park filled with Acadian entertainment and history. Their activities include dramatic reproductions of Antonine's plays. *Irving Eco Centre Industrialist

Kenneth Colin Irving Kenneth Colin Irving, (14 March 1899 – 13 December 1992) was a Canadian businessman whose business began with a family sawmill in Bouctouche, New Brunswick, in 1882. In 1989, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Biography Earl ...

was born in Bouctouche, many of his businesses, including Kent Homes, maintain operations there, and his descendants have set aside an area of natural resources to be protected.

Notable people

Sister cities

* St. Martinville, Louisiana, United States *

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; ) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the residents are cal ...

, France

References

External links

Town of Bouctouche
{{Authority control , additional=Q106165877 Populated coastal places in Canada Towns in New Brunswick Lighthouses in New Brunswick