Westmorland County (2016 population: 149,623) is a county in New Brunswick, a province of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It is in the south-eastern part of the province. It contains the fast-growing commercial centre 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. The ...

and its northern and eastern suburbs. Also located in the county are the university town of Sackville and the

tourist destination A tourist attraction is a place of interest that Tourism, tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of ...

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 a ...

. Westmorland County is centrally located in the

Maritimes The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...

and is

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 ...

's most populous county. Fishing and tourism are important industries along 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 ...

shore, and there is some mixed farming in the Petitcodiac River Valley and in the Tantramar Marsh region. The city of

accounts for half of the county's population and has developed as a major transportation, distribution, commercial and retail centre. Dorchester is the historic shire town.

Origins

The county, once a part of

Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Cumberland County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. History The name Cumberland was applied by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton to the captured Fort Beauséjour on June 18, 1755 in honour of the third son of King George II ...

, was one of the original eight counties delineated shortly after the creation of the British colony of

in 1784. Initially it included what is now Albert County and part of

Saint John County Saint John County (2016 population: 74,020) is located in southern New Brunswick, Canada. The city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Saint John dominates the county. Elsewhere in the county, tourism is focused around the Bay of Fundy. Census sub ...

. Due to sweeping social reforms of the

Louis Robichaud Louis Joseph Robichaud (October 21, 1925 – January 6, 2005), popularly known as "Little Louis" or "P'tit-Louis", was the second (but first elected) Acadian premier of New Brunswick, serving from 1960 to 1970. With the Equal Opportunity p ...

premiership, the counties no longer serve their role as regional local government and administrative units.

Transportation

Major highways

* * * * * * * *

Census subdivision The census geographic units of Canada are the census subdivisions defined and used by Canada's federal government statistics bureau Statistics Canada to conduct the country's quinquennial census. These areas exist solely for the purposes of sta ...
s

Communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place (geography), place, Norm (social), norms, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Identity (social science), identity. Communiti ...

There are eleven municipalities within Westmorland County (listed by 2016 population):

First Nations First Nations or first peoples may refer to: * Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area. Indigenous groups *First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including: **First Natio ...

There is one First Nations reserve in Westmorland County (population as of 2016):

Parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

The county is subdivided into seven parishes (listed by 2016 population):

Demographics

As a

census division Census divisions, in Canada and the United States of America, United States, are areas delineated for the purposes of statistical analysis and presentation; they have no government in and of themselves. The census divisions of Canada are second-lev ...

in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), 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 cultur ...

, Westmorland County 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.

Language

Access routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the county, including external routes that start or finish at the county limits:Atlantic Canada Back Road Atlas *Highways ** ** ** ** *Principal Routes ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *Secondary Routes: ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** *External Routes: ** **

Protected areas and attractions

Notable people

References

External links

Westmorland County Guide

{{Subdivisions of New Brunswick, counties=yes, state=closed Counties of New Brunswick