The Miramichi Valley is a Canadian river valley and region in the east-central part 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 ...

. It extends along both major branches of 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'kma ...

and their tributaries, however it is generally agreed that the much larger Southwest Miramichi River forms the majority of this region as it is more settled than the

Northwest Miramichi River The Northwest Miramichi River or Elmunokun is a river in New Brunswick, Canada. The Mi'kmaq referred to the river as Elmunokun, possibly meaning "a beaver hole" in reference to a deep pool in the river, just below the mouth of the Big Sevogle R ...

. Some communities throughout the valley include (from upriver to downriver):

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arc ...

, Boiestown,

Doaktown Doaktown is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick. The village has a prosperous lumber industry including the Russell and Swim sawmill, now owned by J.D. Irving Limited. Atlantic Salmon fishing is a very popular sport in ...

, Blackville, Red Bank, Sunny Corner,

Renous-Quarryville Renous-Quarryville (2020 population: 1188) is a Canadian local service district in Northumberland County, New Brunswick. It is located 25 mi upstream of Miramichi, and is situated where the Renous River, and the Indiantown brook. discharges ...

, and the city of

Miramichi The name "Miramichi" was first applied to a region in the northeast of New Brunswick, Canada, and has since been applied to other places in Canada and the United States. Although other interpretations have been suggested, it is believed that "Mirami ...

which is an amalgamation of the former towns of Newcastle and Chatham, as well as the former villages of Nelson-Miramichi,

Loggieville Loggieville is a Canadian suburban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick. The community is located at the mouth of the Miramichi River on the southern bank where the river estuary discharges into the bay. Named after the Loggie f ...

and Douglastown. There are three

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Miꞌkmaw'' or ''Miꞌgmaw''; ; ) are a First Nations people of the Northeastern Woodlands, indigenous to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces and the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec as well as the no ...

reserves within the Miramichi River watershed: Natoaganeg (Eel Ground) First Nation, Esgenoôpetitj (Burnt Church) First Nation, and Metepenagiag (Red Bank) Mi'kmaq Nation.

Climate

Largely influenced by the

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...

, the Miramichi River valley typically experiences westerly winds from the interior, although coastal areas of the estuarine portion can experience easterly winds off the Gulf of St. Lawrence during the late summer. During fall, winter and spring, the colder air mass of the northern interior of North America frequently flows over the Miramichi Valley, but the close proximity of the Gulf of St. Lawrence tends to moderate this effect. The colder waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence also moderate the spring and summer months, producing a later spring than corresponding areas further inland, due to

sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice, which has an even lower density). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's o ...

. Falls are correspondingly later, since the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawerence retain heat for a longer period than the areas inland. The Miramichi River and its estuarine portion traditionally freezes solid for three to four months each winter. This is beginning to change as a result of changing climate trends, however as late as the 1950s, before a bridge was built at Chatham, NB, cars would regularly cross the river using the ice, and small trucks of fish buyers would venture down river on the ice to purchase

smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''A ...

directly from ice fishermen at their nets. The average rainfall is in the order of 1-1.1 m.

Forests

Lying near the northern limit of many eastern hardwoods in the

Acadian Forest The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...

Region, Miramichi Valley forests are diverse. Balsam fir,

black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Lab ...

and red spruce are common. Other

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ext ...

trees include

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii ''Picea engelman ...

eastern white pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lake ...

, red pine,

jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...

, tamarack, eastern hemlock, and

eastern white cedar ''Thuja occidentalis'', also known as northern white-cedar, eastern white-cedar, or arborvitae, is an evergreen coniferous tree, in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is native to eastern Canada and much of the north-central and northeastern ...

). Broad-leaved

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

trees include yellow birch, paper birch, grey birch, red maple, sugar maple, balsam poplar, trembling aspen, bigtooth aspen, speckled alder, northern red oak, American elm,

American beech ''Fagus grandifolia'', the American beech or North American beech, is a species of beech tree native to the eastern United States and extreme southeast of Canada. Description ''Fagus grandifolia'' is a large deciduous tree growing to tall, w ...

, and

black ash Black ash is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Acer negundo'', native to North America * ''Fraxinus nigra'', native to North America * ''Eucalyptus sieberi ''Eucalyptus sieberi'', commonly known as the silvertop ash or bla ...

. Silver maple and butternut are uncommon, but can be found at

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...

sites along the Southwest Miramichi River. Hop hornbeam (=Ironwood) and white ash are uncommon to rare, but do occur on well-drained upland soils. Land ownership in the Miramichi River valley reflects human settlement patterns, with most private land ownership having been derived from the Crown grant and extending inland, perpendicular to the river and its tributaries. Many families maintain private woodlots for firewood or commercial uses. Remaining Crown land, inland from the river, is managed by the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources. These lands have been managed primarily to support the

pulp and paper The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web a ...

industry via timber leases to forestry companies. Controversy has arisen in recent decades about forest management practises which have included clear cutting.

Agriculture

The Miramichi River valley supports some farming, mostly located on the better topsoils within the floodplain. Crop farming is rare, with

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

es,

turnip The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ...

s, oats, and

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

being most common. Some residents maintain small vegetable gardens for personal use in communities throughout the valley. Dairy farming is common, as is cultivation of

blueberries Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, b ...

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

, raspberries and

cranberries Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. In Britain, cranberry may refer to the native species ''Vaccinium oxycoccos'', while in North America, cranberry m ...

. Some failed farms which had been cleared in colonial times have reverted to forest. Although not strictly agriculture, the Miramichi River valley also sees an annual spring harvest of wild "fiddleheads", the curled heads of ostrich ferns which grow on the riverbanks and in the floodplain after the spring freshet.

Fishing

The Miramichi River is famous for

Atlantic Salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon are ...

fly-fishing (rod and reel), whereas the estuary once supported an extensive fishery for salmon,

shad The Alosinae, or the shads,Alosinae
gaspereau and

. Although these commercial harvests have declined (commercial fishing of Atlantic Salmon having been banned since the 1960s), the

lobster Lobsters are a family (Nephropidae, synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs have claws, including the first pair, ...

fishery has grown to become the highest value food fishery in the region, with the lobster fleet sailing primarily out of ports such as Neguac, Hardwicke, Baie-Sainte-Anne, and Escuminac. The Miramichi River estuary also supports some

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

harvesting and aquaculture, particularly cultivated mussels. Most commercial fish stocks have been in a state of decline, particularly Atlantic Salmon. Despite these declines, the Miramichi River still supports one of the largest annual runs of Atlantic salmon in North America. These declines in Atlantic salmon runs are often blamed on the

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

offshore fishery, global

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, as well as local

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in t ...

. Recent forest management practises such as clear cutting and

herbicide Herbicides (, ), also commonly known as weedkillers, are substances used to control undesired plants, also known as weeds.EPA. February 201Pesticides Industry. Sales and Usage 2006 and 2007: Market Estimates. Summary in press releasMain page f ...

applications which denigrate the riparian zone along the river and its tributaries, as well as industrial

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, th ...

share some blame as well.

Wildlife

The Miramichi River watershed supports a large population of land mammals and waterfowl, particularly

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

American black bear The American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), also called simply a black bear or sometimes a baribal, is a medium-sized bear endemic to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most widely distributed bear species. American black bear ...

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

and the

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is ...

. Other animals include

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

, northeast coyote,

mink Mink are dark-colored, semiaquatic, carnivorous mammals of the genera '' Neogale'' and '' Mustela'' and part of the family Mustelidae, which also includes weasels, otters, and ferrets. There are two extant species referred to as "mink": ...

fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slend ...

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gin ...

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethiz ...

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

, and

muskrat The muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over a wide range of climates and habita ...

among many others. Prior to European settlement, the area also supported woodland

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

(a relative of the Arctic caribou which inhabited northeastern North America), as well as the eastern cougar and

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly un ...

. A remnant population of the Eastern Cougar is thought to inhabit parts of New Brunswick and Quebec's

Gaspé Peninsula The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia (; ), is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that extends from the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It is separated from New Brunswick ...

, possibly including the Miramichi River watershed. A Grey Wolf pack is thought to have recently returned to the Miramichi Highlands from the Gaspé Peninsula. Hunting of large land mammals such as deer, moose, as well as waterfowl such as ducks and geese is permitted each fall. The elusive American black duck is particularly prized by hunters. There is a limited bear hunt each spring, although its continuation is being debated. The guiding industry is an economic contributor to the local economy during hunting season.

History

Pre-history to 1758

Originally settled by Maritime Archaic Indians, the Miramichi River valley was controlled by the

Nation at the time of European discovery. As part of

Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and earl ...

under

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

colonial control, the region saw little French settlement. The Mi'kmaq from the Miramichi River valley sided with France during the wars between Britain and France from 1689 to 1763, sometimes sending raiding parties into

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

to attack settlements during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...

. Following the siege of

Fortress Louisbourg The Fortress of Louisbourg (french: Forteresse de Louisbourg) is a National Historic Site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress at Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Its two s ...

in 1758, British forces on their way to

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

attacked French settlements on Ile-Saint-Jean (present-day

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 continued along the coast, where they entered the lower Miramichi River valley and destroyed and scattered the small Acadian settlements. They also attacked and burned a small Mi'kmaq village at Ste-Anne (present-day Burnt Church, NB).

1758 to 1850

The Miramichi River valley initially became a refuge for Acadians fleeing the

Great Upheaval 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 ...

in the Annapolis Valley,

Tantramar Marshes The Tantramar Marshes, also known as the Tintamarre National Wildlife Area, is a tidal saltmarsh around the Bay of Fundy on the Isthmus of Chignecto. The area borders between Route 940, Route 16 and Route 2 near Sackville, New Brunswick. The g ...

and Ile-Saint-Jean following the Seven Years' War, however these families were soon forced to move to more isolated coastal areas to the northeast. Under British control, the area was part of the Colony of Nova Scotia from 1756 to 1784 but was largely forgotten. Some settlement trickled from the

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

refugees flooding the Saint John River valley to the south and west, however it was only after the Colony of New Brunswick was established in 1784 that colonial administrators looked favourably upon the Miramichi region. The

Highland Clearances The Highland Clearances ( gd, Fuadaichean nan Gàidheal , the "eviction of the Gaels") were the evictions of a significant number of tenants in the Scottish Highlands and Islands, mostly in two phases from 1750 to 1860. The first phase result ...

and Britain's

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

soon saw a Scottish migration into the Miramichi River valley, some of them demobilized veterans of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, and others directly coming from the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

. They were the first permanent English-speaking settlers and their early industriousness continues as a legacy to the various communities throughout the valley. William Davidson was among the first Scots, arriving in 1767. English settlers were present too, as evidenced by the Anglican Churches established throughout the valley.

Acadians The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...

began to drift back into the area as early as 1769, settling the shorelands along the lower bay. A small number of

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America dur ...

arrived, establishing themselves particularly in the upriver areas, where Squire Doak established the village of

. In 1825, a massive forest fire, called " The Great Miramichi Fire", burned 20% of New Brunswick's forests, leveling several communities in the central part of the colony including Newcastle and Douglastown. Large numbers of Irish arrived in the Miramichi River valley, both before and after the Great Famine of Ireland (1845-1849). Middle Island, in the inner bay of the estuarine portion of the Miramichi River, served as a quarantine station. Though some Irish immigrants farmed, especially in Barnaby River, St. Margarets and Sevogle River, many were drawn to the established towns and villages, perhaps because the Scots and English had taken up the best land. Trade with Britain and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

was a cornerstone of the Miramichi River valley economy throughout a large part of the 19th century. An important export up until the 1850s was

Eastern White Pine ''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lake ...

trunks which were used as masts on

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

vessels. Fur was an early export to European markets and later exports included lumber, pulpwood, and pit props for

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

coal mines. The United States began to replace Britain as the most important market for the Miramichi River valley after the 1850s. Salmon and forest products found a market in Boston, MA, with these commodities being shipped by

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

, with rum and

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

being common return cargoes.

1867 to present

The

National Policy The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876. After Macdonald led the Conservatives to victory in the 1878 Canadian federal election, he began implementing his policy in 1879. Th ...

of Sir John A. Macdonald's

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

government after

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical iss ...

in 1867 was not to the advantage of Miramichi lumbermen and fish buyers. The high tariff walls designed to protect Ontario manufacturers meant higher prices for imports, and tariff barriers on exports to the United States. The National Policy is believed to be a contributing factor in explaining the long Liberal predominance in Miramichi elections, and the prominence of lumber and fish merchants and business leaders among Liberal MPs and Senators in the

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, ...

and Members of the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

. Notable among these are Senators

Jabez Bunting Snowball Jabez Bunting Snowball (24 September 1837 – 24 February 1907) was a businessman, the 11th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, Canada, and politician from the Town of Chatham, New Brunswick. He operated a number of businesses in the ea ...

, a lumber merchant and shipowner from Chatham, NB, and Percy Burchill, a lumber merchant from Nelson-Miramichi, NB; Members of Parliament included

W. S. Loggie William Stewart Loggie (August 10, 1850 – March 13, 1944) was a merchant and politician of the town of Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada. Born in Burnt Church, New Brunswick, Loggie, a dynamic man, built a small empire throughout the Miram ...

, a fish and general merchant from Chatham, NB, Richard Hutchinson, a lumber merchant from Newcastle, NB, and John Maloney, a lumber merchant; Members of the Legislative Assembly included W. Stafford Anderson, a lumber merchant from Newcastle, NB, whose daughter Margaret Anderson served in the Senate. Sawmills were a typical Miramichi industry from colonial times, but

pulp mill A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fiber sources into a thick fiber board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical, or ...

s were established at both Newcastle and Chatham in the late nineteenth century and, though the Chatham mill is long closed, the one in Newcastle continued in operation until recently. Fish packing remained important until recent times, with

and Escuminac being two sites. For many years, pit props were exported to the Welsh and English coal mines, though the volume suggests that many ended up in British pulp mills. During the 1870s and 1880s, railways were built to the Miramichi River valley, beginning with the

Intercolonial Railway The Intercolonial Railway of Canada , also referred to as the Intercolonial Railway (ICR), was a historic Canadian railway that operated from 1872 to 1918, when it became part of Canadian National Railways. As the railway was also completely ow ...

in 1875, which crossed the Southwest and Northwest Miramichi Rivers at tidewater just upstream from Newcastle on its way between

Moncton, NB Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" because of ...

and Bathurst, NB. This section of the Intercolonial formed part of the

Halifax, NS Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The re ...

to Rivière-du-Loup, QC main line and was purposely routed along the eastern shore of New Brunswick for military purposes, to keep it away from the border with the United States. The Northern and Western Railway (later the Canada Eastern Railway) was built in the mid-1880s from

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

to Boisetown where it then ran along the Southwest Miramichi River through Chatham to terminate at the port at

, intersecting with the Intercolonial at Nelson. The line was purchased several years later by the Intercolonial and part of the line between Renous-Quarryville and Nelson was rerouted. A passenger train on this route was given the informal nickname, the " Dungarvon Whooper". Oceangoing steamships and motor vessels regularly visited ports along the river until fairly recently. The decision by the federal government to concentrate all ocean shipping activities in northern New Brunswick at the port of Belledune, NB in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to a decision by the mid-1990s to discontinue dredging at the entrance to Miramichi Bay. This has led to significant silting of the navigation channel although some ships still call at the ports of Chatham and Newcastle. The Miramichi River valley is home to about 45,000 people, mainly of mixed Irish, Scottish, English, French and Mi'kmaq descent. Traditionally, the shores of the estuarine portion of the Miramichi River valley were predominantly Acadian fishing communities, whereas Chatham was an Irish community and Newcastle and many towns upriver were Scottish communities. Over the past 100 years or more, Acadians have been migrating into the amalgamated city of Miramichi and surrounding areas. The "English speaking" community (of Irish, Scottish or English descent) and the "French speaking" community (of Acadian descent) have witnessed much intermarriage between the two groups in the last 80 years and relations are generally good. There has been little immigration to the Miramichi River valley since the Irish Famine, producing a particular personality among Miramichiers who are regarded as friendly, but with a touch of reserve, generous, but also very independent, and with a wry sense of humour, especially in evidence when someone is suspected of "putting on airs". They are passionately attached to their valley. Another factor that united Miramichiers of all ethnic backgrounds was the shared experience of two world wars. Casualties were especially heavy in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, when just about every street in the towns throughout the river valley had men killed or returned wounded and/or shell-shocked. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Miramichi River valley soldiers went ashore on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

with the

North Shore Regiment The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army, and is part of the 5th Canadian Division's 37 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment is headquartered in Bathurst, New Brunswick, with sub-units ...

and went through the heavy fighting in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Others served with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

and the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack subma ...

Historic sites

* Middle Island, the site of a quarantine station in the inner part of Miramichi Bay. Preserved to commemorate the Irish immigration to the Miramichi River valley. * MacDonald Farm, at the mouth of the Bartibogue River. A restoration of an original Scottish settler's home. * St. Michael's Basilica, located in the former town of Chatham, NB. The largest church in the Miramichi River valley and centre of the Irish community.

References

{{coord , 46.960, N, 65.630, W, display=title Valleys of New Brunswick History of New Brunswick by location Landforms of Northumberland County, New Brunswick Geographic regions of New Brunswick River valleys of Canada