New Carlisle () is a town in the

Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine () is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula () and the . It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southern Quebec. The predominant economic activities are fishing, forestry and tourism. ...

region of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. It best known as the boyhood home of

René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to seek, ...

although he was born in Campbellton, New Brunswick. Its population is approximately 1,336, approximately two thirds of whom are anglophone and the remainder francophone. New Carlisle is located on the Baie des Chaleurs. New Carlisle is the seat of Bonaventure Regional County Municipality, the

judicial district A judicial district or legal district denotes the territorial area for which a legal court (usually a district court) has jurisdiction. By continent Europe Austria In texts concerning Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Aus ...

of Bonaventure, and the regional base for the Ministry of Transports Quebec, which has an operations centre on the outskirts of town. New Carlisle has a post office, primary and high schools, five different churches, and many other services.

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via (stylized as VIA Rail), is a Canadian Crown corporation that operates intercity passenger rail service in Canada. As of December 2023, Via Rail operates 406 trains per week across eight ...

mothballed its operations between Matapédia and New Carlisle sometime around 2010.

History

Originally a

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

site called ''Antagoetjoitog'', meaning "at the Black's", the site of the town was selected in 1784 by the Lieutenant-Governor of the jurisdictional District of Gaspe, Nicholas Cox. The town as is thought to have been named after Cox's home town, possibly

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Soon after the name was changed from "Carlisle" to "New Carlisle". The original settlers of 1784 were discharged soldiers of British Army regiments and Loyalists claimants. In 1842, the geographic Cox Township was proclaimed. It was also known as Petit-Paspébiac in the 19th century. The area was first incorporated as the Township Municipality of Cox in 1845, dissolved in 1847, but reestablished again in 1855. On February 1, 1877, the Township Municipality of Cox was dissolved and divided into the Municipalities of New Carlisle and Paspébiac. The town was the scene of the capture of the German spy Werner von Janowski, who was dropped from a nearby

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

in November 1942.

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Population

Language

Mother tongue (2021): * English as first language: 56.6% * French as first language: 39.1% * English and French as first language: 3.9% * Other as first language: 0.4%

Notable people

* Théodore Robitaille, senator who was elected as a member from Bonaventure County and commissioned the Words and music for

O Canada "O Canada" () is the national anthem of Canada. The song was originally commissioned by Lieutenant Governor of Quebec Théodore Robitaille for the 1880 Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day ceremony; Calixa Lavallée composed the music, after which French- ...

in 1885

References

External links

* {{authority control Incorporated places in Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine Municipalities in Quebec Populated coastal places in Canada