Saint John, New Brunswick

Not to be confused with St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Saint John
City
Coat of arms of Saint John Coat of arms
Nickname(s):  SJ, Port City
Motto(s):  "O Fortunati Quorum Jam Moenia Surgunt" (Latin for, "O Fortunate Ones Whose Walls Are Now Rising." or "O Happy They, Whose Promised Walls Already Rise")
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Saint John County
Established	1604
Major Settlement Started	1783
Incorporation	May 18, 1785 (1785-05-18)
Founded by	Gov. Thomas Carlton
Named for	St. John the Baptist
Government
• City Mayor	Ivan Court
• Governing body	Saint John City Council
• MPs	Rodney Weston
• MLAs	Trevor Holder, Carl Killen, Glen Savoie, Dorothy Shephard, Glen Tait
Area
• Urban	31.31 km2 (12.09 sq mi)
• Metro	100.61 km2 (38.85 sq mi)
Highest elevation	387 m (1,270 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2006)
• City	68,043
• Density	215.7/km2 (559/sq mi)
• Metro	129,364
• Metro density	36.4/km2 (94/sq mi)
	source: Statistics Canada
Time zone	UTC-4 (Atlantic (AST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (Atlantic (ADT))
Canadian Postal code	E2H to E2P
Area code	506
Telephone Exchanges	202, 214, 333, 557 -8, 592, 608, 631 -640, 642 -654, 657 -8, 663, 672, 674, 693-4, 696, 721
NTS Map	021G08
GNBC Code	DAEGW
Marketing Slogan	Explore Our Past, Discover your future.
Website	City of Saint John

Saint John (French: Ville de Saint Jean) is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the St. John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 68,043. The population of the Census Metropolitan Area is 129,364.

History

Predated by the Maritime Archaic Indian civilization, the area of the northwestern coastal regions of the Bay of Fundy is believed to have been inhabited by the Passamaquoddy Nation several thousand years ago, while the St. John River valley north of the bay became the domain of the Maliseet Nation.

French Colony

The mouth of the St. John River was first discovered by Europeans in 1604 during a reconnaissance of the Bay of Fundy undertaken by French cartographer Samuel de Champlain. The day upon which Champlain sighted the mighty river was St. John The Baptist's Day, hence the name, which in French is Fleuve Saint-Jean.

The strategic location at the mouth of the St. John River was fortified by Charles de la Tour in 1631. The fort was named Fort Sainte Marie (AKA Fort La Tour) and was located on the east side of the river. To the west of the St. John River, Fort Saint-Jean was later built (c.1790).

Raid on St. John (1632)

Precipitated by the arrival of the new French governor of Acadia, Isaac de Razilly, on 18 September 1632, Captain Andrew Forrester, commander of the then Scottish community of Port Royal, Nova Scotia, crossed the Bay of Fundy with twenty-five armed men and raided Fort Sainte-Marie. Symbolically, Forrester's men knocked down the large wooden cross and arms of the king of France before plundering the fort. They seized the fort's personnel and their stock of furs, merchandise, and food. Forrester took his prisoners and loot to Port Royal, Nova Scotia. This conflict was the last fighting, between the Scots and the French, before Port Royal was returned to the French.

Blockade of St. John (1642)

Location of Fort La Tour along the Saint John harbour

For five months, the Governor of Acadia d'Aulnay who was stationed at Port Royal created a blockade of the river to defeat La Tour at his fort. On 14 July 1643, La Tour arrived from Boston with four ships and a complement of 270 men to repossess Fort Sainte-Marie. After this victory, La Tour went on to attack d'Aulnay at Port Royal, Nova Scotia.

Siege of St. John (1645)

While La Tour was in Boston, on Easter Sunday 13 April 1645, d'Aulnay arrived at La Tours fort with a force of two hundred men. La Tour's soldier's were led by his wife, Francoise-Marie Jacquelin. After a five day battle, on 18 April, d' Aulnay captured La Tour's Fort Stainte-Marie. d'Aulnay hanged the La Tour garrison while Madame de la Tour was forced to watch with a rope around her neck. Three weeks later, while still in d'Aulnay's hands, she died. With the death of his wife and the loss of his fort, La Tour did not return to Acadia for the next four years, until d'Aulnay had died (1650).

Battle of St. John (1654)

Siege of St. John (1745) - d'Aulnay defeats La Tour in Acadia

Colonel Robert Sedgewick led one hundred New England volunteers and two hundred of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers to capture Port Royal, Nova Scotia. Prior to the battle, Sedgewick captured and plundered La Tour's fort on the St. John River and took him prisoner.

King Williams War

Naval Battle off St. John (1696)

The Action of 14 July 1696 was a naval battle between New France and New England toward the end of King Williams War in the Bay of Fundy off present day Saint John, New Brunswick. English ships were sent from Boston to interrupt the supplies being taken by French ships from Quebec to the capital of Acadia, Fort Nashwaak (Fredericton, New Brunswick) on the Saint John River. The French ships of war captured one English ship, while the England frigate and a provincial tender escaped.

Father Le Loutre's War

The only land route between Fortress Louisbourg and Quebec went from Baie Verte through Isthmus of Chignecto, along the Bay of Fundy and up the St. John River. With the establishment of Halifax, which began Father Le Loutre's War (1749-1755), the French recognized at once the threat it represented and that the St. John River corridor might be used to attack Quebec City itself. To protect this vital gateway, at the beginning of 1749, the French strategically constructed three forts within 18 months along the route: one at Baie Verte (Fort Gaspareaux), one at Chignecto (Fort Beausejour) and another at the mouth of the St. John River (Fort Menagoueche). Immediately after the Battle of Fort Beauséjour (1755), Robert Monckton sent a detachment to take Fort Menagoueche. French Officer De Boishebert knew that he faced a superior force so he burned the fort and retreated up the river to undetake guerrilla warfare. The destruction of Fort Menagoueche left Louisbourg as the last French fort in Acadia.

French and Indian War

The only land route between Louisbourg and Quebec went from Baie Verte through Chignecto, along the Bay of Fundy and up the St. John River. With the establishment of Halifax, the French recognized at once the threat it represented and that the St. John River corridor might be used to attack Quebec City itself. To protect this vital gateway, at the beginning of 1749, the French strategically constructed three forts within 18 months along the route: one at Baie Verte (Fort Gaspareaux), one at Chignecto (Fort Beausejour) and another at the mouth of the St. John River (Fort Menagoueche).

St. John River Campaign (1758-59)

St. John River Campaign: The Construction of Fort Frederick (1758)

After the Conquest of Acadia (1710), Acadians migrated from peninsula Nova Scotia to the French-occupied Saint John River. These Acadians were seen as the most resistant to British rule in the region. During the French and Indian War, many more Acadians sought refuge from maintland Nova Scotia to the St. John River. During the St. John River Campaign (1758), the British built Fort Frederick on the remains of Fort Menagoueche and burned every village on the river up to and including Fredericton, New Brunswick.

American Revolution

During the American Revolution, the British built Fort Howe to protect Saint John from attacks stemming from Machias, Maine.

Battle of Saint John (1777)

Fort Howe

After the Battle of Fort Cumberland, the Americans again tried to attack Nova Scotia. Ninety Americans, under the leadership of former Nova Scotian John Allan, departed Machias and arrived at the mouth of the Saint John River. This advanced guard was to fortify their base and away the arrival of the main body of troops. The American took a number of British prisoner. On June 30, under the command of Captain Hawker, four British ship arrived on the scene under the command of Studholme. The rebels were quickly scattered, a number were killed and pursued upriver by the smaller vessels. Allan's force was over taken at Aukpaque (near Fredericton), some of its baggage and arms taken, but only three Americans captured. The St. John estuary was later plundered again, when Fort Howe was erected there and garrisoned with fifty men under Studholme.

The Loyalist-dominated communities of Parrtown and Carleton developed around Fort Howe and both towns were amalgamated by royal charter to become the City of Saint John in 1785, making it the first incorporated city in British North America (present-day Canada). Many of those fleeing the troubles in the Thirteen Colonies to the south were Black Loyalists, and the charter specifically excluded blacks from practising a trade, selling goods, fishing in the harbour, or becoming freemen; these provisions stood until 1870.

War of 1812

Carleton Martello Tower

During this war and the War of 1812, the city's location made it a probable target of attacks. This led to the construction of Fort Dufferin and Carleton Martello Tower, one of Canada's fourteen Martello Towers.

Gathering for the Loyalist Centennial Parade in Saint John in 1883

The Irish potato famine (1845–1849) saw the city's largest immigrant influx occur, with the government forced to construct a quarantine station and hospital on Partridge Island at the mouth of the harbour to handle the new arrivals. These immigrants changed the character of the city and surrounding region from its Loyalist-Protestant heritage to a new Irish-Catholic culture.

Saint John became the province's leading industrial centre during the 19th century, fostering a shipbuilding trade that lasted until 2002. Much of the city's shipbuilding industry was concentrated on the mudflats of Courtney Bay on east side. One local shipyard built the sailing ship Marco Polo. Due to its location for railways and servicing the triangle trade between British North America, the Caribbean, and the United Kingdom, the city was poised to be one of Canada's leading urban centres. However a disastrous fire in 1877 destroyed a large portion of the central business district.

1903 stereocard view of Saint John from Rock Wood Park

During the First World War, the city became a trans-shipment point for the British Empire's war effort. During the Second World War the port declined in importance due to the U-boat threat. Halifax's protected harbour offered improved convoy marshaling. However, manufacturing expanded considerably, notably the production of veneer wood for De Havilland Mosquito bomber aircraft. On account of the U-boat threat, additional batteries facilities were installed around the harbour.

Saint John's first airport was located north of the business district at Millidgeville. This location on a plateau overlooking the Kennebecasis River was a summer cottage area used by local residents to escape the coastal fog from the Bay of Fundy. Saint John Airport was developed post-war and is located in the eastern part of the city.

Urban redevelopment

An urban renewal project in the early 1970s involving a partnership between CPR along with the federal, provincial and municipal governments saw a new harbour bridge and expressway (called the Saint John Throughway) built on former railway lands. The ferry terminal for the service to Digby, Nova Scotia was also relocated from Long Wharf to a new facility on the lower West Side (see Bay Ferries Limited) as the CBD was expanded with new office buildings and downtown retail areas while historic industrial buildings were turned into shops and museums. The skyline in the city boasts office towers and historic properties.

In 1982, a 20 block area of the Uptown area (see Trinity Royal) was designated for historic preservation. A related development in recent years has been waterfront redevelopment for tourist and residential use. This effort increased markedly in the early first decade of the 21st century following the closure and dismantling of the Lantic Sugar refinery in the South End.

In the 1970s redevelopment of the city and port, most of the port's industrial areas were scheduled to be relocated at a major new deepwater port being considered for the western part of the outer harbour at Lorneville in a major partnership between the Irving conglomerate, NB Power, CPR and the three levels of government. However, the plan fell through in favour of concentrating industrial development on the inner harbour along the mouth of the St. John River - the very area where the waterfront redevelopment is being proposed (see Saint John Waterfront Development Partnership). Often cited in the media and by politicians as part of Saint John's redevelopment strategy, Harbour cleanup refers to the infrastructure project that will bring an end to the practice of discharging raw sewage into local waterways.

Geography and climate

Saint John
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     139     −3 −14     94     −2 −13     118     2 −7     104     8 −1     118     15 4     101     20 8     102     22 12     90     22 12     117     18 8     125     12 3     134     6 −2     149     0 −10 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Environment Canada
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     5.5     27 8     3.7     29 9     4.6     36 19     4.1     47 30     4.6     59 39     4     67 47     4     72 53     3.5     72 53     4.6     64 46     4.9     53 37     5.3     43 28     5.9     33 15 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Physical geography

Reversing Falls.

Situated in the south-central portion of the province, along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the St. John River, the city is split by the south-flowing river and the east side is bordered on the north by the Kennebecasis River where it meets the St. John River at Grand Bay.

The St. John River itself flows into the Bay of Fundy through a narrow gorge several hundred feet wide at the centre of the city. It contains a unique phenomenon called the Reversing Falls where the diurnal tides of the bay reverse the water flow of the river for several kilometres. A series of underwater ledges at the narrowest point of this gorge also create a series of rapids.

The topography surrounding Saint John is hilly; a result of the influence of two coastal mountain ranges which run along the Bay of Fundy - the St. Croix Highlands and the Caledonia Highlands. The soil throughout the region is extremely rocky with frequent granite outcrops. The coastal plain hosts numerous freshwater lakes in the eastern, western and northern parts of the city.

In Saint John the height difference from low to high tide is approximately 8 metres (28 ft) due to the funnelling effect of the Bay of Fundy as it narrows. The Reversing Falls in Saint John, actually an area of strong rapids, provides one example of the power of these tides; at every high tide, ocean water is pushed through a narrow gorge in the middle of the city and forces the St. John River to reverse its flow for several hours.

Climate

The climate of Saint John is humid continental (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The Bay of Fundy never fully freezes, thus moderating the winter temperatures compared with inland locations. Even so, with the prevailing wind blowing from the west (from land to sea), the average January temperature is about −8.2 °C (17.2 °F). Summers are cool to moderately warm, and daytime temperatures usually do not exceed 25 °C (77 °F). Saint John experiences a considerable amount of fog during the summer months, though the fog usually does not last throughout the entire day.

Annual precipitation in Saint John totals about 1,390 millimetres (55 in) annually and is well distributed throughout the year, although the late autumn and early winter is typically the wettest time of year. Snowfalls can often be heavy, but rain is as common as snow in winter, and it is not unusual for the ground to be snow-free even in mid-winter.

Climate data for Saint John
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	14.0 (57.2)	13.3 (55.9)	17.5 (63.5)	22.8 (73.0)	33.0 (91.4)	32.0 (89.6)	32.8 (91.0)	34.4 (93.9)	31.0 (87.8)	25.6 (78.1)	21.7 (71.1)	16.1 (61.0)	34.4 (93.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−2.7 (27.1)	−1.9 (28.6)	2.3 (36.1)	8.3 (46.9)	14.8 (58.6)	19.5 (67.1)	22.4 (72.3)	22.2 (72.0)	17.7 (63.9)	11.9 (53.4)	6.0 (42.8)	0.3 (32.5)	10.1 (50.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−13.6 (7.5)	−12.7 (9.1)	−7.3 (18.9)	−1.2 (29.8)	4.0 (39.2)	8.4 (47.1)	11.7 (53.1)	11.6 (52.9)	7.7 (45.9)	2.7 (36.9)	−2.1 (28.2)	−9.7 (14.5)	0.0 (32.0)
Record low °C (°F)	−31.7 (−25)	−36.7 (−34)	−30 (−22)	−16.7 (1.9)	−7.8 (18.0)	−2.2 (28.0)	1.1 (34.0)	−0.6 (30.9)	−6.7 (19.9)	−10.6 (12.9)	−16.9 (1.6)	−34.4 (−30)	−36.7 (−34)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	139.4 (5.49)	94.0 (3.70)	117.9 (4.64)	104.2 (4.10)	117.5 (4.63)	100.9 (3.97)	101.5 (4.00)	89.6 (3.53)	117.4 (4.62)	124.8 (4.91)	133.7 (5.26)	149.4 (5.88)	1,390.3 (54.73)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	78.2 (3.08)	48.8 (1.92)	71.7 (2.82)	81.7 (3.22)	115.9 (4.56)	100.9 (3.97)	101.5 (4.00)	89.6 (3.53)	117.4 (4.62)	122.6 (4.83)	121.6 (4.79)	98.2 (3.87)	1,147.9 (45.19)
Average snowfall cm (inches)	66.5 (26.2)	50.0 (19.7)	47.4 (18.7)	22.2 (8.7)	1.4 (0.6)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	2.2 (0.9)	12.5 (4.9)	54.7 (21.5)	256.9 (101.2)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm)	16.4	13.0	14.8	14.0	13.6	13.2	12.0	10.9	11.4	12.3	14.1	16.6	162.3
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm)	6.9	5.3	8.2	10.6	13.5	13.2	12.0	10.9	11.4	12.1	12.0	9.0	125.1
Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm)	13.0	10.7	9.8	5.7	.57	0	0	0	0	.73	4.0	11.1	55.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours	123.0	129.6	147.8	160.9	201.5	211.1	223.1	221.6	177.6	147.2	105.7	101.0	1,950.1
Source: Environment Canada

Neighbourhoods

Map of Saint John from 1894

Saint John is a city of neighbourhoods, with residents closely identifying with their particular area.

South Central Peninsula

The central peninsula on the east side of the harbour, and the area immediately opposite on the west side, hosts the site of the original city from the merger of Parrtown and Carleton. The western side of the central peninsula subsequently saw increased development and currently includes the central business district (CBD) and the Trinity Royal heritage district, which together are referred to as "Uptown" by residents throughout the city. As most of this area in the central peninsula is situated on a hill, it is rarely called "Downtown." The south end of the central peninsula, south of the Duke Street, is appropriately called the South End.

North End

The area north of the Highway #1 from the South Central Peninsula is called the North End; both areas being predominantly urban residential older housing which is undergoing gentrification. Much of the North End is made up of the former city of Portland and comprises another former working class area which is slowly undergoing gentrification at the eastern end of Douglas Avenue; immediately north of Portland and upstream from the Reversing Falls is the former community of Indiantown.

Vessels navigating the St. John River can only transit the Reversing Falls gorge at slack tide, thus Indiantown became a location during the 19th and 20th centuries where tugboats and paddle wheelers could dock to wait. Being located at the beginning of the navigable part of the St. John River, Indiantown also became a major terminal for vessels departing to ply their trade upriver.

Further north of the central part of the city, and northeast of the North End and Portland, along the southern bank of the Kennebecasis River is the area of Millidgeville which is generally considered a neighbourhood separate from the North End. The boundary of Millidgeville is typically thought to begin at the "Y" intersection of Somerset Street and Millidge Ave or right after Tartan St. It is a middle to upper class neighbourhood. Located here is a campus of the University of New Brunswick, as well as southwestern New Brunswick's largest health care centre, the Saint John Regional Hospital, and Saint John's only completely French school, Samuel de Champlain.

The eastern area of the North End plays host to the city's largest park, and one of Canada's largest urban parks. Rockwood Park encompasses 890 hectares of upland Acadian mixed forest, many hills and several caves, as well as several freshwater lakes, with an extensive trail network, a golf course, and the Cherry Brook Zoo. The park was designed by Calvert Vaux in the mid-to-late 19th century. Mount Pleasant borders the park, and is generally seen as distinct from the traditionally poorer North End.

East Side

To the east of the Courtney Bay / Forebay and south of New Brunswick Route 1 is the East Side, where the city has experienced its greatest suburban sprawl in recent decades with commercial retail centres and residential subdivisions. There has been significant and consistent commercial and retail development in the Westmorland Road-McAllister Drive-Consumer's Drive-Major's Brook Drive-Retail Drive corridor since the 1970s, including McAllister Place, the city's largest shopping mall, which opened in 1978, and with active year-to-year development since 1994. The city's current airport is located further east on the coastal plain among several lakes at the far eastern edge of the municipality. Several urban neighbourhoods are found here, including Forest Hills and Champlain Heights. The malls were built by filling in Marsh Creek, making the area potentially unstable.

Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Saint John

West Side

The portion of the city west of the St. John River is collectively referred to as West Side, although West Saint Johners typically divide this area into several neighbourhoods. As mentioned previously, the Lower West Side is the former working class neighbourhood that was known as Carleton at the time of the city's formation in 1785. West and north of the Lower West Side is the former city of Lancaster (commonly referred to as Saint John West), which was amalgamated into Saint John in 1967. The dividing line is generally agreed upon to be City Line Steet and not Lancaster Avenue, with the streets east and south of Lancaster Avenue being considered to be the "West Side, and the streets north and west of Lancaster Avenue, having been renamed from Lancaster, NB to Saint John West, NB.

The southern part of Lancaster abutting Saint John Harbour and the Bay of Fundy is Bayshore and the location of Canadian Pacific Railway's Bayshore Yard. The north end of Lancaster, known as Fairville, is home to Moosehead brewery and older neighbourhoods clustered along Manawagonish Road. North of Fairville are the communities of Milford and Randolph. Randolph, which is home to Dominion Park Beach, is actually on the city's largest island, joined to Milford by the Canal Bridge over Mosquito Cove on Greenhead Road.

West of Lancaster, the city hosts its second largest park, and one of the largest coastal urban parks in the country. The Irving Nature Park, formerly Saints' Rest Beach sits on an extensive peninsula called Taylor's Island extending into the western part of the harbour into the Bay of Fundy.

Buildings and structures

Saint John City Market

Fiddlehead sculpture at the Saint John Arts Centre in Saint John, New Brunswick Canada

• Courtney Bay Smokestacks (each 106.7 metres (350 ft))
• Brunswick Square (80.8 metres (265 ft)) 19-story office building with 511,032 square feet (47,476.4 m²) which was built in 1976. It is the largest office building in New Brunswick in terms of square footage and second in Atlantic Canada behind the Maritime Centre in Halifax. It is tied with Assumption Place in Moncton for the tallest in New Brunswick.
• Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Gothic style Catholic cathedral, construction began in 1853, its spire rises to 70.1 metres (230 ft))
• City Hall (55.2 metres (181 ft)) 15-story office building (165,000 square feet (15,300 m²))
• Brunswick House (52 metres (171 ft)) 14-story office building (103,000 square feet (9,600 m²))
• Irving Building (50 metres (160 ft)) 14-story office building
• Saint John Hilton Hotel (49 metres (161 ft)) 12-story hotel (192 rooms)
• Harbourside Senior Citizens Housing Complex (43 metres (141 ft)) 12-story apartment building
• Harbour Building (37 metres (121 ft)) 10-story office building
• Mercantile Centre (30 metres (98 ft)) 7-story office building (106,600 square feet (9,900 m²))
• Fort Howe Hotel and Convention Centre 10-story Hotel (135 rooms)
• Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites 7-story Hotel (94 rooms, 15 suites )
• Chateau Saint John 8-story Hotel (112 rooms)
• City Market (built in 1876, oldest city market in North America, with an original ship's hull roof design)

Demography

Population

Census	Population
1825	8,488
1836	12,073
1842	19,281
1850	22,745
1861	27,317
1871	28,805
1881	26,127
1891	24,184
1901	40,711
1911	42,511
1921	47,166
1931	47,514
1941	50,084
1951	50,779
1961	55,153
1971	89,039
1981	80,521
1991	74,969
1996	72,494
2001	69,661
2006	68,043

The population of the city has been in steady decline since the 1970s.

Population change, 1971–2006

Metropolitan area

In the year 2010 the population of the Greater Saint John area has grown to 129,364, of whom 47.9% were male and 52.1% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.1% of the population. People 65 and over accounted for 13.9% of the population. In the years between 1996 and 2005, the population of Saint John declined 3.6%. When the census was taken in May 2006 the population of Saint John was 72,043 compared with 69,661 in 2001.

The Census Metropolitan Area of Saint John consists of 16 municipalities and parishes in addition to the City of Saint John. They are, with their 2006 populations, the Town of Quispamsis (15,239), the Town of Rothesay (11,637), the Town of Grand Bay-Westfield (4,981), the Town of Hampton (4,004), the Parish of Simonds (3,759), the Parish of Kingston (2,888), the Parish of Hampton (2,724), the Parish of Westfield (2,053), the Parish of Upham (1,267), the Parish of Musquash (1,235), the Parish of Saint Martins (1,198), the Parish of Greenwich (1,043), the Parish of Lepreau (824), the Parish of Petersville (758), the Village of St. Martins (386), and the Parish of Rothesay (350).

Ethnicity and religion

Canada's 2006 Census found that amongst the Saint John population's reported ethnic origins, 42.1% of the population described their background as Canadian, followed by English (35.6%), Irish (33.6%), Scottish (27.3%), French (22.7%), German (6.0%), Dutch (3.2%), North American Indian (3.2%), Welsh (2.0%), and many others. (Numbers add to more than 100% due to multiple responses: e.g. "English & Scottish".) Saint John claims to be Canada's "most Irish" city.

With regard to religion, 89.2% identify as Christian (47.6% Protestant, 40.3% Roman Catholic, and 1.3% other Christian, mostly Orthodox and independent churches). 10.1% state no religious affiliation, and other religions including Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism together comprise less than 1%.

Municipal government (Common Council)

Responsibility

Saint John is governed by a body of elected officials, referred to as "Common Council" whose responsibilities include

• Setting the City Operational Budget
• Setting the City Water Utility Budget/ Rates
• Enacting and Amending By-Laws
• Rezoning and Land-Use permissions of properties in Saint John.
• Setting the Capital budget for the City.
• Act act the Board of Directors for the Corporation "City of Saint John"
• Appoint persons to City Staff and Commissions.
• Oversee the operation of City Commissions and Departments

Composition

The Common Council consists of:

• The Mayor who runs at-large, acts as Chairman of the Board.
• Two at-large Common Councilors.
• Two Common Councilors, from each of the city's four wards.

One is elected by the council to serve as Deputy Mayor.

In the October 9, 2007 Plebiscite, it was decided that as of the May 2008 quadrennial municipal elections, the city will be divided into four wards of approximately equal population, with two councilors to be elected by the voters in that ward, and two councilors to be elected at large.

See also: List of mayors of Saint John, New Brunswick

Economy

Saint John is the industrial powerhouse of the Maritime provinces of Canada. Wealthy industrialist K.C. Irving and his family built an industrial conglomerate in the city during the 20th century with interests in oil, forestry, shipbuilding, media and transportation. Irving companies remain dominant employers in the region with the most important businesses being eastern North America's first deepwater oil terminal, a pulp mill, a newsprint mill and a tissue paper plant.

Other important economic activity in the city is generated by the Port of Saint John, the Moosehead Brewery (established in 1867, is Canada's only nationally distributed independent brewery in Canada [M. Nicholson]), the New Brunswick Power Corporation which operates three electrical generating stations in the region including the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, Aliant Telecom which operates out of the former New Brunswick Telephone headquarters, numerous information technology companies and the Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation - operator of New Brunswick's largest health care facility, Saint John Regional Hospital. There are also a number of call centres which were established in the 1990s under provincial government incentives.

Saint John skyline and the Brunswick Square Office Tower (middle), the tallest building in Saint John.

Maritime activities

Until the early first decade of the 21st century, Canada's largest shipyard (Irving Shipbuilding) had been an important employer in the city. During the 1980s-early 1990s the shipyard was responsible for building 9 of the 12 Halifax class multi-purpose patrol frigates for the Canadian Navy. However, the shipyard was left without contracts for almost a decade following the warship construction.

Prior to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1950s, the Port of Saint John functioned as the winter port for Montreal, Quebec when shipping was unable to traverse the sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River. The Canadian Pacific Railway opened a line to Saint John from Montreal in 1889 across the state of Maine and transferred the majority of its trans-Atlantic passenger and cargo shipping to the port during the winter months. The port fell into decline following the seaway opening and the start of year-round icebreaker services in the 1960s. In 1994 CPR left Saint John when it sold the line to shortline operator New Brunswick Southern Railway. The Canadian National Railway still services Saint John with a secondary mainline from Moncton.

Military

Besides being the location of several historical forts, such as Fort Howe, Fort Dufferin, Fort Latour, and the Carleton Martello Tower, Saint John is the location of a number of reserve units of the Canadian Forces.

• HMCS Brunswicker - a Naval Reserve Division.
• D Company, 1st Battalion, Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton & York) - an infantry unit of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
• 3rd Field Artillery Regiment (The Loyal Company) - the oldest artillery regiment in Canada and third in the British Commonwealth, a part of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
• 31 (Saint John) Service Battalion - a Service Battalion of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
• 722 (Saint John) Communications Squadron - a unit of the Communications Reserve.

Retail

The following malls are located in the city:

Central

• Market Square (Mall/Office)
• Brunswick Square (Mall/Office)
• Shoppes of City Hall (Mall/Office)
• Trinity Royal District (Street Scape)
• Prince Edward Square (Mall/Office)
• Saint John City Market (Fresh Produce Market)

North

• Lansdowne Place (Plaza)
• Churchill Plaza (Plaza)
• Millidgeville Plaza (Plaza)

West

• Lancaster Mall (Mall)
• Lancaster Plaza (Plaza)
• Mahagony Place (Plaza)
• Main Street West (Street Scape)
• Fairville Boulevard (Plaza)
• Westwind Place (Plaza)

East

• SuperStore-Staples Mall (Plaza)
• Rothesay Avenue (Plaza)
• Loch Lomond Place (Mall/Office)
• Unnamed Hickey Road Plaza (Plaza)
• East Point Shopping Centre (Power Centre)
• Smart!Centres/Wal-Mart Plaza (Power Centre)
• Exhibition-SCA-McAllister Drive Plaza (Street Scape)
• MBD Plaza (Plaza)
• Westmorland Place (Plaza)
• Parkway Mall (Mall/Office)
• McAllister Place (Mall)

See The East Saint John Mall District

Energy projects

Canaport LNG

Canaport LNG, a partnership between Irving Oil (25%) and Repsol YPF (75%), is constructing a state-of-the-art LNG receiving and regasification terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick that will begin operations in late 2008. It will be the first LNG regasification plant in Canada, sending out natural gas to both Canadian and American Markets. The LNG have a send-out capacity, or the ability to distribute via pipeline, 1 billion cubic feet (28 million cubic meters) of natural gas a day after it has been regasified from its liquid state.

The BMO report states: “Real investment in non-residential structures is expected to jump 12.2 per cent in 2006, compared to a gain of 2.7 per cent last year. The largest increases are anticipated in the retail trade and transportation and warehousing sectors. The latter reflects work on the C$750 million Canaport liquid natural gas terminal near Saint John. Construction on the terminal began in September 2006, and the terminal is scheduled to be in operation in 2008. There is also a C$350 million pipeline planned to transport natural gas from the terminal to the U.S. border state.

Brunswick Pipeline

Emera Inc. will invest approximately $350 million, for full ownership of a proposed pipeline which will deliver natural gas from the planned Canaport(TM) Liquefied Natural Gas ( LNG) import terminal near Saint John, New Brunswick to markets in Canada and the US Northeast. Brunswick Pipeline will have a diameter of 30 inches (760 mm) and will be capable of carrying approximately 850 million cubic feet (24,000,000 m³) per day of re-gasified LNG. Capacity can be expanded with added compression. Brunswick Pipeline will deliver natural gas from the Canaport Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving and re-gasification terminal near Saint John, New Brunswick to markets in Canada and the US northeast.

The 145 km (90 mi) pipeline would extend through southwest New Brunswick to an interconnection with the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline at the Canada/US border near St. Stephen, New Brunswick. The National Energy Board (NEB) has issued its Environmental Assessment Report (EA Report) on the proposed Brunswick Pipeline project. The main finding of the EA Report is that the project is not likely to result in significant adverse environmental effects, provided Brunswick Pipeline meets all of its environmental commitments, and all of the NEB’s recommendations are implemented. The pipeline is construction was completed on January 31, 2009.

Transportation

File:Uptown from Bridge.JPG

Looking east on the Saint John Throughway, right before the Harbour Bridge and the toll plaza.

A Saint John Transit bus in uptown.

Air service into Saint John is provided by the Saint John Airport, located near Loch Lomond approximately fifteen kilometres east of the city centre. Flights are offered by Sunwing (seasonal) and Air Canada. WestJet recently decided to withdraw from the Saint John Airport.

The main highway in the city is the Saint John Throughway (Route 1). Route 1 extends west to St. Stephen, and northeast towards Moncton. A second major highway, Route 7, connects Saint John with Fredericton. There are two main road crossings over the St. John River: the Harbour Bridge and the Reversing Falls Bridge, approximately 1-nautical-mile (1.9 km) upstream.

The Reversing Falls Railway Bridge carries rail traffic for the New Brunswick Southern Railway on the route from Saint John to Maine. Passenger rail service in Saint John was discontinued in 1994, although the Canadian National Railway and New Brunswick Southern Railway continue to provide freight service.

Bay Ferries operates a ferry service across the Bay of Fundy to Digby, Nova Scotia. The Summerville to Millidgeville Ferry, a free propeller (as opposed to cable) ferry service operated by the New Brunswick Department of Transportation, connects the Millidgeville neighbourhood with Summerville, New Brunswick, across the Kennebecasis River on the Kingston Peninsula.

Bus service is provided by Saint John Transit (locally) and Acadian Lines (regionally).

Culture

Lighted 'Saint John' Sign on the Fort Howe hillside. Below it is Hilyard Place.

Symphony New Brunswick (SNB), is the province's only professional symphony orchestra. Though based locally, playing a concert series every season in Saint John, SNB offers concerts in other cities province wide. Cultural venues include:

• The Imperial Theatre
• InterAction Children's Theatre
• Saint John Theatre Company
• Opera New Brunswick
• Saint John Shakespeare Festival
• Saint John Arts Centre
• Canada Day Celebrations
• Salty Jam
• Connection Dance Works
• Third Space Gallery

Sports

Harbour Station, Saint John's main indoor arena, which is home to city's Quebec Major Junior hockey team, Saint John Sea Dogs.

The following teams are based in Saint John:

• The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Saint John Sea Dogs
• The Premiere Basketball League team Saint John Mill Rats.

The following sporting events have been held here:

• 2010 Canadian Senior Little League Championships
• 2010 Jeux d'Acadie
• 2009 Canadian Senior Little League Championships
• The Saint John Flames of the AHL played here from 1993–2003, winning the Calder Cup in 2000–2001.
• 1999 World Curling Championships
• 1998 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
• 1997 AHL All-Star Game
• 1995 Skate Canada International
• 1985 Canada Games
• In 1867, the local The Paris Crew became the rowing champions of the world.

Education

In 1964, the University of New Brunswick created UNB Saint John. Initially located in buildings throughout the downtown CBD, in 1968 UNBSJ opened a new campus in the city's Tucker Park neighbourhood. This campus has undergone expansion over the years and is the fastest growing component of the UNB system with many new buildings constructed between the 1970s-first decade of the 21st century. A trend in recent years has been a growth in the number of international students. The city also hosts a New Brunswick Community College campus in the East End of the city.

In the fall of 2007, a report commissioned by the provincial government recommended that UNBSJ and the NBCC be reformed an consolidated into a new polytechnic post-secondary institute. The proposal immediately came under heavy criticism and led to the orgnaizing of several protests in the uptown area. The diminishment of UNB as a nationally accredited university, the reduction in accessibility to receive degrees, and the are only a couple of the reasons why the community was enraged by the recommendation with support slightly below 90% to keep UNBSJ as it was, and expand the university under its current structure. Seeing that too much political capital would be lost, and that several Saint John are MPs were likely not to support the initiative if the policies recommended by the report were legislated, the government abandoned the commission's report and created an intra-provincial post-secondary commission.

Saint John is served by two school boards; District District 8 for Anglophone schools and District 1 (based out of Dieppe, New Brunswick) for the city's only Francophone school, Centre-Scolaire-Communautaire Samuel-de-Champlain. Saint John is also home to Canada's oldest publicly funded school, Saint John High School. The other high schools in the city are Harbour View High School, St. Malachy's High School, and Simonds High School.

Media

Main article: Media in Saint John, New Brunswick

Notable firsts

A blacksmith shop near Saint John harbour in the late 19th century

• Canada's first public museum, created in 1842. Originally known as the Gesner Museum, named after its Nova Scotian founder Abraham Gesner, the inventor of kerosene. The museum is now known as the New Brunswick Museum.
• First quarantine station in North America, Partridge Island. It greeted sick and dying Irish emigrants arriving to the New World with inhospitable conditions.
• The first chartered bank in Canada, 1830, the Bank of New Brunswick.
• Canada's oldest publicly funded high school, Saint John High School
• The world's first foghorn as invented by Robert Foulis.
• First penny newspaper in the Empire, Saint John News, established in 1838 (tri-weekly) by George E Fenety.
• Canada's first Y.W.C.A. established in 1870 by Mrs. Agnes A. Blizzard, in a house on Germain Street.
• First police union in the world was formed in Saint John in 1919.
• First Miss Canada Mrs. Harold Drummie (née Winnie Blair) - 1923.
• First public playground in Canada which was started by Miss Mabel Peters. This playground is known as the Allison Ground Playground in Rockwood Court. On July 16, 2009, 103 years after its opening, Allison Ground Playground is the first playground, that Mabel Peters encouraged, to be renamed in her honour as Mabel Peters Playground.
• First Minister of Health of the British Empire, W. F. Roberts, M.D.
• First Knights of Pythias in British Empire.
• First monitor top railroad cars in the world invented by James Ferguson. The original model is in the New Brunswick Museum in Saint John.
• First orchestra to accompany a silent moving picture on the North American continent was by Walter Golding in the old nickel theater, May 1907.
• First clockwork time bomb developed in 1880.
• First steam powered fog horn was invented in the city.

Notable citizens

• Jonathan Bliss, United Empire Loyalist, Chief Justice of New Brunswick
• Anne Compton, winner of the Governor General's Award for poetry, director of the Lorenzo Reading Series.
• Stompin' Tom Connors, musician
• James De Mille, novelist and educator
• Mort Garson, an electronic musician
• Abraham Pineo Gesner, the inventor of kerosene; what began as Gesner's Museum in 1842 is now known as the New Brunswick Museum.
• Stuart Howe, operatic tenor
  • George Edwin King, statesman, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
• Thomas Leavitt, banker, diplomat
• Bill Magee, MLB Baseball player
• Louis B. Mayer, Hollywood producer of MGM fame, was born in the Russian Empire but raised in Saint John.
• Art McGovern, MLB Baseball player
• J. Gordon McNulty , Superior Court Judge, Los Angeles, CA, was born and raised in Saint John.
• William Murdoch, poet
• Arthur J. Nesbitt, cofounder of Nesbitt, Thomson & Co. and Power Corporation of Canada
• Alden Nowlan, poet
• John O'Brien, MLB Baseball player
• Bill O'Neil, MLB Baseball player
• Bill Phillips, MLB Baseball player
• George Frederick Phillips, military hero
• Walter Pidgeon, actor
• Young Pluto, professional boxer
• Matt Stairs, MLB Baseball player
• Donald Sutherland, actor

See also

• Grand Bay-Westfield
• Quispamsis
• Rothesay
• St. John County

External links

• City of Saint John official website
• Tourism Saint John
• TrinityRoyal.com - The Historic Heart of Saint John
• The New Brunswick Museum.
• Heritage Resources Saint John