Administrative divisions of New Brunswick

The Canadian province of New Brunswick is divided into 89 local entities, consisting of 77 local governments and 12 rural districts.

New Brunswick local governance entities

A local government can be a city, town, village, regional municipality or rural community, mainly according to population.^[1] Cities generally provide more services than smaller entities.^[2] Services include certain transportation, environmental, security, and recreational and culture services.^[3]

Ninety-five per cent of the population lives in a city, town, village, regional municipality, or rural community and can vote to elect responsible local government. Parts of the province not covered by these local governments are divided into rural districts. These are sparsely populated unincorporated areas.^{[citation needed]} Each district elects councillors to form an advisory committee to advise the minister on local matters.

Twelve regional service commissions provide services over larger areas.^[4]

History

In 1784 New Brunswick was created via the partitioning of the Colony of Nova Scotia and divided into the counties of NB, which were in turn divided into parishes. By the 1960s the province was a patchwork of incorporated cities, towns, villages, local improvement districts,^[5] and local administrative commissions.^[6] Under this system, many public services including healthcare, social services, and education were provided by county government.^[7] Underfunded poor counties were stuck in a "perpetual cycle of poverty".^[7]

In response, Liberal premier Louis Robichaud introduced the Equal Opportunity Program.^[8] This reformed municipal taxation, and via the 1966 Municipalities Act^[8] eliminated county governments and led to the subsequent centralization of many of their powers. In 1967 counties ceased to exist as government units and nonmunicipal incorporated bodies^{[lower-alpha 1]} were converted to villages. A new governance unit, the local service district (LSD), was created to administer local services like fire departments in some rural areas.^{[lower-alpha 2]} The new villages were given the same municipal powers as towns and cities.^[1] Existing cities and towns were not changed,^[9] while existing villages^{[lower-alpha 3]} were converted to the new village model.

Regional service commissions were added in 2012.

The 2023 New Brunswick local governance reform was an overhaul of the system as follows:^[10]

• 104 local governments were reduced to 77, primarily by combining existing municipalities. Few municipalities were unaffected by the changes, with some new municipalities created by combining LSDs.
• Local service districts were dissolved. Some joined existing or new municipalities or rural communities, while remaining LSD areas were combined to form 12 rural districts corresponding to the regional service commissions. A significant number of LSDs were split between municipalities and rural districts.
• Regional service commissions assumed increased powers; many had their boundaries adjusted.
• Land use planning was improved.
• Financing local governance finance was reformed.

Local governance divisions

Name	Status	Regional service commission	Entity number
Acadian Peninsula	rural district	Acadian Peninsula	4
Alnwick	rural community	Greater Miramichi	20
Arcadia	village	Capital Region	66
Bathurst	city	Chaleur	12
Belledune	village	Chaleur	10
Beaurivage	town	Kent	26
Beausoleil	rural community	Kent	31
Bois-Joli	village	Restigouche	8
Butternut Valley	rural community	Kings	79
Campbellton	city	Restigouche	7
Campobello Island	rural community	Southwest	55
Cap-Acadie	town	Southeast	38
Capital Region	rural district	Capital Region	11
Caraquet	town	Acadian Peninsula	14
Carleton North	town	Western Valley	76
Central York	rural community	Capital Region	70
Chaleur	rural district	Chaleur	3
Champdoré	town	Kent	30
Dieppe	city	Southeast	36
Doaktown	village	Greater Miramichi	23
Eastern Charlotte	rural community	Southwest	53
Edmundston	city	Northwest	2
Five Rivers	village	Kent	28
Fredericton	city	Capital Region	69
Fredericton Junction	village	Capital Region	60
Fundy	rural district	Fundy	9
Fundy Albert	village	Southeast	42
Fundy Shores	rural community	Southwest	52
Fundy-St. Martins	village	Fundy	46
Grand Bay-Westfield	town	Fundy	51
Grand-Bouctouche	town	Kent	29
Grand Falls	town	Northwest	4
Grand Lake	village	Capital Region	67
Grand Manan	village	Southwest	54
Greater Miramichi	rural district	Greater Miramichi	5
Hampton	town	Fundy	47
Hanwell	rural community	Capital Region	62
Hartland	town	Western Valley	74
Harvey	rural community	Capital Region	59
Haut-Madawaska	town	Northwest	1
Hautes-Terres	town	Acadian Peninsula	17
Heron Bay	town	Restigouche	9
Île-de-Lamèque	town	Acadian Peninsula	15
Kedgwick	rural community	Northwest	6
Kent	rural district	Kent	6
Kings	rural district	Kings	8
Lakeland Ridges	village	Western Valley	72
Maple Hills	rural community	Southeast	32
Memramcook	village	Southeast	41
Miramichi	city	Greater Miramichi	21
Miramichi River Valley	rural community	Greater Miramichi	22
McAdam	village	Southwest	58
Moncton	city	Southeast	34
Nackawic-Millville	rural community	Capital Region	71
Nashwaak	rural community	Capital Region	68
Neguac	village	Acadian Peninsula	19
New Maryland	village	Capital Region	64
Northwest	rural district	Northwest	1
Nouvelle-Arcadie	village	Kent	25
Oromocto	town	Capital Region	65
Quispamsis	town	Fundy	48
Restigouche	rural district	Restigouche	2
Rivière-du-Nord	town	Acadian Peninsula	13
Rothesay	town	Fundy	49
Saint Andrews	town	Southwest	56
Saint John	city	Fundy	50
Saint-Quentin	town	Northwest	5
Salisbury	town	Southeast	33
Shediac	town	Southeast	37
Shippagan	town	Acadian Peninsula	16
Southeast	rural district	Southeast	7
Southern Victoria	village	Western Valley	77
Southwest	rural district	Southwest	10
St. Stephen	town	Southwest	57
Strait Shores	rural community	Southeast	39
Sunbury-York South	rural community	Capital Region	63
Sussex	town	Kings	44
Tantramar	town	Southeast	40
Three Rivers	village	Southeast	43
Tobique Valley	village	Western Valley	78
Tracadie	regional municipality	Acadian Peninsula	18
Tracy	village	Capital Region	61
Upper Miramichi	rural community	Greater Miramichi	24
Vallée-des-Rivières	town	Northwest	3
Valley Waters	village	Kings	45
Western Valley	rural district	Western Valley	12
Woodstock	town	Western Valley	73

Other jurisdictions of the province

Census areas

Census Canada divides the province into census divisions and subdivisions, population centres, and economic regions (Fredericton-Moncton-Saint John, Madawaska-Charlotte, Restigouche-Albert).

Health authorities

The New Brunswick Department of Health funds two regional health authorities: Horizon Health Network and Vitalité Health Network. The province is divided into seven health regions, with Region 1 being managed under both networks; regions 2, 3, and 7 under the Horizon network; and regions 4, 5, and 6 under the Vitalité network.^[11]

Protected areas

• National Parks (Fundy and Kouchibouguac) and provincial parks.
• Canadian Heritage Rivers System: the Saint John, St. Croix, and Restigouche rivers.
• National Wildlife Areas and National Migratory Bird Sanctuaries administered by the Canadian Wildlife Service.
• Protected Natural Areas legally protected under the provincial Protected Natural Areas Act.^[12]

Indian reserves

There are 15 First Nations in New Brunswick.

Canadian Forces bases

There is one Canadian Forces Base, CFB Gagetown.

See also

fr:Gouvernance locale au Nouveau-Brunswick (local government in NB)

Notes

1. These were commissions, which received grants from the province and had some administrative powers, and local improvement districts, which were formed to administer purely local services like sewage systems but had no significant powers.
2. Large areas of the province received only the most basic provincial services like highway maintenance; these were not part of the local service district system.
3. Port Elgin and the township of McAdam, which was a village for municipal purposes.

References

1. "Why local governments?" (PDF). Canadian Political Science Association. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. "Rural Districts" (PDF). Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
3. Antoft, Kell; Novack, Jack (1998). Grassroots democracy: local government in the Maritimes. Halifax, N.S.: Henson College, Dalhousie University. ISBN 9780770310141.
4. "Structure of the new Regional Service Commissions". Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
5. Finn, Jean-Guy. "Report of the Commissioner on the Future of Local Governance" (PDF). Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
6. "Municipalities Act, SNB 1966(1), c 20". CanLII. Retrieved 14 May 2023. Section 23 and the Second Schedule deal with the commissions.
7. Comeau, Jean-Sébastien (2018). "Assessing the Editorial Discourse Around the Equal Opportunity Program in New Brunswick" (PDF). University of Ottawa.
8. Government of New Brunswick, Canada (30 May 2015). "This Week in New Brunswick History". www1.gnb.ca. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
9. "Working together for vibrant and sustainable communities white paper" (PDF). Government of New Brunswick.
10. "Path forward". Government of New Brunswick. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
11. "Regional Health Authorities Act". laws.gnb.ca. Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
12. "What is a Protected Natural Area?". www2.gnb.ca. Government of New Brunswick. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2021.