Counties and Parishes of New Brunswick, Canada

    The province of New Brunswick is divided into counties, which are in turn divided into civil parishes. From the founding of the province until the mid-nineteenth century, they were the only form of local government, except for the incorporated City of Saint John. The counties and parishes continued to function even after towns began to incorporate in the latter part of the century. The system of county government was finally abolished in the 1960s by the Robichaud government, and since then municipal services have been provided exclusively through cities, towns, villages, and local service districts. The county and parish boundaries are now used mainly for geographic description and, to some extent, for electoral and census districts and other administrative purposes.

    Although there are many excellent websites that provide lists of the counties and parishes with their historical evolution, there seems to be a lack of information on their origin and role. The purpose of this website is to attempt to fill that gap and provide some new information that will supplement the lists.

Site Contents

• Overview, FAQs and Miscellaneous Facts   (added 14 Oct 2001)

 
• Lists of Counties and Parishes   (added 16 May 2001)
• The First Counties and Parishes, 1785 - 86   (updated 6 Jan 2002)
• Parish Officers   (updated 21 Oct 2001)

• Territorial Division Act, 1786    (updated 16 May 2001)
• Charlotte County - Parish Legislation   (updated 10 Nov 2001)
• Carleton County Formation, 1831-32 and Carleton County Act    (added 20 May 2001)
• Charlotte County Formation, 1785 (Letters patent creating county.)   (added 16 Feb 2002)
• Sunbury County Formation, 1785 (Letters patent creating county.)   (added 6 Nov 2001)

• British Counties, Parishes, etc. for Genealogists - This is a good site that explains the history of counties, parishes, and other local units in Britain.  (added 14 Oct 2001)