New Brunswick Real Estate
Shawna Roy
Designated Broker
Provincial Office
82 Westmoreland St
Suite 406A
Fredericton, NB E3B 3L3
New Brunswick is Canada’s only officially bilingual province, making it the cultural hub of the country. With its many scenic landmarks and entertainment attractions, there is never a dull moment in New Brunswick. The coast of the “Picture Province” offers sandstone cliffs, lighthouses, and charming fishing villages, making for a home with an oceanic view. The maritime province loves to celebrate its multicultural population with a plethora of festivals throughout the year. The larger towns provide museums, theatres, and art galleries galore, along with many historical re-enactments. Read more.
Search New Brunswick Homes
Just Listed New Brunswick Homes For Sale
About New Brunswick
Magnetic Hill theme park offers a zoo, water-slides, and other types of family fun for an exciting daytime adventure. New Brunswick has an abundance of versatile experiences for everyone, which explains why it’s considered the “Hidden Gem” of Canada.
New Brunswick sits off by itself in Canada’s Atlantic corner. Wedged between the US state of Maine and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia, New Brunswick is the quintessential maritime province. Large forests of pine and spruce dominate the interior, and two long, picturesque coastlines form most of the province’s borders. New Brunswick is as rural as it gets, with an almost-even split of the population living either in the city or the country. The economy relies heavily upon forestry, fishing, and farming, with mining coming to form a larger and larger share of the job market. New Brunswick is the perfect place for those looking for quiet, small-town living.
History of the province
Out of a plethora of First Nations living along the hills and coastlines of what would one day be New Brunswick, the Mi’kmaq and the Maliseet are exemplary of the Indigenous heritage of the province. The Mi’kmaq hunted and trapped along the rivers and are still known today as great fishermen. The Maliseet focused more on farming, as well as building and maintaining strong villages.
The first European contact came not in the form of the French, or the English, but the Vikings. Five hundred years before Columbus landed in the West Indies, Viking explorers moved down the jagged coastline of Labrador, then Newfoundland, and touched briefly down in New Brunswick, which they called Vinland. They didn’t stay long, and it would be another five hundred years before a European set foot in the area.
French settlement in the region was sparse at first, with small towns along the coast and scattered farmland etched out of the massive hardwood forests that covered New Brunswick from end to end. Gradually, the culture of Acadia arose from the hard pioneering days of small farms, ocean fishing, and the beaver trade. New Brunswick was a frontier, in every sense of the word, and for almost two hundred years the French lived on this frontier until the English moved in.
At the dawn of the eighteenth century, wars with England eroded France’s power in the region, resulting in the loss of its control over New Brunswick as well as the surrounding areas. The French Acadians, who for generations had called this forested land home, were displaced. Some went farther west, some went south into what is now Maine, and some went all the way down to the bayou country around New Orleans, where the term Acadian gradually became Cajun.
It remains rural, with a few large cities, and an economy based on fishing, lumber, and shipbuilding. New Brunswick took to the modern era at an easy-going pace. Even today, over 83% of its territory is forested. Life is slow, relying on what the land and seas have to offer, making New Brunswick one of the quietest and most tranquil corners of Canada.
new brunswick transportation
A car is a must to live in New Brunswick. The Trans-Canada Highway runs down the southern and western edges of New Brunswick, servicing the mainly Anglophone cities of Moncton, Fredericton, and St. John. In the more French-speaking north, smaller roads link the many small coastal and inland towns together. Fredericton and Moncton both have international airports while the rest of the province is dotted with smaller regional airports.
things to do in new brunswick
- Visit the Fundy Trail
- Located right on the Atlantic Coast, the Fundy Trail offers hikers, bikers, and cruisers endless kilometres of breathtaking views of the ocean, the vertical coastline, and the shaded pine forests that come right up to the water. Through spring, summer, fall, and winter, this parkway will always have something new to offer. We highly recommend visiting during neap tide, where the famous New Brunswick tides are on full display. Come for the day and watch the water rise and fall as much as 15 metres or more.
- Visit Moncton
- With its central location between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and a history dating back to 1766, Moncton is a great place for all New Brunswickers to visit. Come in the summer and soak up the hot and sunny days at either of the city’s two water parks. Don’t neglect to visit Magnetic Hill Zoo, which is the largest zoo in Atlantic Canada and rated 4th as the best in the whole country. From Moncton you can travel easily into New Brunswick’s French-speaking north, head east to the big city of Halifax in Nova Scotia, or even take a two hour drive to Prince Edward Island! For New Brunswickers looking to do some travelling, Moncton is the place to be.
- Visit Miramichi, the city of festivals
- A small, unassuming city of ten thousand on the riverside, New Brunswickers know there’s more to Miramichi than meets the eyes. Located in the Francophone north, Miramichi hosts a wide variety of events and festivals all throughout the year. Come up for the Rock N Roll festival in the summer, or the zombie walk in the fall, quilt shows in the winter and market days in the spring. There’s a little something for everyone in Miramichi.
- Fundy National Park
- Located in the southeastern corner of New Brunswick, Fundy National Park is only an hour away from Moncton. This park might look small at first glance, but it has a wealth of fun activities, relaxing trails, and gorgeous vistas for anyone looking for a fun day trip into nature. If you want to get out on the water, you can kayak in the powerful Bay of Fundy, whose tides drop some 15 metres along the coast. Going inland, there are trails leading to waterfalls, rapids, and more. With over 100 kilometres of biking and walking trails, you’ll have no problem seeing the woods differently each time you visit. In the winter, it gets even better! The park stays open for those wishing to snowshoe, toboggan, or cross country ski along those same paths you walked on in the summer! Fundy National Park is a treasure that all New Brunswickers can enjoy.
- New River Beach Provincial Park
- Also on the Bay of Fundy and only a half an hour away from Saint John, New River Beach offers fun in the sun all summer long. The beach is surrounded by its own provincial park which has plenty of opportunities to camp, go kayaking, or enjoy the many tidal pools left behind by the extreme tides of the Bay of Fundy. You’ll be able to find sandpipers, crabs, and even starfish. Be sure to stop by for the annual Sand Sculpture Competition and put your sandcastle skills to the test!
- Hopewell Rocks
- These world-famous rock formations wow visitors from New Brunswick and beyond. They stand like pillars left behind by giants, with one even featuring an arch topped with pine trees! Formed by the tidal erosion that has given New Brunswick one of the most distinctive coastlines in North America, the Hopewell Rocks are a gem of natural wonder, the product of ocean and stone. Seen at high tide or low tide, these monolithic marvels will leave you in awe of nature’s power and will have you coming back for more.
- Visit St. Andrews
- St. Andrews is a quaint little seaside town not far from the border with Maine. Founded in the eighteenth century, St. Andrews still retains its three hundred-year-old street grid and market square. Whether visiting for a weekend or a week, there’s more than enough fun activities to go around, ranging from golf, to an aquarium, and even whale watching! With a lighthouse, fortified blockhouse, and a beautiful, expansive historic hotel, St. Andrews is the perfect ocean get-away.
- Visit Saint John
- The second-largest city in New Brunswick, and the third-largest port in all of Canada, Saint John is a charming city with a history dating well back into the 1700’s. Come visit its museums, theatres, and annual music festival, Area 506. Walk the waterfront in the evening and attend a performance by the Symphony New Brunswick in the Imperial Theatre.
- Kouchibouguac National Park
- Try saying that three times fast! Kouchibouguac National Park is a national treasure for Canada, and a nice break from the southern coast attractions of New Brunswick. Kouchibouguac stays in touch with the First Nation’s heritage of New Brunswick, featuring an interpretive wigwam to give insight to the cultures and lifestyles of the Mi’kmaq people. This park features a great mixture of wetlands, pine forests, and even sand dunes. Come at night for stargazing, and in the winter for all kinds of snowsports.
- Visit the Capitol, Fredericton
- We would be remiss if we didn’t mention New Brunswick’s capital. Centrally located in the province, Fredericton is a great place to visit for its history and culture. The city hosts several music festivals throughout the year, with music ranging from jazz to symphonies. Perhaps owing to its small size and a campus of the University of New Brunswick located within the city, Fredericton is the top choice for New Brunswickian artists, boasting many famous writers and painters over its long history!
