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Saint John, New Brunswick
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Saint John is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the oldest incorporated city in Canada. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 68,043. The population of the Census Metropolitan Area is 122,389, second largest in New Brunswick.
The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River.
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ated 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 Saint John River valley north of the bay became the domain of the Maliseet Nation.
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Saint John is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the oldest incorporated city in Canada. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 68,043. The population of the Census Metropolitan Area is 122,389, second largest in New Brunswick.
The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River.
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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 Saint John River valley north of the bay became the domain of the Maliseet Nation. The mouth of the Saint 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 St-Jean.
The strategic location at the mouth of the St. John River was fortified by Charles de la Tour in 1631. After several wars between the French and the British, Saint John passed to the British. Fort LaTour was renamed in 1758 as Fort Frederick, and was destroyed during the American Revolutionary War; Fort Howe was built nearby at the insistence of newly-arriving Loyalist refugees. During this war and the War of 1812, the city's location made it a probable target of attacks, thus several military forts were constructed, namely Fort Dufferin and one of Canada's sixteen Martello Towers.
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.
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 nineteenth 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.
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.
Demographics
Population
According to a mid-2005 survey, there were 122,389 people residing in the Greater Saint John area, of whom 48.1% were male and 51.9% were female. Children under five accounted for approximately 5.5% of the population. People 65 and over accounted for 13.1% 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 68,043 compared with 69,661 in 2001.
Although the population of the city of Saint John itself is slightly larger than that of the city of Moncton, Moncton has a larger Census Metropolitan Area. The population of the city of Saint John has been in steady decline for several decades; however, in light of recent economic growth this trend is expected to reverse.
Ethnicity and religion
Canada's 2001 Census found that amongst the Saint John population's reported ethnic origins, 49.2% of the population described their background as "Canadian", followed by English (32.1%), Irish (30.0%), Scottish (24.4%), French (20.8%), German (4.6%), Dutch (2.6%), North American Indian (2.2%), Welsh (1.6%), 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%.
Churches
Catholicism
- Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church (11 Canon Street, North)
- Saint Pius X Roman Catholic Church(316 Somerset Street, North)
- The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church (91 Waterloo Street, South)
- Saint John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church (Broad Street, South)
- The Assumption Roman Catholic Church (360 Dufferin Row, West)
- Saint Ann's Roman Catholic Church (135 Simpson Drive, East)
- Saint Joachim's Roman Catholic Parish (603 Loch Lomond Road, East)
- Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (4347 Loch Lomond Road, East)
- Saint Rose Of Lima Roman Catholic Church (541 Milford Road, West)
- Saint Matthew's Roman Catholic Parish (1 Dollard Dr)
- Stella Maris Roman Catholic Church (201 Bayside Drive, East)
- St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (33 Dorchester St.)
- St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church (50 Clarendon Street)
- Paroisse St-Francois-de-Sales (77 Ragged Point Road, North)
Protestantism
- Saint John Vineyard Church (204 Carmarthen Street, South)
- First United Pentecostal Church (130 Mark Drive)
- Torch for Truth Tabernacle (60 Church ave)
- Main Street Baptist Church (211 Main Street, North)
- Forest Hills Baptist Church (36 Mountain Road, East)
- Park Avenue United Church (100 Wilton Street, East)
- St John's Stone Church (87 Carleton St.)
- Silver falls United Church (1832 Loch Lomond Road)
- St Mark's United Church (Dexter Dr. West)
- Hillcrest Baptist Church (476 Lancaster Ave.)
Other
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (177 Manchester Ave.)
- Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses (2020 Loch Lomond Road, East)
- Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses (Magazine St.)
- Unitarian Universalist Church of Saint John (Sandy Point Road)
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 9th 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.
Climate and geography
Climate
The climate of Saint John is humid temperate continental. 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 . Summers are cool to moderately warm, and daytime temperatures usually do not exceed . Saint John experiences a considerable amount of fog during the summer months, though the fog usually does not last throughout the entire day.
Precipitation in Saint John is heavy 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.
Physical geography
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 Rapids 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 15 metres (50 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.
Neighbourhoods
Saint John is a city of neighbourhoods, with many 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 central peninsula on the western side 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 Saint John River can only transit the Reversing Falls gorge at slack tide, thus Indiantown became a location during the nineteenth and twentieth 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 neighbourhood 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 neighborhood. 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 1800s. 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 commercial 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. 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 neighborhoods are found here, including Forest Hills and Champlain Heights.
West Side
West of the St. John River, the city is collectively referred to as West Side, however West Saint Johners typically divide this 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 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.
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 2-block area of the Uptown area (see ) 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 2000s 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 Saint John River - the very area where the waterfront redevelopment is being proposed (see ). 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.
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.
Maritime activities
Until the early 2000s, Canada's largest shipyard 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. Canadian National Railway still services Saint John with a secondary mainline from Moncton.
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 and will be capable of carrying approximately 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 kilometer pipeline would extend through southwest New Brunswick to an interconnection with the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline at the Canada/US border near St. Stephen, NB. 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 under construction and it expected to be in service by the end of 2008
Buildings and structures
- Courtney Bay Smokestacks (each 106.7 metres)
- Brunswick Square (80.8 m) 19-story office building with 511,032 sq/ft 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.
- Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Gothic style Catholic cathedral, construction began in 1853, its spire rises to 70.1m)
- City Hall (55.2 m) 15-story office building (165,000 S/F)
- Brunswick House (52 m) 14-story office building (103,000 S/F)
- Irving Building (50 m) 14-story office building
- Saint John Hilton Hotel (49 m) 12-story hotel (192 rooms)
- Harbourside Senior Citizens Housing Complex (43 m) 12-story apartment building
- Harbour Building (37 m) 10-story office building
- Mercantile Centre (30 m) 7-story office building (106,600 S/F)
- Fort Howe Hotel and Convention Centre 10-story Hotel (135 rooms)
- Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites 7-story Hotel (94 rooms, 15 suites )
- City Market (built in 1876, oldest city market in North America, with an original ship's hull roof design)
Transportation
Air service into Saint John is provided by the Saint John Airport, located near Loch Lomond approximately fifteen kilometres east of the city centre. Recently, with the economic prospective forecasts, Westjet, Sunwing as well as Air Canada are showing significant confidence in the market by increasing significantly the number of flights in the city.
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 Saint John River: the Harbour Bridge and the Reversing Falls Bridge, approximately 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
Places where cultural events take place include:
Sports
The following sporting events have been held here:
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-2000s. 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 merged to form a post-secondary institution independent of the University of New Brunswick and the NBCC system. The proposal recommended calling this new school a polytechnic to reflect a new focus on undergraduate- and graduate-level engineering, sciences and business.
The proposed reduction in the humanities and the new name (which led some observers to believe that there would be no university-level programs offered at the new institution) prompted criticism. The plan was eventually shelved and it was clarified that Saint John would retain its full university campus, though many details remain unclear.
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 sole Francophone school, Centre-Scolaire-Communautaire Samuel-de-Champlain. A private school, Rothesay Netherwood School is located in the adjacent town of Rothesay. Saint John is also home to Canada's oldest publicly funded school, Saint John High School. The other high schools in the city, all belonging to School District 8, are Harbour View High School, St. Malachy's High School, and Simonds High School.
Media
Military
Besides being the location of several historical forts, such as Fort Howe, Fort Dufferin, and a Martello Tower, Saint John is the location of a number of reserve units of the Canadian Forces.
- - a Naval Reserve Division.
- D Company, 1st Battalion, Royal New Brunswick Regiment (Carleton & York) - an infantry unit of .
- (The Loyal Company) - the oldest artillery regiment in Canada and third in the British Commonwealth, a part of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
- - a Service Battalion of 37 Canadian Brigade Group.
- - a unit of the Communications Reserve.
Notable firsts
- Canada's first public museum, 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 (nee 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.
- 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
Sister Cities
- Newport, RI
- Bangor, ME
- Donghae, Gangwon
Notable citizens
- Benedict Arnold, an American general who tried to surrender West Point to the British in the American Revolution
- 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.
- George Edwin King, statesman, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
- Louis B. Mayer, Hollywood producer of MGM fame, was born in the Russian Empire but raised in Saint John.
- William Murdoch, poet
- Arthur J. Nesbitt, cofounder of Nesbitt, Thomson & Co. and Power Corporation of Canada
- Alden Nowlan, poet
- The Paris Crew, world rowing champions Robert Fulton, George Price, Samuel Hutton, Elijah Ross
- George Frederick Phillips, military hero
- Walter Pidgeon, actor
- Donald Sutherland, actor
- Thomas Leavitt, banker, diplomat
- Lyman Ward, actor
- Matt Stairs, MLB Baseball player
See also
External links
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