Editing New Brunswick (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of New Brunswick}}
{{See|Monarchy in New Brunswick#History}}

===Indigenous societies and European explorations (pre-1604)===
{{Main|Settlement of the Americas|Indigenous peoples in New Brunswick|Exploration of North America}}
[[Paleo-Indians]] are believed to have been the first humans on the land of New Brunswick, settling there roughly 10,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web |title=First Arrivals |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/indigenous/first-arrivals.php |website=www.heritage.nf.ca |publisher=Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador |access-date=21 December 2022 |archive-date=22 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222031032/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/indigenous/first-arrivals.php |url-status=live }}</ref> Because their descendants did not leave a written record, there is a lack of knowledge of the history of the area before the arrival of European explorers. At the time of European contact, inhabitants were the [[Mi'kmaq|Micmac]] of New Brunswick's eastern coast, the [[Maliseet]] of the [[Wolastoq]] valley, and the [[Passamaquoddy]] of the [[St. Croix River (Maine–New Brunswick)|St. Croix River]] valley. Many tribal placenames originate from their [[Eastern Algonquian languages]], such as [[Aroostook, New Brunswick|Aroostook]], [[Bouctouche]], [[Memramcook]], [[Petitcodiac, New Brunswick|Petitcodiac]], [[Quispamsis]], [[Richibucto]] and [[Shediac]].

The first documented European exploration of New Brunswick was made by [[Jacques Cartier]] in 1534, when his party set foot in [[Miscou]] and explored the coasts of [[Chaleur Bay]]. They made contact with aboriginals, who from this point on began to trade with Europeans. This also exposed them to [[Old World]] diseases.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jacques Cartier 1534-1542 {{!}} Musée virtuel de la Nouvelle France |url=https://www.museedelhistoire.ca/musee-virtuel-de-la-nouvelle-france/les-explorateurs/jacques-cartier-1534-1542/ |access-date=22 December 2022 |archive-date=22 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222031324/https://www.museedelhistoire.ca/musee-virtuel-de-la-nouvelle-france/les-explorateurs/jacques-cartier-1534-1542/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Acadia and Nova Scotia (1604–1784)===
{{Main|Acadia|New France}}
[[Acadia]], a colonial division of [[New France]] covering the [[Maritime provinces|Maritimes]], was founded in 1604 by [[Samuel de Champlain]] and [[Pierre Dugua de Mons]] with a settlement on [[Saint Croix Island, Maine|Saint Croix Island]].{{cn|date=April 2025}} It was quickly abandoned due to difficult living conditions and moved to Acadia's capital, [[Port-Royal (Acadia)|Port-Royal]]. There, the Micmacs helped the French survive. In 1626, Port-Royal was destroyed by the British. The British conquered Acadia shortly after and held it until 1629. [[James VI and I]], King of Scotland, renamed it "Nova Scotia" in English.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

The Micmacs helped all French survivors, including [[Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour]]. Together, they established a [[fur trade]] network along the [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Saint John River]]. With the onset of the [[Anglo-French War (1627–1629)]], de la Tour was issued a charter to govern Acadia.{{cn|date=April 2025}} In 1629, Acadia was officially returned to France. As such, a new wave of French settlers arrived in Port-Royal to revitalise the colony, including [[Isaac de Razilly]], a new [[governor of Acadia]], and [[Charles de Menou d'Aulnay]], his cousin. de Razilly and de la Tour's charters conflicted with each others',{{cn|date=April 2025}} but the two maintained an amicable relationship. In 1635, de Razilly died, triggering tensions between de la Tour, who governed from the Saint John valley, and d'Aulnay, who governed from Port-Royal. In the 1630s, this erupted into the [[Acadian Civil War]]. d'Aulnay managed to expel de la Tour in 1644. But, following d'Aulnay's death in 1650, de la Tour married his widow in 1653, essentially overturning his success.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

Over time, French settlement extended up the river to the site of present-day [[Fredericton]]. Other settlements in the southeast extended from [[Beaubassin]], near the present-day border with Nova Scotia, to [[Baie Verte, New Brunswick|Baie Verte]], and up the [[Petitcodiac, New Brunswick|Petitcodiac]], [[Memramcook, New Brunswick|Memramcook]], and [[Shepody, New Brunswick|Shepody]] Rivers.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Histoire des Acadiens |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w9vN1chq0i0C |publisher=Les Editions Fides |date=1 January 2004 |isbn=9782762126136 |language=fr |first1=Bona |last1=Arsenault |first2=Pascal |last2=Alain |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328002830/https://books.google.com/books?id=w9vN1chq0i0C |archive-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> The descendants of Acadia's French colonists became the [[Acadians]]. Acadians developed a unique society characterised by dyking technology, which allowed them to cultivate marshes left by the [[Bay of Fundy]]'s tides, and by tightly knit independent communities, because they were often neglected by French authorities.<ref>{{cite web |title=New Brunswick {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-brunswick |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |access-date=22 December 2022 |archive-date=1 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201202141/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-brunswick |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 1690s, in [[King William's War]], attacks were launched from the Saint John valley by [[Military history of the Acadians|Acadian militias]] onto New England colonists. This would create a deep English hostility against the French presence in the region.

From the 1600s to mid-1700s, Acadia was routinely a war zone between the French and the English and would often change hands. However, Acadia would definitively fall into British hands following [[Queen Anne's War]], a conquest of most of the Acadian peninsula, formalized by the [[Treaty of Utrecht (1713)|Treaty of Utrecht of 1713]]. After the war, Acadia was reduced to Île Saint-Jean ([[Prince Edward Island]]) and [[Île-Royale (New France)|Île-Royale]] ([[Cape Breton Island]]), with the ownership of continental Acadia (New Brunswick) being disputed between France and Britain, with an informal border on the [[Isthmus of Chignecto]]. In an effort to limit British expansion into continental Acadia, the French built [[Fort Beauséjour]] at the isthmus in 1751. [[File:FortBeausejour1750McCordMuseum.jpg|thumb|left|[[Fort Beauséjour]] at the [[Isthmus of Chignecto]]. The French built the fort in 1751 in an effort to limit British expansion into continental Acadia.]]

From 1749 to 1755, [[Father Le Loutre's War]] took place, where British soldiers fought against Acadians and Micmacs to consolidate their power over Acadia/Nova Scotia. In 1755, the British [[Battle of Fort Beauséjour|captured Fort Beauséjour]], severing the Acadian supply lines to Nova Scotia, and Île-Royale. Continental Acadia thus came to be incorporated into the British colony of Nova Scotia with the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] in 1763. Following this, the British, unsatisfied with the Acadian's surrender because they refused to pledge allegiance, turned to capturing and exporting Acadians en masse, an [[ethnic cleansing]] event known as the [[Deportation of the Acadians]] which was ordered by [[Robert Monckton]]. From 1755 to 1763, 12,000 Acadians out of 18,000 were forcefully deported to various locations around the world, though 8000 died before arrival. The remaining 6000 Acadians escaped the British by fleeing North to the present ''[[Acadia (region)|Acadia]]'', or to [[Canada (New France)|Canada]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Acadian Expulsion (the Great Upheaval) {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-deportation-of-the-acadians-feature |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |access-date=22 December 2022 |archive-date=9 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809191748/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-deportation-of-the-acadians-feature |url-status=live }}</ref> From 1755 to 1757, most Acadians were deported to the [[Thirteen Colonies]]. From 1758 to 1762, most were sent to France. Between 1763 and 1785, many deported Acadians relocated to join their compatriots in [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]]. Their descendants became [[Cajuns]]. In the 1780s and 1790s, some Acadians returned to Acadia, and discovered several thousand English immigrants, mostly from New England, on their former lands.<ref name="hc">{{cite web |title=New Brunswick |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-brunswick/ |website=[[Historica Canada]] |access-date=13 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213134748/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-brunswick/ |archive-date=13 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=La déportation, la migration et le rétablissement des Acadiens - Canadian-American Center - University of Maine |url=https://umaine.edu/canam/publications/st-croix/la-deportation-la-migration-et-le-retablissement-des-acadiens/ |access-date=19 February 2023 |website=Canadian-American Center |language=en-US |archive-date=19 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219150521/https://umaine.edu/canam/publications/st-croix/la-deportation-la-migration-et-le-retablissement-des-acadiens/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the late 1700s, the British began to make efforts to colonise the region, mostly by importing colonists from New England. Before the American Revolution, these colonists were called [[New England Planters|planters]]. After the revolution, the colonists were called [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|loyalists]], because only those loyal to the British crown settled in Nova Scotia. In 1766, planters from Pennsylvania founded [[Moncton]], and English settlers from [[Yorkshire]] arrived in the [[Sackville, New Brunswick|Sackville]] area. In the 1770s, 10,000 loyalists settled along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bell |first=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MPlvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |title=American Loyalists to New Brunswick: The ship passenger lists |publisher=Formac Publishing Company |year=2015 |isbn=9781459503991 |page=7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231140835/https://books.google.com/books?id=MPlvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 |archive-date=31 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1783, both [[Saint Andrews, New Brunswick|Saint Andrews]] and [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]] were founded.

===British colony of New Brunswick (1784–1867)===
[[File:Henry Sandham - The Coming of the Loyalists.jpg|thumb|upright|left|A romanticized depiction of the arrival of the [[United Empire Loyalists|Loyalists]] in New Brunswick]] Loyalists who received land allocations around the St. John River valley, the Bay of Fundy or the Northumberland Strait became dissatisfied with being governed from [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]] because it was so far away. Therefore, on 18 June 1784, the British government created a new province for them: New Brunswick. New Brunswick was formed from the partition of [[Sunbury County, Nova Scotia|Sunbury County]] from the remainder of Nova Scotia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Slumkoski |first1=Corey |title=The Partition of Nova Scotia |url=https://web.lib.unb.ca/winslow/partition.html |website=The Winslow Papers |publisher=Electronic text centre (UNB Libraries) |access-date=5 May 2020 |date=2005 |quote=On 18 June 1784 ... the province of New Brunswick formally came into existence. |archive-date=4 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804075421/https://web.lib.unb.ca/winslow/partition.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In that same year, New Brunswick formed its first elected assembly.<ref name="responsible-government">{{cite web |title=Responsible Government |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/responsible-government/ |website=Historica Canada |access-date=13 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212171105/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/responsible-government/ |archive-date=12 December 2017}}</ref> The first governor was [[Thomas Carleton]], and, in 1785, he chose the [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] of Sainte-Anne as the provincial capital. Sainte-Anne was later renamed Frederick's Town (and then later [[Fredericton]]) after the third son of [[George III]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=About Fredericton (History) |url=https://www.fredericton.ca/en/about-fredericton/about-fredericton-history |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=City of Fredericton |language=en |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126180449/https://www.fredericton.ca/en/about-fredericton/about-fredericton-history |url-status=live }}</ref>

In total, it is believed that around 14,000 loyalist refugees came to New Brunswick. However, 10% eventually returned to the United States.<ref>Christopher Moore, The Loyalists, Revolution, Exile, Settlement, 1984, pp. 244–252 {{ISBN|0-7710--6093-9}}</ref> In 1785, Saint John became New Brunswick's first incorporated city.<ref name="brit">{{cite web |title=New Brunswick |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Brunswick-province |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=13 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114041700/https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Brunswick-province |archive-date=14 November 2017}}</ref>

Economically, New Brunswick was a poor environment for agriculture and mining. Its fishery was also far inferior to that of Nova Scotia's. New Brunswick's forests were rich in wood, but as wood is a bulky and low-value commodity, accessible markets were limited. Essentially, in the late 1700s, New Brunswick was a peripheral corner of the British Empire and North American world. Geopolitical events in Europe would change this situation. In 1806, [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s [[Continental System|continental blockade]] forced the United Kingdom, which usually relied on the [[Baltic Sea]] for supplies, to import timber from its North American colonies. This stimulated the lumber trade in New Brunswick, as well as in [[Lower Canada]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Keyes |first=John |date=1982 |title=WYNN, Graeme, Timber Colony. A historical geography of early nineteenth century New Brunswick. Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 1981, xiv-224 p. $10.00. |journal=Revue d'histoire de l'Amérique française |language=fr |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=126–128 |doi=10.7202/304041ar |issn=0035-2357 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Between 1805 and 1812, New Brunswick annually exported 100,000 tons of squared timber. In 1819, the number exceeded 240,000 tons, and in 1825 exports reached their highest level at 417,000 tons.<ref name="brit" /> This also resulted in the emergence of a shipbuilding market. These industries were then bolstered by the [[Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty]] of 1854, and demand from the [[American Civil War]] of 1861 to 1865. [[St. Martins, New Brunswick|St. Martins]] became the third most productive shipbuilding town in the Maritimes and produced over 500 vessels.<ref>{{cite web |title=Living History |url=http://www.stmartinscanada.com/about-area/living-history/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804125041/http://stmartinscanada.com/about-area/living-history/ |archive-date=4 August 2017 |access-date=14 September 2017}}</ref>

From 1800 to 1851, New Brunswick's population grew from 25,000 to 200,000, and it saw large-scale immigration from Ireland and Scotland.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Irish Migration Within New Brunswick |url=https://www.newirelandnb.ca/culture/irish-trail/early-settlement/irish-migration-within-new-brunswick |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=www.newirelandnb.ca |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126180448/https://www.newirelandnb.ca/culture/irish-trail/early-settlement/irish-migration-within-new-brunswick |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1848, responsible home government was granted.<ref name="responsible-government" /> The 1850s saw the emergence of political parties largely organized along religious and ethnic lines.<ref name="brit" />

From the late 1700s to mid 1800s, [[Acadians]] became a minority, and they lived largely on the fringes of society, fearful of the English. They were mostly illiterate due to laws preventing them from opening schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=L'histoire |website=Assemblée nationale de l'Acadie |url=https://anacadie.ca/lacadie/lhistoire/ |access-date=26 November 2023 |language=fr |quote=En 1800, les Acadiens sont pour la plupart illettrés en raison de l’application de lois les empêchant d’ouvrir des écoles. |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126180448/https://anacadie.ca/lacadie/lhistoire/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They were also not part of the economic boom, and had troubles asserting their land rights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Histoire des Acadiens et de l'Acadie - Économie et société au début du 19e siècle |url=http://cyberacadie.com/cyberacadie.com/index7248.html?/enracinement_histoire/Economie-et-societe-au-debut-du-19e-siecle.html |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=cyberacadie.com |archive-date=26 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126180448/http://cyberacadie.com/cyberacadie.com/index7248.html?/enracinement_histoire/Economie-et-societe-au-debut-du-19e-siecle.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 1860s, the notion of unifying the maritime colonies of British North America was being increasingly discussed. This was due to multiple factors. For example, some felt that the American Civil War was the result of a weak central government and wished to avoid the same fate.<ref name="confed">{{cite web |title=Confederation |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/confederation/ |website=Historica Canada |access-date=13 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126081754/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/confederation/ |archive-date=26 November 2017}}</ref> Some also wanted to increase trade between the colonies, and be less economically tied to the US. In 1864, the [[Charlottetown Conference]] was held to discuss a possible [[Maritime Union]] between [[Nova Scotia]], New Brunswick and [[Prince Edward Island]]. However, the [[Province of Canada]], caught wind of the conference and decided to send representatives to attend. They asked that the agenda be expanded to discuss a union that would also include them.

In 1866, the United States cancelled the Reciprocity Treaty, leading to a loss of trade and a stronger desire to build up trade within British North America.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reciprocity |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reciprocity/ |website=Historica Canada |access-date=13 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214113323/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/reciprocity/ |archive-date=14 December 2017}}</ref> A [[Fenian raids|Fenian raid]] in 1866 also increased public support for a potential union.<ref name="nb-confed">{{cite web |title=New Brunswick and Confederation |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-brunswick-and-confederation/ |website=Historica Canada |access-date=13 November 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214232617/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/new-brunswick-and-confederation/ |archive-date=14 December 2017}}</ref>

===Canadian province (1867–present)===
On 1 July 1867, New Brunswick joined with Nova Scotia and the [[Province of Canada]] (now Ontario and Quebec) to create the Dominion of Canada.

[[File:Alexander Henderson, Intercolonial Railway bridge at Sackville, NB, 1875.jpg|thumb|An [[Intercolonial Railway]] bridge, 1875. The railway was established as a result of [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]].]]
Though Confederation brought into existence the [[Intercolonial Railway]] in 1872, new barriers undermined traditional trade relations. In 1879, [[John A. Macdonald]]'s [[Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942)|Conservatives]] enacted the [[National Policy]], which called for high tariffs and opposed [[free trade]], disrupting the trading relationship between the Maritimes and [[New England]]. The economic situation was worsened by the [[Great Fire of Saint John]] of 1877, the decline of the shipbuilding industry, and the US [[Panic of 1893]]. Many experienced workers lost their jobs and had to move west or to the United States.

In 1871, the government introduced free education, banning [[catechism]], the [[cassock]] and French in public schools in the process. Though contested by the Acadians and the Irish, the law was deemed constitutional. Following a riot in [[Caraquet]] in 1875, and political pressure, the bans were lifted in 1877.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dupuis |first=Serge |title=Deux poids deux langues |publisher=Septentrion |year=2019 |location=Québec |pages=43–44 |language=French}}</ref>

The [[Irving Group of Companies]], founded by the [[Irving Family (New Brunswick)|Irving family]], officially began in 1881 in [[Grand-Bouctouche|Bouctouche]] when James Irving bought a sawmill.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Irving Group of Companies |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/irving-group |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |language=en |archive-date=9 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220709085646/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/irving-group |url-status=live }}</ref> Afterwards, the family continued to acquire businesses and substantial wealth, eventually becoming the richest family in the province. Today, Irving is considered by many to exert a monopoly over New Brunswick.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Deneault |first=Alain |date=1 April 2019 |title=La famille Irving, un féodalisme canadien |url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2019/04/DENEAULT/59710 |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=Le Monde diplomatique |language=fr |archive-date=27 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927071950/https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2019/04/DENEAULT/59710 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Livesey |first=Bruce |date=6 July 2016 |title=The Irvings' media monopoly and its consequences |url=https://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/07/06/news/irvings-media-monopoly-and-its-consequences |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=Canada's National Observer |language=en |archive-date=30 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630164915/https://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/07/06/news/irvings-media-monopoly-and-its-consequences |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca |first=Zone Économie- |date=27 November 2019 |title=Au Nouveau-Brunswick, on ne mord pas la main qui nous nourrit {{!}} Radio-Canada.ca |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1406905/medias-nouveau-brunswick-mains-irving |access-date=26 November 2023 |website=Radio-Canada |language=fr-ca |archive-date=27 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127221615/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1406905/medias-nouveau-brunswick-mains-irving |url-status=live }}</ref>

Towards the early 20th century, the economy began to improve somewhat. The railways and tariffs fostered the growth of new industries in the province such as textile manufacturing, iron mills, [[Pulp and paper industry|pulp and paper mills]], and sugar refineries.<ref name="hc" /> However, many of these eventually failed to compete with their competition in Central Canada. Unemployement was high for a long time and increased during the [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s.

By the end of the Great Depression, the New Brunswick standard of living was much lower than the Canadian average. In 1937, New Brunswick had the highest infant mortality and illiteracy rates in Canada.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/canada/Alberta-to-Nova-Scotia/New-Brunswick.html |title=New Brunswick |access-date=29 June 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602203857/http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/canada/Alberta-to-Nova-Scotia/New-Brunswick.html |archive-date=2 June 2016}}</ref> In 1940, the [[Rowell–Sirois Commission]] reported grave flaws in the Canadian constitution. While the federal government had most of the revenue gathering powers, the provinces had many expenditure responsibilities such as healthcare, education, and welfare, which were becoming increasingly expensive. The Commission recommended the creation of [[Equalization payments in Canada|equalization payments]], which were eventually implemented in 1957.

After Canada joined [[World War II]], 14 NB army units were organized, in addition to [[The Royal New Brunswick Regiment]],<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=New Brunswick at War |publisher=Provincial Archives of New Brunswick |year=1995 |pages=1–13}}</ref> and first deployed in the [[Italian campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]] in 1943. After the [[Normandy landings]] they redeployed to northwestern Europe, along with [[The North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment|The North Shore Regiment]].<ref name=":0" /> The [[British Commonwealth Air Training Plan]], a training program for ally pilots, established bases in Moncton, [[Chatham, New Brunswick|Chatham]], and [[Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick|Pennfield Ridge]], as well as a military typing school in Saint John. While relatively unindustrialized before the war, New Brunswick became home to 34 plants on military contracts from which the province received over $78&nbsp;million.<ref name=":0" /> [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King]], who had promised no conscription, asked the provinces if they would release the government of said promise. New Brunswick voted 69.1% yes. The policy was not implemented until 1944, too late for many of the conscripts to be deployed.<ref name=":0" /> There were 1808 NB fatalities among the armed forces.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Dictionary Of Canadian Military History |last1=Bercuson |first1=David J. |last2=Granatstein |first2=J.L. |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0195408478 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofcana00berc}}</ref>

[[File:Bienvenue au Nouveau-Brunswick.jpg|thumb|A provincial welcome sign in English and French, the two official languages of the province]]
The Acadians in northern New Brunswick had long been geographically and linguistically isolated from the more numerous English speakers to the south. The population of French origin grew dramatically after Confederation, from about 16 per cent in 1871 to 34 per cent in 1931.<ref name=cenb/> Government services were often not available in French, and the infrastructure in Francophone areas was less developed than elsewhere. In 1960 Premier [[Louis Robichaud]] embarked on the [[New Brunswick Equal Opportunity program]], in which education, rural road maintenance, and healthcare fell under the sole jurisdiction of a provincial government that insisted on equal coverage throughout the province, rather than the former county-based system. In 1969 the Robichaud government adopted the Official Languages Act making the province officially bilingual and establishing the right of New Brunswickers to obtain provincial government services in the official language of their choice. In 1982 at the request of the government of [[Richard Hatfield]], this right became part of the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]'' and therefore part of the [[Constitution of Canada]].<ref name=HistOfficLang/>

The [[flag of New Brunswick]], based on the coat of arms, was adopted in 1965. The conventional heraldic representations of a lion and a ship represent colonial ties with Europe, and the importance of shipping at the time the coat of arms was assigned.<ref>{{cite web |title=Symbols |url=http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/government_services/symbols.html |website=Service New Brunswick |access-date=15 November 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411181742/http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/government_services/symbols.html |archive-date=11 April 2017}}</ref>

In 2005, the Court of Queen's Bench [[Same-sex marriage in New Brunswick|approved a ruling]] allowing for the legalization of [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite news |title=All systems go for same-sex marriage in New Brunswick |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/all-systems-go-for-same-sex-marriage-in-new-brunswick-1.560003 |access-date=August 4, 2024 |work=[[CBC News]] |date=July 4, 2005}}</ref> At the beginning of 2023, the provincial government implemented a [[2023 New Brunswick local governance reform|local governance reform]], reducing the number of entities from 340 to 89.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www2.gnb.ca/content/dam/gnb/Corporate/Promo/localgovreform/docs/WhitePaper-EN-Web.pdf |title=Working together for vibrant and sustainable communities: White Paper |publisher=Province of New Brunswick |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-4605-2957-7 |location=Fredericton, New Brunswick |pages=4}}</ref>