Westmorland County (2021 population: 163,576) is a county in New Brunswick, a province of Canada. It is in the southeastern part of the province. It contains the fast-growing commercial centre of Moncton and its northern and eastern suburbs. Also located in the county are the university town of Sackville and the local tourist destination of Shediac.
Westmorland County is centrally located in the Maritimes and is New Brunswick's most populous county. Fishing and tourism are important industries along the Northumberland Strait shore, and there is some mixed farming in the Petitcodiac River Valley and in the Tantramar Marsh region. The city of Moncton accounts for half of the county's population and has developed as a major transportation, distribution, commercial and retail centre. Dorchester is the historic shire town.
Origins The county, once a part of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, was one of the original eight counties delineated shortly after the creation of the British colony of New Brunswick in 1784. Initially it included what is now Albert County and part of Saint John County.
Due to sweeping social reforms of the Louis Robichaud premiership, the counties no longer serve their role as regional local government and administrative units.
Transportation Major highways
Census subdivisions
Communities There were the eleven municipalities within Westmorland County before the 2023 local governance reforms (listed with 2021 figures): Official name Designation Area km2 Population Parish Moncton City141.9279,470Moncton Dieppe City54.0528,114Dorchester, Moncton Shediac Town53.957,535Shediac Beaubassin East Rural community291.086,718 Botsford, Shediac Sackville Town74.176,099 Sackville Memramcook Village187.675,029 Dorchester Cap-Pelé Village23.362,441Botsford, Shediac Salisbury Village13.542,387Salisbury Petitcodiac Village17.211,476Salisbury Dorchester Village5.79906Dorchester Port Elgin Village2.66381Sackville, Westmorland
First Nations There is one First Nations reserve in Westmorland County (population as of 2021): Official name Designation Area km2 Population Parish Fort Folly 1 Reserve0.5536Dorchester
Parishes The county is subdivided into seven parishes (listed by 2016 population): Official name Area km2 Population Municipalities Unincorporated communities Moncton579.6310,704Moncton (city)Dieppe (city) Allison / Ammon / Berry Mills / Boundary Creek / Canaan / Cape Breton / Gallagher Ridge / Greater Lakeburn / Indian Mountain / Irishtown / Lakeville / LeBlancville / Lutesville / McQuade / Meadow Brook / Melanson Settlement / New Scotland / O'Neil / Pacific Junction / Painsec / Painsec Junction / Scotch Settlement / Shaw Brook / Steeves Mountain / Stilesville Shediac196.715,144Beaubassin East (rural community)Shediac (town) Basse-Aboujagane / Batemans Mills / Bourgeois Mills / Chapman Corner / East Shediac / Evangeline / Haute-Aboujagane / MacDougall / Malakoff / Moncton Road / Petit Pre / Ohio-du-Barachois / Pointe-du-Chêne / Saint-Philippe / Scoudouc / Scoudouc Road / Shediac Bridge-Shediac River / Shediac Cape / Shediac Road / The Bluff Salisbury874.163,377 Salisbury (village)Petitcodiac (village) Dobsons Corner / Fawcett / Fawcett Hill / Fredericton Road / Glenvale / Harewood / Havelock / Hicksville / Hillgrove / Intervale / Kay Settlement / Killams Mills / Kinnear Settlement / Leeman Hill / Lewis Mountain / Monteagle / North Branch / Pollett River / River Glade / Scott Road / Second North River / Steeves Settlement / The Glades / Upper Ridge / Wheaton Settlement Sackville579.981,204 Sackville (town) Aboushagan Road / Anderson Settlement / Babcock Road / British Settlement / Brooklyn / Brooklyn Road / Centre Village / Coles Island Road / Cookville / Evans / Fairfield / Harper's Brook / Johnson's Mills / Lower Rockport / Midgic / Rockport / Upper Rockport / Ward / West Sackville / Westcock / Wood Point / Woodhurst Botsford304.161,120Cap-Pelé (village) Bayfield / Bayside / Botsford / Cadman Corner / Cape Spear / Cape Tormentine / Chapmans Corner / Hardy / Johnston Point Road / Little Shemogue / Malden / Mates Corner / Melrose / Murray Corner / Murray Road / Petit-Cap / Smith Settlement / Spence Settlement / The Bluff / Timber River / Westmorland / Upper Cape / Woodside Westmorland175.43997 Port Elgin (village) Aulac / Baie-Verte / Baie Verte Road / Coburg / Etter Ridge / Fromm's Swamp / Halls Hill / Jolicure / Mount Whatley / Pointe de Bute / Tidnish Bridge / Uniacke Hill / Upper Point de Bute / Westmorland Dorchester90.13438Memramcook (village)Dorchester (village)Fort Folly 1 (reservation) Calhoun / Cherry Burton / Dorchester Cape / Middleton / Taylor Village / Upper Dorchester
Demographics
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Westmorland County had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Language
The dominant dialect of Acadian French spoken in Westmorland County is Chiac.
Canada Census Mother Tongue - Westmorland County, New Brunswick Census Total Year Responses Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % Count Trend Pop % 77,450 1.3% 52.83% 60,570 3.0% 41.31% 2,430 13.0% 1.66% 6,160 74.0% 4.20% 76,475 7.8% 54.27% 58,795 7.2% 41.72% 2,115 67.2% 1.50% 3,540 17.6% 2.51% 70,945 3.6% 54.54% 54,860 7.4% 42.17% 1,265 6.3% 0.97% 3,010 102.7% 2.31% 68,510 1.2% 55.97% 51,060 6.7% 41.71% 1,350 7.2% 1.10% 1,485 12.9% 1.21% 67,700 n/a 57.21% 47,860 n/a 40.45% 1,455 n/a 1.23% 1,315 n/a 1.11%
Access routes Highways and numbered routes that run through the county, including external routes that start or finish at the county limits:Atlantic Canada Back Road Atlas
Highways
Principal Routes
Secondary Routes:
External Routes:
See also List of communities in New Brunswick List of historic places in Westmorland County, New Brunswick List of people from Westmorland County, New Brunswick
References 2011 Statistics Canada Census Profile: Westmorland County, New Brunswick
External links Westmorland County Guide