Haut-Madawaska

Haut-Madawaska is an incorporated rural community in Madawaska County within the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is located in the New Brunswick Panhandle and was formed in 2017 through the amalgamation of four villages with five local service districts and a portion of a sixth local service district.

Haut-Madawaska
Rural community
Rural Community of Haut-Madawaska
Haut-Madawaska
Location within New Brunswick.
Coordinates: 47.308°N 68.497°W / 47.308; -68.497
CountryCanada
ProvinceNew Brunswick
CountyMadawaska
Rural communityJuly 1, 2017[1]
Population
 (2016)[2]
3,714
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-3 (ADT)
WebsiteOfficial website

History

In a 2016 plebiscite, the residents of five local service districts (the parishes of Baker Brook, Clair, Lac Baker, Saint-François, and Saint-Hilaire), part of a sixth local service district (the parish of Madawaska) and four villages (Baker Brook, Clair, Saint-François de Madawaska and Saint-Hilaire) voted 493 to 299 in favour of incorporating a new rural community under the name of Haut-Madawaska.[3] The incorporation took effect July 1, 2017.[1] The plebiscite was the second in as many years. In 2015, a similar plebiscite was held that also included a fifth village, Lac Baker. The residents of all communities involved voted in favour of incorporation as a rural community with the exception of Lac Baker's residents, thereby defeating the proposal.[4]

Economy

The region's economy is focused on two industry sectors with some of the main players outlined below:

1) Food industry (Saint-François-de-Madawaska is known as the province's Chicken Capital)

  • Groupe Westco (an integrated poultry
  • Nadeau Poultry (a poultry processing plant, part of the Maple Lodge Farms company)
  • Sunnymel (a poultry processing plant, partnership between Groupe Westco and Olymel)
  • Les Industries Corriveau (a processing plant for buckwheat flour)

2) Wood products (part of the Northern New Brunswick wood products cluster)

  • JD Irving Hardwoods (a hardwood grading and kiln drying facility, part of the JD Irving Group)
  • Waska (a manufacturer of cedar shingles)
  • JMN Enterprises (a manufacturer of kitchen accessories, BBQ accessories, and hardwood components)
  • Fiready (a manufacturer of kiln dried firewood)
  • Canusa Cedar (a manufacturer of cedar shingles)

The region is known for its hardworking labor and close to full employment with recurring periods of zero or negative unemployment.[5]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Haut-Madawaska had a population of 3,720 living in 1,658 of its 1,781 total private dwellings, a change of 0.2% from its 2016 population of 3,714. With a land area of 611.55 km2 (236.12 sq mi), it had a population density of 6.1/km2 (15.8/sq mi) in 2021.[6]

Haut-Madawaska population breakdown[2]
Former municipality or
local service district		 Former
status		 Population
(2016)
Baker BrookParish275
Baker BrookVillage564
ClairParish283
ClairVillage781
Lac BakerParish5
Saint-FrançoisParish606
Saint-François de MadawaskaVillage470
Saint-HilaireParish478
Saint-HilaireVillage252
Total population — 3,714

Government

The current mayor is Jean-Pierre Ouellet (a former minister in the provincial government).

See also

References
  1. "New Brunswick Regulation 2017-3 under the Municipalities Act". Government of New Brunswick. March 20, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  2. "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names Up to January 1st, 2018" (PDF). Statistics Canada. November 14, 2018. pp. 23–24. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
  3. "Miramichi picks Adam Lordon as new mayor". CBC. November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  4. "No amalgamation for Sussex area, Haut-Madawaska". CBC. November 9, 2015. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  5. https://www.infoweekend.ca/actualites/actualite/120663/le-haut-madawaska-en-recherche-de-main-duvre
  6. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), New Brunswick". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
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