Shediac (official in both languages; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a town in Westmorland County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts an annual festival every July which promotes its ties to

lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

fishing. At the western entrance to the town is a 90-ton sculpture called '' The World's Largest Lobster''. It is believed that chiac, a well-known

Acadian French Acadian French () is a variety of French spoken by Acadians, mostly in the region of Acadia, Canada. Acadian French has seven regional accents, including Chiac and Brayon. Phonology Since there was relatively little linguistic contact with F ...

patois ''Patois'' (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or sl ...

, was named after Shediac. Since its founding it has expanded several times, most recently in 2023, when it annexed all or part of four local service districts. Revised census figures have not been released.

Etymology

Shediac was originally called La Batture. Its name was later changed to Shediac in reference to its position at the basin of the Shediac River. The name "Shediac" itself is derived from the Micmac word ''Esedeiik'', which means "which comes from far away", possibly in reference to the Shediac Bay or the current of the Petitcodiac river.

Geography

Shediac is situated primarily on Route 133 around Shediac Bay, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. Its topography is relatively flat and its soil is mostly composed of sedimentary rocks dating from the Pennsylvanian. Shediac enjoys a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

. The town is located southwest and adjacent to the community of Pointe-du-Chêne, once the eastern terminus of the European and North American Railway as well as a stopover for Pan-Am's transatlantic "clipper" air service featuring large seaplanes.

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was an early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

' flying boat service to Foynes in Ireland also used the facilities.

History

Hundreds of years ago, the

Mi'kmaq The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

encampment of "Es-ed-ei-ik" was one of the major camps in southeast New Brunswick. The Mi'kmaq word , which means "running far in", in reference to its position where the coastline turns between running north-south and east-west, eventually transformed into ''Gédaique''.

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

first arrived at Shediac in 1751 as a result of the Acadian Exodus from peninsular

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...

, French officer Charles Deschamps de Boishebert made his headquarters at both Shediac and Cocagne, New Brunswick. In the autumn of 1755, Boishebert established himself on the south shore of Cocagne Bay, a place known as Boishebert's Camp. The following year, Boishebert moved to

Miramichi, New Brunswick Miramichi ( ) is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it enters Miramichi Bay. The Miramichi Valley is the second longest valley in New Brunswick, after the Saint John River ...

, specifically to Beaubears Island. After the war, Acadians returned to the region in 1767. Today many francophones use the spelling ; however, the town's name upon its incorporation did not feature an accented "e", and correspondingly the official geographic name for the community is ''Shediac''.

Shediac Bay Yacht Club

Shediac Bay Yacht Club is on the Register of 'Canada's Historic Places' for being the location of a local wharf for nearly a century. The previous Shediac Bay Yacht Club House was designed by Roméo Savoie.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Shediac 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. Income (2015) Mother tongue (2016)

Notable people

* Georges-Antoine Belcourt (1803–1874), missionary * Edna May Williston Best (1880–1923), feminist *

Emile Duprée Emile Duprée (born Emile Goguen; October 20, 1936 – September 17, 2023) was a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter. He was also the father of former WWE wrestler René Duprée, and lived in Pointe-du-Chêne, New Brunswick. Early lif ...

(1936–2023), former professional wrestler and promoter * René Duprée (1983 – ), professional wrestler, former WWE wrestler, son of Émile Dupree * Muriel McQueen Fergusson (1899–1987), Canadian senator * Gord Gallant (1950 – ), professional hockey player * Placide Gaudet (1850–1930), journalist, historian * Daniel Lionel Hanington (1835–1909), former Premier of New Brunswick * Rosa Laricchiuta (1974 – ), professional singer * Joseph E. Leblanc (1916–1979), politician * Samuel Lee (1756–1805), judge, politician * Anna Malenfant (1905–1988), singer, educator and composer * Edward R. McDonald (1872–1952), lawyer, politician, mayor, inventor of the Crossword Game, 1926 * Olivier-Maximin Melanson (1854–1926), Acadian businessman and politician * A. P. Paterson (1870–1957), politician * Scott Pellerin (b. 1970), former professional hockey player * Pascal Poirier (1852–1933), writer, lawyer, senator * Jean George Robichaud (1883–1969), politician * Ferdinand-Joseph Robidoux (1875–1962), lawyer, politician * Wes Sheridan (1960-) , Canadian politician * Albert James Smith (1822–1883), former Premier of New Brunswick * Ernest A. Smith (1864 – 1952), Canadian politician * Elsie Wayne (1932–2016), politician * John Clarence Webster (1862–1950), physician, historian

Sister city

* Breaux Bridge, Louisiana since 1970Clément Cormier, « Les Acadiens de la Louisiane et nous », Les Cahiers, Société historique acadienne, vol. 17, no 1, janvier-mars 1986, p. 13

References

Bibliography

* * * *

Bordering communities

External links

Greater Shediac Area website
{{Authority control Populated coastal places in Canada Towns in New Brunswick Lighthouses in New Brunswick Populated places established in the 18th century