Shediac | |
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Town | |
 Entrance to the town | |
 Seal  Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: Lobster Capital of the World | |
| Motto(s): | |
  Shediac | |
| Coordinates:46°13′N64°32′W / 46.217°N 64.533°W /46.217; -64.533 (Shediac) | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | New Brunswick |
| County | Westmorland County |
| Parish | Shédiac Parish |
| Founded | 18th century |
| Incorporated | 1903 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Council |
| • Mayor | Roger Caissie |
| • Governing Body | Shediac Town Council |
| Area | |
| • Land | 64.00 km2 (24.71 sq mi) |
| Elevation | Sea level to 33 m (0 to 108.3 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 7,535 |
| • Density | 117.7/km2 (305/sq mi) |
| • Change (2016–21) |  13.1% |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (Atlantic (AST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (ADT) |
| Canadian Postal code | E4P |
| Area code | 506 |
| Telephone Exchange | 312 351 530 531 532 533 |
| NTS Map | 21I2Moncton |
| GNBC Code | DACUC |
Highways Route 11 Route 15 |  Route 132 Route 133 Route 140 |
| Website | www |
Shediac (official in both languages;Shédiac is colloquial French) is a town inWestmorland County,New Brunswick known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts an annual festival every July which promotes its ties tolobster fishing. At the western entrance to the town is a 90-ton sculpture calledThe World's Largest Lobster.[2] It is believed thatchiac, a well-knownAcadian Frenchpatois, was named after Shediac.[3]
Since its founding it has expanded several times, most recently in 2023, when it annexed all or part of fourlocal service districts.[4][5] Revised census figures have not been released.
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 theMicmac wordEsedeiik, which means "which comes from far away", possibly in reference to theShediac Bay or the current of thePetitcodiac river.[6]
Shediac is situated primarily onRoute 133 aroundShediac Bay, a sub-basin of theNorthumberland Strait.
Its topography is relatively flat and its soil is mostly composed of sedimentary rocks dating from thePennsylvanian. Shediac enjoys acontinental climate.[7]
The town is located southwest and adjacent to the community ofPointe-du-Chêne, once the eastern terminus of theEuropean and North American Railway as well as a stopover forPan-Am's transatlantic "clipper" air service featuring large seaplanes.Imperial Airways' flying boat service toFoynes in Ireland also used the facilities.
Hundreds of years ago, theMi'kmaq encampment of "Es-ed-ei-ik" was one of the major camps in southeast New Brunswick. The Mi'kmaq wordEs-ed-ei-ik, which means "running far in", in reference to its position where the coastline turns between running north-south and east-west, eventually transformed intoGédaique.[8][9]Acadians first arrived at Shediac in 1751 as a result of theAcadian Exodus from peninsularNova Scotia.[10] During theFrench and Indian War, French officerCharles Deschamps de Boishebert made his headquarters at both Shediac andCocagne, 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 toMiramichi, New Brunswick, specifically toBeaubears Island.[11] After the war, Acadians returned to the region in 1767.
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Today manyfrancophones use the spellingShédiac; however, the town's name upon its incorporation did not feature an accented "e", and correspondingly the official geographic name for the community isShediac.
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 byRoméo Savoie.[12]
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Shediac had a population of7,535 living in3,293 of its3,447 total private dwellings, a change of13.1% from its 2016 population of6,664. With a land area of 64 km2 (25 sq mi), it had a population density of117.7/km2 (304.9/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
| Income (2015)[13]
| Mother tongue (2016)[13]
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