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Fredericton

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Template:Canadian City

For the Canadian federal electoral district of the same name, see Fredericton (electoral district)

File:Frederictonarms.jpg

Fredericton, population 47,560 (greater Fredericton 81,346, both per 2001 census), although unoffical reports more around 50,750 (greater Fredericton 84,523), is the capital of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province. The St. John River flows in a west-east direction, bisecting the city and providing the dominant natural feature for the municipality.

History

The area of the present-day City of Fredericton was first used for seasonal farming by the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet peoples. The first European contact in the area was by the French in the late 17th Century, who granted the land to Joseph de Villebon. In 1692, he built a fort (Fort Nashwaak) on the north side of the Saint John River, at the mouth of the Nashwaak River. After de Villebon's death in 1700 and a devastating flood, the fort was abandoned.

The Fredericton area was first permanently settled and named Pointe-Sainte-Anne (often anglicized to Ste. Anne's Point) in 1732 by Acadians fleeing Nova Scotia after the British took over the territory. Their townsite was on the south side of the river, approximately a mile upriver from Fort Nashwaak. The British captured Ste. Anne's Point after the expulsion of the Acadians in 1755, burning the settlement to the ground. A 1762 settlement attempt by the British was unsuccessful, but three fur traders manged to permanently settle there in 1768.

In 1783, United Empire Loyalists settled in Ste. Anne's Point after the American Revolution, although many died on the long, arduous journey from the United States.

When New Brunswick became a separate colony from Nova Scotia in 1784, Ste. Anne's Point became the provincial capital, winning out over Parrtown (present-day Saint John) due to its central inland location meaning it was less prone to American attack from the sea. A street plan was laid out to the west of the original townsite, King's College (now the University of New Brunswick) was founded, and the locale was renamed "Frederick's Town", in honour of the second son of King George III of the United Kingdom, Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York. The name was shortened to Fredericton shortly after the city became the official provincial capital of New Brunswick on April 25, 1785.

The same attributes that made Fredericton the capital city also made it an ideal spot for a military installation. Many of the original military buildings downtown still stand, and are now tourist attractions.

A building was constructed to house the provincial legislative assembly in 1788, but it was destroyed by a fire in 1880. Two years later, the present Legislature Building was constructed.

In 1848, Christ Church Cathedral (part of the Church of England) was built, allowing Fredericton to achieve city status.

A Maliseet settlement, today called the St. Mary's First Nation, was founded on the north side of the river in 1847.

Until Gibson (now referred to as the neighbourhood of Devon) was merged with Fredericton in 1945, the corporate limit of the city of Fredericton was restrained to the south side. In 1973, the city annexed several bedroom communities, such as Nashwaaksis, Marysville, Barker's Point, and Silverwood. Although all of these names are still in common use, references to simply the "north side" or the "south side" (with the Saint John River being the dividing line) are generally used by local residents.

Climate and Geography

Fredericton is located in the middle of the Saint John River valley, with most of the city's post-war suburban development occuring on gently sloping hills on either side of the river, although the downtown core is flat and lies low to the river.

Fredericton enjoys a mild climate compared to most of Canada, although its location away from the coastline means it is more prone to extreme temperatures than most other major cities in Atlantic Canada. The average January low temperature is -15°C; while the average high in July and August is 26°C. [1]

The city gets a fair amount of precipitation, although major paralyzing snow and rain storms are uncommon compared to more coastal cities like Moncton or Halifax. On average, Fredericton receives approximately 1100 mm of precipitation per year. Snowfall is common between late November and early April, and snow usually stays on the ground beginning in December. Flooding occurs during the spring of most years on area rivers.

Education

Two degree-granting universities are located in Fredericton: the University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University. The New Brunswick Community College maintains a campus in Fredericton, and the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design is also located in the city.

Fredericton is home to two public high schools. Fredericton High School, which was once the largest school in the British Commonwealth, primarily serves students on the south side; while Leo Hayes High School, which opened in 1999, serves north side students. In addition, there are four middle schools, fourteen elementary schools and three private schools in the city.

Economy

There are no major industries in the city, as the provincial government and the universities are by far the largest employers. In the 1990s the Fredericton area attracted several call centres to open. Lately, the city has also tried to entice technology firms to locate there, to mixed success.

The City of Fredericton was recently the winner of the "Judges Inovation Award" at the 2004 C.I.P.A. (Canadian Information Productivity Awards) Awards due to their "Fred-eZone" free municipality wide WiFi network initiative. This and other innovations by the city's utelco, e-Novations, lead world leading technology company Intel to do a case study on their successes.

Culture

Due to the impact of the two universities, Fredericton is more cosmopolitan than many cities its size. Fredericton has an active live music scene with pubs and other venues offering a wide variety of live music from both local and non-local talent. There is a relatively large arts community, headlined by the Playhouse (home base of Theatre New Brunswick, the province's largest stage troupe) and the Beaverbrook Art Gallery. Fredericton is also home to the annual Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival.

The Aitken Centre, on the UNB campus, occasionally hosts concerts and is the city's main sports venue.

Government

Fredericton has a mayor-council and non-partisan form of government, with the mayor and council serving fixed four-year terms (three years until 2004), and elections held in May. The last election was in 2004. The current mayor is Brad Woodside, who first served from 1986 until 1999 but was re-elected in 2004. The city is divided into twelve wards (six on each side of the Saint John River), with each ward electing one councillor.

Fredericton is divided into three provincial legislative districts: Fredericton North, Fredericton South and Fredericton-Fort Nashwaak. Federally, the city forms most of the riding of Fredericton.

Demographics

Ethnicity

Religion

Language

Media

The Daily Gleaner is Fredericton's only daily newspaper, although three weekly newspapers are available. The Telegraph-Journal, based in Saint John, publishes a provincial edition and has a bureau in Fredericton.

Fredericton is the home base of only one local television station, CBC-owned CBAT; although it is served by the ATV (CTV), Global and French-language Radio-Canada networks as well. All stations maintain news bureaus in Fredericton. Cable services are provided by Rogers Communications.

Several radio stations are also located in Fredericton:

CBC Radio Two and both Radio-Canada services are provided from transmitters in Saint John.

Transportation

Air service is provided out of the Greater Fredericton Airport, located approximately 15 kilometres east of downtown in Lincoln. It is served by two airlines: Air Canada (which operates direct flights to Toronto, Montreal and Halifax), and Delta Air Lines (which has two return flights a day to Boston).

There is no rail service into Fredericton. Passenger service was cancelled in the 1980s and freight service stopped in 1995. All railway tracks have been torn up.

Fredericton is located just off the Trans-Canada Highway, which bypasses it to the south. Highways 7 and 8 (the latter being a former alignment of the Trans-Canada) connect to the city itself. Two highway bridges, the Westmorland Street Bridge and the Princess Margaret Bridge, connect the two sides of the Saint John River. Those bridges both feed into high-speed controlled-access roads (Highways 8 and 105 serving the city's north side. The city's highway system is mostly complete, and traffic jams rarely occur.

Fredericton Transit provides bus transit service to most areas of the city. The former railway tracks, including one bridge over the river, have been converted into walking and bicycling trails.


Growth and Development

Fredericton is a growing city with about 1000+ people moving into the area each year. The downtown area is not having much in job development. With only around 5 major employers in the city. Frederictons skyline consists of 3 tall buildings, the university, the hospital and a few apartement buildings.

Attractions

Historical Buildings and Museums

Parks

See also

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