Haut-Madawaska

Haut-Madawaska is a town in the New Brunswick Panhandle, Canada, formed by amalgamating the previous incorporated rural community of the same name with the village of Lac Baker.^[3] The town includes the former incorporated villages of Lac Baker, Baker-Brook, Clair, Saint-François-de-Madawaska and Saint-Hilaire.^{[citation needed]}

Haut-Madawaska
Town
Haut-Madawaska Location within New Brunswick.
Coordinates: 47.308°N 68.497°W / 47.308; -68.497
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Madawaska
Rural community	July 1, 2017[1]
Town	January 1, 2023
Area [2]
• Land	611.55 km2 (236.12 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	3,720
• Density	6.1/km2 (16/sq mi)
• Change (2016–21)	0.2%
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Website	haut-madawaska.com

Revised census figures for the new town have not been released; 2021 figures are for the rural community.

History

Boundaries of Haut-Madawaska as of January 1, 2023.

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.^[4] 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.^[5] As a result of the 2023 New Brunswick local governance reform, Lac Baker was amalgamated with the rest of Haut-Madawaska in 2023.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[2]

Haut-Madawaska population breakdown[8]
Former municipality or local service district	Former status	Population (2016)
Baker Brook	Parish	275
Baker Brook	Village	564
Clair	Parish	283
Clair	Village	781
Lac Baker	Parish	5
Saint-François	Parish	606
Saint-François-de-Madawaska	Village	470
Saint-Hilaire	Parish	478
Saint-Hilaire	Village	252
Total population	—	3,714

Government

The current mayor is Jean-Pierre Ouellet (a former minister in the provincial government).^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of communities in New Brunswick
• List of municipalities in New Brunswick