Map of municipal government units in Madawaska County prior to incorporation of rural community of Haut-Madawaska in 2017.
Madawaska County (2016 population 32,741[1]), also known as the "New Brunswick Panhandle",[2] is located in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. Over 90% of the county's population speaks French. Its Francophone population are known as "Brayons." Forestry is the major industry in the county.
History
The first inhabitants of what is now called Madawaska County were the Maliseet or Wolastoqiyik, who occupied and used the land along the Saint John River Valley north to the St. Lawrence River and south to the Penobscot River. There is debate concerning the true origin of the word "Madawaska". The earliest settlers were from Quebec. The area was the focus of the bloodless Aroostook War, a border dispute led by businessman and political activist John Baker.
The earliest settlers of the Upper Saint John River Valley have been clearly verified, with census results of the Madawaska region taken in 1820 showing where most families had originated from Quebec.[3][4]
Census subdivisions
Communities
There are ten municipalities within Madawaska County (listed by 2016 population):[5]
As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Madawaska County had a population of 32,603 living in 14,905 of its 15,851 total private dwellings, a change of -0.4% from its 2016 population of 32,741. With a land area of 3,454.97 km2 (1,333.97 sq mi), it had a population density of 9.4/km2 (24.4/sq mi) in 2021.[8]
