Bouctouche

Bouctouche, NB, incorporated as a town in 1985, population 2423 (2011c), 2383 (2006c). The Town of Bouctouche is located 40 km north of Moncton. This Northumberland Strait port draws its name from the Mi'kmaq word for "big bay." Acadian families returning from exile settled here as early as 1784, followed by the English after 1800. The current population is 92% French-speaking. Fishing, lumbering and shipbuilding were the main industries, and construction of a branch railway to Moncton (1888) spurred local commerce until it was abandoned in the 1960s.

Present Day

While the traditional primary industries remain important, future prosperity is seen to lie in the field of high technology. Bouctouche is the birthplace of 2 prominent Canadians - Antonine Maillet, internationally renowned Acadian author, and industrialist K.C. Irving.