{{about|the town|the geographic parish, former local service district, and rural census subdivision|Shediac Parish, New Brunswick}} {{Use Canadian English|date=December 2025}} {{use mdy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Infobox settlement | name = | official_name = Shediac | nickname = Lobster Capital of the World | motto = {{force singular}} "In Unum Ad Summum"{{spaces|2}}<small>(Latin)<br />"''Together Toward The Heights''</small> | image_skyline = Shediac, New Brunswick.jpg | imagesize = | image_caption = Downtown | image_flag = | image_seal = Shediac nb logo.jpg | image_shield = Shediac nb coat of arms.jpg | image_logo = | pushpin_map = New Brunswick | settlement_type = Town | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Canada | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = New Brunswick | subdivision_type2 = County | subdivision_name2 = Westmorland County | subdivision_type3 = Parish | subdivision_name3 = Shédiac Parish | government_type = Town Council | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Patricia Bourque-Chevarie | leader_title1 = Governing Body | leader_name1 = Shediac Town Council | established_title = Founded | established_date = 18th century | established_title2 = Incorporated | established_date2 = 1903 | established_title3 = <!-- Incorporated (city) --> | established_date3 = | area_footnotes = <ref name=census2021/> | area_total_km2 = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_km2 = 64.00 | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | area_blank1_sq_mi = | area_urban_sq_mi = | area_metro_km2 = | area_metro_sq_mi = | population_as_of = 2021 | population_footnotes = <ref name=census2021>{{cite web |title=Census Profile of Shediac, Town (TV) |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=Shediac&DGUIDlist=2021A00051307052&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1&HEADERlist=0 |website=Statistics Canada |access-date=21 January 2023 |date=6 December 2022}}</ref> | population_total = 7,535 | population_metro = | population_urban = | population_density_km2 = 117.7 | population_density_sq_mi = | population_blank1_title = Change <small>(2016–21)</small> | population_blank1 = {{increase}} 13.1% | timezone = Atlantic (AST) | utc_offset = -4 | timezone_DST = ADT | utc_offset_DST = -3 | coordinates = {{coord|46|13|N|64|32|W|region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki|name=Shediac|display=inline,title}} | elevation_min_m = 0 | elevation_max_m = 33 | website = {{URL|http://www.shediac.ca}} | postal_code_type = Canadian Postal code | postal_code = E4P | area_code = 506 | blank_name = Telephone Exchange | blank_info = 312 351 530 531 532 533 | blank1_name = NTS Map | blank1_info = {{Canada NTS Map Sheet|21|I|2}} | blank2_name = GNBC Code | blank2_info = DACUC | blank3_name = Highways <br /> {{jct|state=NB|NB|11}} <br /> {{jct|state=NB|NB|15}} | blank3_info = <br /> {{jct|state=NB|NB|132}} <br /> {{jct|state=NB|NB|133}} <br />{{jct|state=NB|NB|140}} | footnotes = }} <!-- Infobox ends -->
'''Shediac''' (official name in both French and English; ''Shédiac'' is colloquial French) is a town in Westmorland County, New Brunswick known as the "Lobster Capital of the World". It hosts an annual festival every July which promotes its ties to lobster fishing. At the western entrance to the town is a 90-ton sculpture called ''The World's Largest Lobster''.<ref>{{cite web|title=BigThings.ca: Town of Shediac, New Brunswick|url=http://www.bigthings.ca/newbruns/shediac.html|website=Big Things: The Monuments of Canada|access-date=November 12, 2014}}</ref> It is believed that chiac, a well-known Acadian French patois, was named after Shediac.{{sfn|Cormier|Poisson|2009|pp=138-139}}
Since its founding it has expanded several times, most recently in 2023, when it annexed all or part of four local service districts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Local Governments Establishment Regulation – Local Governance Act |url=https://laws.gnb.ca/en/showfulldoc/cr/2022-50 |website=Government of New Brunswick |access-date=21 January 2023 |date=12 October 2022}}</ref><ref name="GovRefMapRSC7">{{cite web |title=RSC 7 Southeast Regional Service Commission |url=https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/corporate/promo/local-governance/maps/RSC7.html |website=Government of New Brunswick |access-date=21 January 2023}}</ref> Revised census figures have not been released.
==Etymology== 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 the Mi'kmaq word ''Esedeiik'', which means "which comes from far away", possibly in reference to the Shediac Bay or the current of the Petitcodiac river.{{sfn|Rayburn|1975|p=252}}
==Geography== Shediac is situated primarily on Route 133 around Shediac Bay, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait.
Its topography is relatively flat and its soil is mostly composed of sedimentary rocks dating from the Pennsylvanian. Shediac enjoys a continental climate.<ref>Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de l'énergie du Nouveau-Brunswick, « Bedrock Geology of New Brunswick » [archive], 2000 (consulté le 19 juin 2009)</ref>
The town is located southwest and adjacent to the community of Pointe-du-Chêne, once the eastern terminus of the European and North American Railway as well as a stopover for Pan-Am's transatlantic "clipper" air service featuring large seaplanes. Imperial Airways' flying boat service to Foynes in Ireland also used the facilities.
==History== {{See also|History of New Brunswick|List of historic places in Westmorland County, New Brunswick}} thumb|upright|left|Lobster sculpture Hundreds of years ago, the Mi'kmaq encampment of "Es-ed-ei-ik" was one of the major camps in southeast New Brunswick. The Mi'kmaq word {{lang|mic|Es-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 into ''Gédaique''.{{sfn|Webster|1953|p=1}}{{sfn|Rand|1875|p=100}} Acadians first arrived at Shediac in 1751 as a result of the Acadian Exodus from peninsular Nova Scotia.{{sfn|Webster|1953|p=3}} During the French and Indian War, French officer Charles Deschamps de Boishebert made his headquarters at both Shediac and Cocagne, 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 to Miramichi, New Brunswick, specifically to Beaubears Island.{{sfn|Webster|1953|p=5}} After the war, Acadians returned to the region in 1767. Today many francophones use the spelling {{lang|fr|Shédiac}}; however, the town's name upon its incorporation did not feature an accented "e", and correspondingly the official geographic name for the community is ''Shediac''.
==Shediac Bay Yacht Club== 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 by Roméo Savoie.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9970&pid=0 |title=Shediac Bay Marina |website=Canada's Historic Places |publisher=Parks Canada|access-date=August 18, 2019}}</ref>
==Employment== One of the largest employers is the Southeast Regional Correctional Centre, which was designed for a staff of 107 people.<ref>{{cite web |title=Southeast Regional Correctional Centre, Shediac, NB |url=https://www.mcw.com/project/province-of-new-brunswick/ |website=MCW.com |access-date=19 February 2026}}</ref>
==Demography== In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Shediac had a population of {{val|7535|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|3293|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|3447|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:7535-6664}}|6664|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|6664|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|64|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|7535|64|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.<ref name=census2021/>
{{col-begin|width=60%}} {{col-2}} {{Historical populations |1901|1075 |1911|1442 |1921|1973 |1931|1883 |1941|2147 |1951|2010 |1961|2159 |1981|4289 |1986|4370 |1991|4343 |1996|4664 |2001|4892 |2006|5497 |2011|6053 |2016|6664 |2021|7535 |footnote=<ref name="census2021"/> }}
{{col-2}} '''Income (2015)'''<ref name="census2016">{{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census: Shediac, New Brunswick |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=1307052&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=shediac&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 |publisher=Statistics Canada |access-date=August 18, 2019}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Income type ! By CAD |- | Median Total income per capita | $31,067 |- | Median Household Income | $57,203 |- | Median Family Income | $76,373 |} {{col-2}} '''Mother tongue (2016)'''<ref name="census2016"/> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Language ! Population ! Pct (%) |- | French | 4,435 | 71.0% |- | English | 1,450 | 23.2% |- | English and French | 150 | 2.4% |- | Other languages | 215 | 3.4% |} {{col-end}}
==Notable people== {{Main|List of people from Westmorland County, New Brunswick}} * Georges-Antoine Belcourt (1803–1874), missionary * Edna May Williston Best (1880–1923), feminist * Emile Duprée (1936–2023), former professional wrestler and promoter * René Duprée (1983 – ), professional wrestler, former WWE wrestler, son of Émile Dupree * Muriel McQueen Fergusson (1899–1987), Canadian senator * Gord Gallant (1950 – ), professional hockey player * Placide Gaudet (1850–1930), journalist, historian * Daniel Lionel Hanington (1835–1909), former Premier of New Brunswick * Rosa Laricchiuta (1974 – ), professional singer * Joseph E. Leblanc (1916–1979), politician * Samuel Lee (1756–1805), judge, politician * Anna Malenfant (1905–1988), singer, educator and composer * Edward R. McDonald (1872–1952), lawyer, politician, mayor, inventor of the Crossword Game, 1926 * Olivier-Maximin Melanson (1854–1926), Acadian businessman and politician * A. P. Paterson (1870–1957), politician * Scott Pellerin (b. 1970), former professional hockey player * Pascal Poirier (1852–1933), writer, lawyer, senator * Jean George Robichaud (1883–1969), politician * Ferdinand-Joseph Robidoux (1875–1962), lawyer, politician * Wes Sheridan (1960-) , Canadian politician * Albert James Smith (1822–1883), former Premier of New Brunswick * Ernest A. Smith (1864 – 1952), Canadian politician * Elsie Wayne (1932–2016), politician * John Clarence Webster (1862–1950), physician, historian
==Sister city== *Breaux Bridge, Louisiana since 1970<ref>Clément Cormier, « Les Acadiens de la Louisiane et nous », Les Cahiers, Société historique acadienne, vol. 17, no 1, janvier-mars 1986, p. 13</ref>
==See also== *List of lighthouses in New Brunswick *List of communities in New Brunswick * Media in Moncton * Greater Moncton * Greater Shediac * {{HMCS|Shediac|K110|6}}
== References == {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== * {{Cite book |title=Dictionnaire du français acadien |publisher=Fides |year=2009 |isbn=978-2-7621-3010-2 |editor-last=Cormier |editor-first=Yves |location=Montréal |trans-title=Dictionary of Acadian French |editor-last2=Poisson |editor-first2=Esther |language=fr}} * {{Cite book |last=Rayburn |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Rayburn |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h35_w-oqYjoC |title=Geographical Names of New Brunswick |publisher=Surveys and Mapping Branch, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources |year=1975 |location=Ottawa}} * {{Cite book |last=Webster |first=John Clarence |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofshediac0000webs |title=A history of Shediac, New Brunswick |publisher=New Brunswick Museum |year=1953 |location=Saint John, New Brunswick}} *{{Cite book|url = https://archive.org/details/afirstreadingbo00rangoog|title = A First Reading Book in the Micmac Language: Comprising the Micmac Numerals, and the Names of the Different Kinds of Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Trees, &c. of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Also, Some of the Indian Names of Places, and Many Familiar Words and Phrases, Translated Literally Into English|last = Rand|first = Silas Tertius|year = 1875|publisher = Nova Scotia Printing Company|language = en |location=Halifax, Nova Scotia}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Shédiac}} * [http://www.shediac.com Greater Shediac Area website]
{{Geographic location | Centre = Shediac | North = Shediac Harbour / Pointe-du-Chêne / Shediac Cape | Northeast = Boudreau-Ouest | East =Boudreau | Southeast = Ohio-du-Barachois | South = Scoudouc | Southwest = Scoudouc | West = Batemans Mills | Northwest = Batemans Mills }} {{Subdivisions of New Brunswick|towns=yes}} {{Lighthouses of Canada}} {{Portal bar|Canada|Engineering}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Shediac Category:Populated coastal places in Canada Category:Towns in New Brunswick Category:Lighthouses in New Brunswick Category:Populated places established in the 18th century