Demographics of New Brunswick

The provincial Department of Finance estimates that the province's population in 2006 was 729,997 of which the majority is English-speaking but with a substantial French-speaking minority of mostly Acadian origin.

In time, some Acadians returned to the Maritime provinces of Canada, mainly to New Brunswick,[2] due to the British prohibiting them from resettling their lands and villages in what became Nova Scotia.

People of Scottish descent are scattered throughout the province, with high concentrations in the Miramichi and in Campbellton.

[10] With both official language communities so strongly represented, New Brunswick is home to English and French-language hospitals, media, schools and universities.

Recurring debates have arisen in regards to duality (the system of parallel English and French-speaking public services), interpretation of the provincial bilingualism policy and specifics of implementation.

[12][13] Francophones advocate for full funding of French-language public services and fair representation in public sector employment, while Anglophones fear that the system of duality is financially inefficient, its extent is not worthwhile and that the provincial government's targets for bilingualism in public employment are hurting their chances to work for the government, as Anglophones are less likely than Francophones to be proficient enough in both official languages to use them in employment.

In 2012, New Brunswick Francophones scored lower on the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies than their Anglophone counterparts.

Of the 731,855 single responses to the census question concerning mother tongue, the most commonly reported languages were:[17] Note: "n.i.e.

)[17] The 2021 census reported that immigrants (individuals born outside Canada) comprise 44,125 persons or 5.8 percent of the total population of New Brunswick.