[2] They provided convenient boundaries for electoral districts[c] and organising delivery of government services for some time after 1966 but were gradually supplanted for such purposes by local service districts (LSDs), which better represent communities of interest.
Parishes are still used[d] to describe legal boundaries for health administration[6][7] judicial matters,[8] agricultural boards, and some other entities; highway, fisheries and wildlife, community planning, and some other departments use parishes for rural locations, while some forms still use parishes as the only alternative to municipalities when entering one's community.
142 of New Brunswick's parishes are used as the basis of census subdivisions by Statistics Canada.
[13] Unless noted, all figures below are for census subdivisions, which do not include areas within municipalities, incorporated rural communities, or Indian reserves.
Revised census figures based on the 2023 local governance reforms have not been released.