It is located near the Nova Scotia border at the mouth of the Gaspereaux River where it empties into the Northumberland Strait's Baie Verte.

The earthworks of Fort Gaspareaux, a French military fortification from the Seven Years' War are located at the mouth of the river immediately east of the village.

The New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Railway was built through the village in the early 1880s, opening on September 9, 1886, to connect the Intercolonial Railway at Sackville with the seasonal port of Cape Tormentine which supported the winter iceboat service to Prince Edward Island; in 1917 this port became a terminal for the year-round ferry service to P.E.I.

[3] The second largest employer is Westford Nursing Home, which has about 30 full and part-time staff and provides permanent care facility for 29 persons as well as one relief-care bed.

On 1 January 2023, the Village of Port Elgin, Baie Verte, Bayfield, Cape Tormentine, and parts of Botsford and Westmorland local service districts, were incorporated to form the rural community of Strait Shores.