Saint John played a crucial role in trade and defense for Acadia during the French colonial era, with Fort La Tour in the city's harbour becoming a pivotal battleground during the Acadian Civil War.

[18] The city became a shipyard of global stature, producing vessels such as the 1851 ship Marco Polo, which became the fastest in the world,[19] and witnessing the development of the automated foghorn by Robert Foulis.

Saint John Harbour, where the two rivers meet the Bay of Fundy, is a deep water port and ice-free all year long.

The Saint John River itself flows into the Bay of Fundy through a narrow gorge several hundred metres wide at the centre of the city.

In Saint John the height difference from low to high tide is approximately 8 metres (28 ft) due to the funnelling effect of the Bay of Fundy as it narrows.

[32][33] In 1982, Saint John introduced the Trinity Royal Heritage Conservation Area, which serves to preserve historic districts and buildings in the city.

[42] Multiple historic buildings are located by the park, including the Saint John City Market, the Imperial Theatre, as well as the former Admiral Beatty Hotel.

[110] At one point, Saint John was British North America's biggest shipbuilding city,[113] constructing many well-known ships, including the Marco Polo.

[112] However, these industries suffered a decline in trade due to technological advancements,[114][112] which was only made worse with the Great Fire of Saint John in 1877.

The SJAC in the Carnegie Building hosts art exhibits, workshops, local songwriters' circles and other shows too small to be featured at the grand Imperial Theatre.

However, the Irving family closed the shipyard in 2003 and centralized in Halifax leaving the Saint John dry dock sitting idle.

[citation needed] Ecological research on surrounding marine life of the Bay of Fundy and the Saint John and Kennebecasis Rivers is centred in the city.

Aquaculture, primarily Atlantic Salmon farming, has grown to be a major employer in the region as the decline of other traditional wild fisheries has unfolded in recent decades.

The Canadian Pacific Railway opened a line to Saint John from Montreal in 1889 across the state of Maine and transferred the majority of its trans-Atlantic passenger and cargo shipping to the port during the winter months.

[131] The city is the birthplace of several notable artists, actors and musicians, including Walter Pidgeon, Donald Sutherland, Louis B. Mayer, and Miller Brittain.

What is considered the golden age of the Saint John arts community was during the post-war era from 1940 to 1970 when the city produced renowned artists and writers such as poet Kay Smith, painters Jack Humphrey, Miller Brittain, Bruno Bobak, Fred Ross, sculptor John Hooper and folk-singer Stompin' Tom Connors.

Poet Bliss Carman once wrote about Saint John, "All the beauty and mystery Of life were there, adventure bold, Youth, and the glamour of the sea, And all its sorrows old.

[140] Other films shot in Saint John include The Secret Life of Algernon (1997),[141] crime drama Blue Hill Avenue (2001),[142] Jericho Mansions (2003),[143] Geraldine's Fortune (2004),[144] black comedy thriller Stuck (2007),[145] romantic drama Still Mine (2012),[146] and Steven Bernstein's depiction of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas Last Call (2017),[147] of which most extras were from Saint John.

Early settlers influenced music in Saint John from the time the area had been a series of forts for the English and French colonists.

Working class fishers, labourers and shipbuilders carried Maritime traditions and folk songs with kitchen parties and outdoor gatherings.

A notable Loyalist musician, Stephen Humbert, moved in 1783 from New Jersey to Saint John and opened a Sacred Vocal Music School.

[163] Some musicians from Saint John include Berkley Chadwick,[164] Stompin' Tom Connors,[165] Ken Tobias,[166] Blank Banshee, Stevedore Steve,[167] Jane Coop, Bruce Holder, Frances James,[168] songwriter Michael F. Kelly,[163] Ned Landry,[169] composer and teacher Edward Betts Manning,[163] organist Paul Murray,[170] Catherine McKinnon, Patricia Rideout, Frances C. Robinson, Philip Thomson, and tenor and choir conductor Gordon Wry.

[174] Quality Block Party music festival hosts independent New Brunswick musicians in smaller venues throughout uptown Saint John.

Opened in 1969 and located next to the Saint John Regional Hospital near Millidgeville,[206] the campus serves around 2,000 of UNB's total student body.

[210][211] In the fall of 2007, a report commissioned by the provincial government recommended UNBSJ and the NBCC be reformed and consolidated into a new polytechnic post-secondary institute.

The proposal immediately came under heavy criticism and led to the organizing of several protests in the uptown area, citing the diminishment of UNB as a nationally accredited university, the reduction in accessibility to receive degrees – and these are only a couple of the reasons why the community was enraged by the recommendation.

The strike was important for shattering the image of Saint John as a conservative town dominated primarily by ethnic and religious (rather than class) divisions, and highlighting tensions between railway industrialists and the local working population.

The Saint John General Strike of 1976 was a result of the Bill C-73 passed by Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and the House of Commons in Ottawa on October 14, 1975.

Irving had argued the refinery might have to shut down and had to bring in a bevy of rollbacks to the workers' pay and benefits and other changes to the collective agreement.

Acadian Lines used to operate regular inter-city bus services between New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Bangor, as well as Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec (connecting with Orléans Express).