[4] Shippagan was greatly enlarged on 1 January 2023, when it amalgamated with Le Goulet and all or part of seven local service districts[5][6] Revised census figures have not been released.

Shippagan is located in the northeastern part of the Acadian Peninsula: a combination bridge-causeway connects the town with Lamèque Island to the northeast.

The town was founded by Jean Mallet (son of Francois Mallet and Marie Madeleine Larocque) and Marie Josephte Duguay (daughter of Rene Duguay and Marguerite LeBreton) from Paspébiac, Quebec and the Robichaux family from Bonaventure, Quebec in 1790, as a result of expansion of the Charles Robin Company.

During the eighteenth century various orthographies were used for the nearby settlement on the site of what is now Bas-Caraquet,[9] most commonly Chipagan, and this is the name subsequently applied and adapted for modern-day Shippagan.

On August 15, 2019, the town was granted a coat of arms by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, while the announcement of the Letters Patent was made on March 28, 2020, in Volume 154, page 692 of the Canada Gazette.