Tantramar was incorporated on January 1, 2023 via the amalgamation of the former town of Sackville and the former village of Dorchester as well as the concurrent annexation of adjacent unincorporated areas.

[1] The name Tantramar is derived from the Acadian French tintamarre, meaning 'din' or 'racket', a reference to the noisy flocks of birds which feed there in the marshes.

The Sackville Memorial Hospital serves the region, as well as the Community Health Centre which houses several physicians, an optometrist, a dentist, and a pharmacy.

[3] The arena can seat over 750 spectators[4] and is the home rink for the Mount Allison University women's hockey team.

Some of the main employers are a Moneris Solutions call centre, Russel Metals, Sackville Memorial Hospital, and Mount Allison University.

Another main employer today is the Correctional Service of Canada, which operates a prison complex now comprising the medium-security (once maximum-security) Dorchester Penitentiary, and the minimum-security Westmorland Institution.

The annual shorebird migration to the mud flats of nearby Johnson's Mills is celebrated by an oversize model of a semi-palmated sandpiper situated in Dorchester square.