Madawaska is a geographic parish in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. The parish consists of two discontiguous portions, separated by Saint-Joseph Parish. For governance purposes, the southwestern portion is divided between the city of Edmundston and the town of Haut-Madawaska; the northeastern portion is part of the Northwest rural district. All three bodies are part of the Northwest Regional Service Commission. Before the 2023 governance reform, the northeastern portion of the parish formed the local service district of the parish of Madawaska.

Origin of name

The parish was named for the Madawaska River.

History

Madawaska was erected in 1833 from the northern part of Kent Parish, taking in most of modern Madawaska County and the northern part of Victoria County. In 1850 three new parishes were erected from Madawaska: Saint-Basile, Saint-François, and Saint-Léonard. In 1852 the parish was extended northward to include territory awarded in the boundary settlement with Lower Canada, losing some area to Restigouche County in the process. In 1874 the centre of modern Edmundston was added to Madawaska from Saint-Basile. In 1877 Saint-Jacques Parish was erected from Madawaska and Saint-Hilaire Parish also included part of Madawaska. In 1930 Saint-Joseph Parish included part of Madawaska. In 1946 Madawaska was affected by the major reorganisation of Madawaska County parish boundaries.

Boundaries

Madawaska Parish comprises two discontiguous portions: the heavily populated southwestern portion and the interior northeastern portion, which lacks provincial roads. The southwestern portion is bounded: The northeastern portion is bounded:

Communities

Communities at least partly within the parish. bold indicates an incorporated municipality or incorporated rural community

Bodies of water

Bodies of water at least partly in the parish.

Other notable places

Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly in the parish.

Demographics

Parish population total does not include portion in city of Edmundston

Population

Language