Prior to the
2023 governance reform, the parish was divided between Dieppe,[8] Shediac,[8] the village of
Cap-Pelé,[8] the rural community of
Beaubassin East,[9] and the
local service districts of
Grande-Digue,
Pointe-du-Chêne,
Scoudouc, Scoudouc Road,
Shediac Bridge-Shediac River, Shediac Cape, and the parish of Shediac.[10] With minor boundary changes, Grande-Digue and Shediac Bridge-Shediac River are now part of Beausoleil; Pointe-du-Chêne, Scoudouc, Scoudouc Road, and Shediac Cape were annexed by Shediac; Cap-Pelé and Beaubassin East merged to form Cap-Acadie; and the Shediac Parish LSD was divided between Beausoleil and Maple Hills.
Origin of name
The parish's name comes the community of Shediac, itself from a corruption of
Mi'kmaqEs-ed-ei'-ik, translated by
Rand as "running far back." There was a Fort Shediac mentioned in documents around 1755, on the mainland opposite Shediac Island.[11]
History
Shediac was erected in 1827 from
Dorchester and
Sackville Parishes.[12] The eastern boundary was at the mouth of the Kouchibouguac River.
In 1850 the eastern boundary was moved to run through Cap-Pelé.[13]
In 1894 the existing boundaries were declared retroactive to the parish's erection.[14]
on the east by a line beginning about 375 metres east of the mouth of the Tedish River and running south 4º 30' west[b] to a point about 1.6 kilometres northwesterly of the junction of Chemin des Moulins and
Route 940 and about 450 metres from Square Lake;
on the south by the prolongation of a line running south 83º 45' east[c] from the southern side of the mouth of Fox Creek;
on the west by a line beginning about 1.3 kilometres east of the
Memramcook River, at the prolongation of the southwestern line of a grant to Columb Connor on
Route 134, then running northwesterly along the prolongation, the Connor grant, and its northwesterly prolongation to the Kent County line.
Communities
Communities at least partly within the parish.[16][17][20]bold indicates an incorporated municipality or rural community; italics indicate a name no longer in official use
^Maps still visible as thumbnails show the current and previous governance boundaries.[5]
^By the magnet of 1903,[15] when
declination in the area was between 22º and 23º west of north.[18] The Territorial Division Act clause referring to magnetic direction bearings was omitted in the 1952[19] and 1973 Revised Statutes.[2]
^By the magnet of 1894,[14] when
declination in the area was between 21º and 22º west of north.[18]
^The Territorial Division Act[2] divides the province into 152 parishes, the cities of
Saint John and
Fredericton, and one town of
Grand Falls. The Interpretation Act[3] clarifies that parishes include any local government within their borders.
^"13 Vic. c. 51 An Act to consolidate all the Laws now in force for the division of the Province into Counties, Towns and Parishes.". Acts of the General Assembly of Her Mjaesty's Province of New Brunswick, Passed in the Year 1850.
Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1850. pp. 142–152, 145–149. Book was poorly proofread, resulting in title typo and reuse of page numbers 145–152.
^
ab"57 Vic. c. 36 An Act to amend Chapter 2 of the Consolidated Statutes, of 'The division of the Province into Counties, Towns and Parishes,' so far as relates to the County of Westmorland.". Acts of the General Assembly of Her Majesty's Province of New Brunswick. Passed in the Month of April, 1894.
Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1894. pp. 162–163. Available as a free ebook from Google Books.
^
ab"4 Edward 7 c. 13 An Act in amendment of the Act 59 Victoria, Chapter 8, intituled 'An Act to revise and codify An Act to provide for the division of the Province into Counties, Towns and Parishes.'". Acts of the Legislative Assembly of His Majesty's Province of New Brunswick. Passed in the Month of April, 1904.
Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1904. pp. 77–78.
^
abcde"No. 110". Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development. Retrieved 24 June 2021. Remainder of parish on maps 120 and 121 at same site.
^
abcde"319"(PDF). Transportation and Infrastructure. Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 24 June 2021. Remainder of parish on mapbooks 320, 321, 338–340, and 360 at same site.
^"Chapter 227 Territorial Division Act". The Revised Statutes of New Brunswick 1952 Volume III.
Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1952. pp. 3725–3771.