Fredericton is the capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city; it is the dominant natural feature of the area. One of the main urban centres in New Brunswick, the city had a population of 118,071 in the 2011 census. It is the third-largest city in the province after Saint John and Moncton.
An important cultural, artistic, and educational center for the province, Fredericton is home to two universities, the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design, and cultural institutions such as the Beaverbrook Art Gallery, the Fredericton Region Museum, and The Playhouse, a performing arts venue. The city hosts the annual Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival, attracting regional and international jazz, blues, rock, and world artists.
As a provincial capital, its economy is inextricably tied to the fortunes of the public sector; however, the city also contains a growing IT and commercial sector. The city has the highest percentage of residents with a post-secondary education in the province and one of the highest per capita incomes.
Fredericton has been evaluated favorably in recent years for its competitive quality of life and potential for business development. In 2013, Foreign Direct Investment magazine reviewed Fredericton's economic potential and quality of life, and named it first amongst North America's Top 10 Micro Cities, improving from its second-place rank in 2011. Amongst 200 Canadian communities, Fredericton placed seventh in MoneySense magazine's Best Places to Live in 2012, but dropped to 78th in 2013.
Geography[]
The Saint John River runs through Fredericton, with most of the city's post-war suburban development occurring on the gently sloping hills on either side of the river (although the downtown core is flat and lies low to the river).
At an altitude of about 17 meters above sea level, Fredericton is nestled in the Pennsylvanian Basin. It differs markedly from the geologically older parts of the province. There are prominently two distinct areas in the region that are divided around the area of Wilsey Road, in the east end of the city. In the west side, the bedrock underneath the earth is topographically dominant, whereas the other is controlled by Pleistocene and recent deposits leading to the rivers (resulting in the area being shallow and wide). Fredericton and its surroundings are rich in water resources, which, coupled with highly arable soil, make the Fredericton region ideal for agriculture. The Saint John River and one of its major tributaries, the Nashwaak River, come together in Fredericton. The uninhabited parts of the city are heavily forested.
Climate[]
Fredericton has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The average January low temperature is -16 °C, while the average high in July high is 26 °C. On average, Fredericton receives approximately 1100 mm of precipitation per year. Snowfall is common between late November and early April, and snow usually stays on the ground beginning in December. Flooding occurs during the spring of most years on area rivers and affects the city's low-lying neighborhoods. Its climate is somewhat influenced by its inland position, with warmer summers and colder winter nights than expected for coastal areas of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The highest temperature ever recorded in Fredericton is 38.89 °C (102 °F) on August 18th 1935, and the coldest temperature ever recorded is -38.89 °C (-38 °F) on January 19th 1925.