Ports & Harbours of Atlantic Canada and the Gulf of St. Lawrence

History

The particular location of the site means it has been used for centuries. The Micmacs used the place as a shortcut to travel from Chaleur Bay to Saint-Simon Bay and had a camp there. The Vikings are said to have been the first Europeans to visit the region in the 11th century, but Basque, Breton, and Norman fishermen frequented the area from the 13th century. Bordeaux merchants established a fishing post at Miscou in 1619, and at the same time, Governor Nicolas Denys was trading in the region. Four Breton and Norman families, including Gabriel Giraud's, settled in Caraquet from the 1720s onwards. Giraud lived further east, but probably used the area, as Gamaliel Smethurst, on his journey to Fort Beauséjour, met him there on a November morning in 1761.

Location

The city of Caraquet is built on a plateau bordering Caraquet Bay, which communicates to the east with Chaleur Bay. Most of the coastline consists of slopes or cliffs reaching up to fifteen meters high in some places. Only a few places are accessible by sea, mainly where the Petite Rivière Caraquet and the Brideau and Chenard streams flow into the bay. The thin strip of lowlands between these two streams was therefore a prime location for building a port, especially since it is one of the first accessible places after the Nepisiguit River, about fifty kilometers to the west, with the Capes preventing access to much of the coast.

Saint-Pierre Boulevard, Route 11, runs alongside the port. To the west, Carrefour Avenue connects the various facilities to the east, where it joins Quai Street.

History

The end of glaciation began 13,500 years ago and ended with the region becoming largely ice free 11,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of Palaeo-Indian settlement in the region follows rapidly after deglaciation.

Several thousand years ago, the territory of the province became known as a part of the territory of the Mi'kmaq nation of Mi'kma'ki. Mi'kma'ki included what are now the Maritimes, parts of Maine, Newfoundland and the Gaspé Peninsula. The town of Port Hawkesbury is in the traditional Mi'kmaq district of Unama'ki.

In 1605, French colonists established the first permanent European settlement in the future Canada (and the first north of Florida) at Port Royal, founding what would become known as Acadia.

Geography

The land area of the municipality is 8.1 square kilometres with a population density (2016) of 396.6 persons per square kilometre. This compares to the provincial land area of 52,940 square kilometres and population density of 17.4 persons per square kilometre.

Port Hawkesbury experiences a Humid continental climate (Dfb). Due to the proximity to surrounding bodies of water, seasons tend to be delayed when compared to areas further inland. Precipitation is high, with the fall and winter being the wettest time of year and summer being the driest. Winters are cold, snowy and stormy with frequent snowstorms. Summer is the most pleasant time of year, with significantly less precipitation and warm temperatures.

Economy

In 2006, the Port of Port Hawkesbury was the second largest by annual tonnage in Canada, second only to Vancouver, British Columbia, due to large volumes of crushed rock and gravel shipments and oil trans-shipments. It handled 31.6 million metric tonnes in 2006, of which 21.6 million tonnes was crude petroleum. By 2011, the volume of annual tonnage had dropped to 23.7 million tonnes, making it the 7th largest port in Canada.

The port is served by tugs of Svitzer Towing such as the tug Point Chebucto. Historically, it was a stop for American coastal steam ships.

Located in neighbouring Point Tupper, the Port Hawkesbury Mill began operation in 1962. The overwhelming majority of the paper produced is exported to the United States.

History

The community was previously known as Plaster Cove. The Inverness and Richmond Railway was built from coal mines in Inverness to a loading dock at Point Tupper in 1901. The construction of the Canso Causeway which opened in 1955 saw the community become a railway junction after the Truro-Sydney mainline of Canadian National Railways (CNR) was diverted from the railcar ferry terminals at Mulgrave and Point Tupper. The CNR line to Inverness was eventually abandoned in the 1980s, although the Truro-Sydney mainline continues to operate under the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway.

The construction of the Canso Causeway also brought what would become the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 104 and Highway 105) through the community.

Climate

Similar to most of Nova Scotia, Port Hastings has a humid continental climate with some maritime influences, including high snowfall in winter and relatively narrow temperature fluctuations by Canadian standards.