Local: City Information
Here are some basic facts about Fredericton:
Location
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Originally settled by Acadians in 1731 as Sainte-Anne, the town on the picturesque
St. John River, in the centre of the province of New Brunswick, grew to become
the provincial capital. The city is located at 45° 56'N - 66° 40'W, just
above the 45th parallel, midway between the North Pole and equator. Fredericton
is only 100 km from the US border. Greater Fredericton encompasses the
three provincial counties of York, Sunbury and Queens, includes fourteen
communities, and covers 16,000 Sq. Km. (6,176 Sq. miles).
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Name
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In 1785, the town was named "Fredericktown" after His Royal Highness Prince Frederick Augustus, Duke of York and second son of King George Ill., though over time the "k" and "w" were dropped
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Population
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The population of Fredericton is 81,346 (2001).
New Brunswick was one of the founders of the Dominion
of Canada on July 1, 1867. New Brunswick has 756,652 residents on its area of 72,908 square
kilometres.
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Industries
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The major industries in Fredericton reflects the community's role as the seat
of government, though not the province's largest city. The top industries include government
services, education, health & social services, retail trade, and accommodation & hospitality, .
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Weather
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No part of New Brunswick lies more than 200 km from the ocean, yet the province has a typically continental flavour to its climate. In summer, the predominant air mass is warm continental, with occasional incursions of hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico. On the other hand, influxes of moist Atlantic air produce mild spells in winter and periods of cool weather in summer.
Cold winter temperatures and stormy northeasterlies combine to make New Brunswick the snowiest of the three Mar time provinces. While the northwest receives 300 to 400 cm of snow annually, the eastern and southern sections of the province receive 200 to 300 cm of snow, about 1/5 of annual total precipitation. Winter storms frequently bring rain to the Fundy coast and snow to the interior. Spring and early summer are notably dry over New Brunswick, but there is ample water during the growing season. The interior highlands record about 1200 mm of rainfall a year, with the heaviest amounts falling during the summer months, a pattern characteristic of a continental-type climate.
Average daily temperatures are:
Scale | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec
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C | -4.0 | -2.5 | 2.9 | 9.4 | 17.2 | 22.8 | 25.6 | 24.5 | 19.3 | 13.1 | 5.7 | -1.5
| F | 24.8 | 27.5 | 37.2 | 48.9 | 62.9 | 73 | 78 | 76.1 | 66.7 | 55.6 | 42.3 | 29.3
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An approximate guide to Celsius Temperatures is as follows:
Here are some guides to dressing appropriately for Fredericton. Most tourists
look far too informal. Casual, upscale dress will help you fit in better.
In the summer, shorts, sandals and light clothing are okay. Bring along an umbrella or raincoast
in case of the showers that come & go, and bring a sweater or jacket for
cooler evenings and breezy sea shores.
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Some hotels include tips or gratuities with group programs to simplify bookkeeping. This will usually include gratuities for housekeeping, bell service and food service. In a hotel, bell service should be tipped about $1 per bag, and housekeeping $1 to $5 dollars a day (in proportion to your room rate). Visitors should know that the standard tip in restaurants is
10%-15% (on restaurant bills, an average tip will match the GST & tax), with 20% for very outstanding service. This is especially important for visitors from countries where tipping on meals is not done: here the waitering staff depend on tips for a significant portion of their incomes. Tip taxis about 10%, and a dollar a bag they carry for you (not just unload), or at the very least round fares up to the nearest dollar.
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