Bathurst (Nipisiguit)
The French presence in Bathurst goes back to the 17th century when the region, then called Nipisiguit, was developed by Nicolas Denys, who built a trading post there. However, British raids during the Grand Dérangement ultimately chased away the Acadian population, who did not return until the 1770s. Today, forestry and mining rule the region's economy, which allowed Bathurst to become the province's largest north-eastern urban center, with French being the mother tongue of half the population.
