Miramichi redirects here. See also Miramichi River, Miramichi (electoral district), and Miramichi, Nova Scotia.

Miramichi (2001 population 18,508) is the largest city in northern New Brunswick, Canada. It is situated at the mouth of the Miramichi River where it flows into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The city was formed in 1995, when five smaller town governments (Newcastle, Chatham, Douglastown, Loggieville and Nelson) merged with several other rural communities to form a so-called "megacity". This was controversial at the time and still remains so in some quarters. The towns of Chatham and Newcastle had strong identities, were five miles apart, and had the amalgamation thrust upon them by the Provincial government.

The two largest towns, Newcastle and Chatham, are located on opposite sides of the river approximately 10 km apart. Newcastle was first settled by the Scottish in the late 18th century, and originally called Miramichi before it changed its name because the early settlers often spelled it incorrectly. The town was based on forestry, and at the edge of town is a large pulp and paper mill owned by UPM-Kymmene.The famous British newspaper owner and Minister of Aircraft Production in World War two, Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, was born here.

Chatham was settled by the British and Irish and billed itself as Canada's Irish Capital for many years. St. Thomas University was located in Chatham until it moved to Fredericton, and the Royal Canadian Air Force had a base in Chatham between 1940 and 1996. Part of the former base is now used as a retirement community. It is the site of the registry for firearms for Canada.

Chatham is noteworthy for St. Michael's Basilica, an imposing neo-Gothic structure on a hill overlooking the town and the Miramichi River. The largest church east of Quebec City, the basilica, originally built as the cathedral of the now defunct Diocese of Chatham, is a remarkable structure for such a small town (8,600 at peak).

External links

• City of Miramichi home page (http://www.miramichi.org)
• Miramichi History (http://www.inmgroup.net/jeep1/history/?Lang=EN)
• Remembering the Town of Chatham (http://www.geocities.com/chathamites)