The full list of proposed names for the 77 new local governments and 12 rural districts was unveiled on Wednesday afternoon at a press conference in Irishtown.
Many of these names are identical, or nearly identical, to the large communities they encompass.
Well-known titles such as Kedgwick, Campbellton and Belledune abound.
But in the list of completely original names, some clear patterns emerge.
Rivière-du-Nord, Five Rivers, The Community of Three Rivers, Vallée-des-Rivières, Valley Waters, Miramichi River Valley, District of Tobique Valley and Butternut Valley are some of the names announced on Wednesday.
Daniel Allain, Minister of Local Government and Local Government Reform, is at the top of the list of new names for 77 local governments and 12 rural districts. (Shane Fowler / CBC News)
“So we have three Fundys and three Miramichis,” said Daniel Allain, local government minister and local government reform.
“Creativity in these short months has been great,” he added immediately.
Allain said the department did have to change some of the names presented because they were simply too similar to each other.
Arcadie had to move to Nouvelle-Arcadie, as Arcadia was already introduced by another community. Allain said small changes also needed to be made to ensure that Miramichi, Miramichi River Valley and Upper Miramichi were different enough from each other.
Although many entities used rivers and valleys as a muse, some simply took a less inspired route and chose to use their location within their respective county. This includes Central York and Sunbury-York South. The Carleton North District and the Southern Victoria Regional Community also took this route.
But if you’re looking for a bit of ironic humor in the province of rivers and valleys, look no further than Belle-Baie.
It reflects the name of a television drama that was shot in upstate New Brunswick and aired for four seasons on Radio-Canada.
Allain said there have been some “hot topics” and not everyone is happy, but “I would say 95 percent, everyone is happy and moving forward.”
“Today we are celebrating a historic time because those names will be here, hopefully, for the next hundred years,” Allain said.
The place-name Maurice Basque, who studies the place-names, was one of the two experts in whom the province counted on to help itself in the process of denomination.
“Choosing a new name is not a superficial thing; a name is very important,” Basque told a news conference.
Basque said the vast majority of New Brunswickers who worked to choose the new names were very careful to avoid names that are considered offensive now or in the future.
Many also wanted names that were easy to pronounce.
“Why? Because children would be the ones who would really give this new name a new personality, a real existence,” he said. “Easy to pronounce for newcomers [too]this is very important for our province, where newcomers are also important. ”
These proposed names are expected to be permanent in September as the local government reform process moves into its next stages. However, the press release issued by the province states that “Article 60 of the Local Government Act will allow a local government to change its name in the future if it so decides.”