Eel River Crossing, New Brunswick
Eel River Crossing is a community in Bois-Joli in Restigouche County, New Brunswick, Canada. It held village status until 2023, when it was amalgamated to form the village of Bois-Joli.
History
Its name usually being simplified to Eel River, the village is situated on the river of that name. The word "Crossing" was added to the name after the Intercolonial Railway built its Halifax-Rivière-du-Loup main line through the community in 1875. Since 1972, a high-voltage converter station, the Eel River Converter Station, is located in Eel River Crossing.Eel River – A descriptive derived from the French designation Anguille. Anse a l'Anguille changed to Eel River Cove by petition on October 14, 1950.
In Mi'kmaq, Eel River was known as Okpĕgŭnchĭk which meant "discoloured foam on the water".
Following an amalgamation with surrounding areas in 2015, the village branded itself Eel River Dundee in 2018 but the legal name remained Eel River Crossing.
On January 1, 2023, Eel River Crossing amalgamated with the village of Balmoral and all or part of five local service districts to form the new village of Bois-Joli. The community's name remains in official use.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Eel River Crossing had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.In the same census, the designated place portion of Eel River Crossing had a population of 1,082 living in 504 of its 531 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,157. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.
Population trend
| Census | Population | Change |
| 2016 | 1,953 | 3.9% |
| 2011 revised | 2,032 | 40.5% |
| 2011 | 1,209 | 3.5% |
| 2006 | 1,168 | 12.5% |
| 2001 | 1,335 | 7.7% |
| 1996 | 1,446 | 1.4% |
| 1991 | 1,467 | N/A |
- 2011 population revised due to boundary changes.
| Language | Population | Pct |
| French only | 1,575 | 81.8% |
| English only | 310 | 16.1% |
| Both English and French | 30 | 1.6% |
| Other languages | 10 | 0.5% |