West Isles Parish, New Brunswick


West Isles is a geographic parish in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada.
For governance purposes, it is part of the Southwest rural district, which is a member of the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission.
Prior to the 2023 governance reform, it comprised a single local service district, which was a member of the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission.
The parish comprises dozens of offshore islands but only the largest, Deer Island, is inhabited. There are no bridges and only Deer Island has ferry service.
Historian William Francis Ganong considered the name to come from the islands' position.

History

West Isles was erected in 1786 as one of the original parishes of the county, including Deer Island, Campobello, and Grand Manan, and islands in Cobscook Bay.

Boundaries

West Isles Parish is bounded:
West Isles was originally defined "to contain Deer Island, Campo Bello Island, Grand Manan Island, Moose Island, Frederick Island and Dudley Island, with all the lesser islands contiguous to them, not included in the towns before-mentioned", a description that included any islands more than offshore except The Wolves in Pennfield Parish.
In 1803 Campobello was erected as its own parish, including nearby minor islands; Campobello inherited West Isles' claims to Cobscook Bay.
In 1816 Grand Manan and was erected as its own parish, including nearby minor islands.
In 1877 the parish's boundary were clarified: Campobello Parish's boundary running through Head Harbour Passage, Saint George Parish's through Letete Passage rather than two miles from the mainland, transferring several islands from Saint George to West Isles.

Local service district

The local service district of the parish of West Isles comprised the entire parish.
The LSD was established in 1970 to assess for fire protection. First aid and ambulance services were added in 1982, recreational facilities in 1987.
In 2022, the LSD assessed community & recreation services as well as the basic LSD services of fire protection, police services, land use planning, emergency measures, and dog control. The taxing authority is 517.00 West Isles.

Communities

Communities at least partly within the parish. italics indicate a name no longer in official use
Bodies of water at least partly within the parish. italics indicate a name no longer in official use
  • Deans Creek
  • Mill Creek
  • Welch Creek
  • Bay of Fundy
  • Passamaquoddy Bay
  • Fish Harbour
  • Leonardville Harbour
  • Northern Harbour
  • Northwest Harbour
  • Ship Harbour
  • Leonards Lake
  • Doyles Passage
  • Faux Passage
  • Head Harbour Passage
  • Indian River
  • Irish Channel
  • Letete Passage
  • Little Letete Passage
  • Quoddy River
  • The Notch
  • Western Passage

    Islands

Islands at least partly within the parish. italics indicate a name no longer in official use
Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly within the parish.

Population

Language

Access Routes

Highways and numbered routes that run through the parish, including external routes that start or finish at the parish limits:
  • Highways
  • *None
  • Principal Routes
  • *None
  • Secondary Routes:
  • *
  • External Routes:
  • * Letete to Deer Island Ferry
  • *Cummings Cove to Eastport Ferry
  • *Cummings Cove to Welshpool Ferry