# Quispamsis

Quispamsis (/kwɪs.pæm.sɪs/, sometimes shortened to Quispam /kwɪsˈpæm/) is a suburban town located in Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located within Saint John's metropolitan area, it borders the town of Rothesay to form the Kennebecasis Valley and is located along the lower Kennebecasis River. As of 2021, the population of Quispamsis was 18,768.

## History

The region was initially inhabited by the Maliseet First Nation, who were members of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The name "Quispamsis" was derived from the Maliseet language, signifying "little lake in the woods," possibly referring specifically to the present-day Ritchie Lake. Around 1783, Acadians, British pre-Loyalists and Loyalists settled in the area, with many individuals receiving land grants along the Kennebecasis and Hammond Rivers.
In December 1982, Quispamsis' application for town status was accepted by the province; it was New Brunswick's largest village at the time.

### Amalgamation

Following the December 1992 release of a government discussion paper entitled "Strengthening Municipal Government in New Brunswick's Urban Centres", a series of localized feasibility studies were commissioned by the Frank McKenna's Liberals targeting six geographic areas: Edmunston, Campbellton, Dalhousie, Miramichi, Moncton, and Saint John. In each instance, a panel composed of local representatives and expert consulting staff made specific recommendations for each urban-centred region. The report for the Greater Saint John area, "A Community of Communities: Creating a stronger future" - often referred to simply as the Cormier Report - offered two potential solutions to the Province for consolidating the many municipalities in Greater Saint John, neither of which was ultimately adopted by government.
Option one offered by the Cormier Report was to create three communities with regionalization of some services. Under this option, the six Kennebecasis Valley communities (East Riverside-Kinghurst, Fairvale, Gondola Point, Quispamsis, Renforth, and Rothesay) plus the local service district of the Parish of Rothesay would be consolidated into one new municipality. The Town of Grand Bay and various unincorporated areas around Saint John would also be consolidated into the City of Saint John to form the second new municipality. The third municipality in this scenario would be Westfield, which would remain separate because it was more rural and less populated. In this scenario, many services including water and sewerage, planning, and economic development would be regionalized across the three municipalities.
The second option offered by Cormier was a full consolidation of eight of the existing communities into one new city. In this scenario, only Westfield would remain a separate municipality. Full consolidation was unpopular among residents outside the City of Saint John. Suburban residents stated generally that they were pleased with their communities as they were and that they liked their lower tax rates. As Cormier summarized it, residents "perceive Saint John as an expensive, poorly managed bureaucracy that does not serve its citizens well. They fear loss of control, loss of services, and loss of neighbourhood friendliness and sense of community."
Ultimately, neither of the two options was implemented. Rather, the provincial government chose to proceed with partial consolidations and opted to legislate cost sharing for five specific regional facilities. Quispamsis amalgamated on January 1, 1998 with the nearby communities of Gondola Point and Wells to form the present town, covering an area of 60 km$^2$ and bordering the town of Rothesay to the southwest with the Hammond River along its northeastern boundary.
Occasional discussion about the possibility of further amalgamating Rothesay with Quispamsis has not proceeded beyond the discussion phase, though the two municipalities do collaborate extensively to share services and facilities. Notably, both towns' boundaries were also left largely unaltered by the 2023 New Brunswick local governance reform.

## Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Quispamsis had a population of 18,768 living in 6,855 of its 6,985 total private dwellings, a change of 2.9% from its 2016 population of 18,245. With a land area of 56.97 km$^2$ (22.00 sq mi), it had a population density of 329.4/km$^2$ (853.2/sq mi) in 2021.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1981 | 6,022 | — |
| 1986 | 7,185 | +19.3% |
| 1991 | 8,446 | +17.6% |
| 1996 | 8,839 | +4.7% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 2001 | 13,757 | +55.6% |
| 2006 | 15,239 | +10.8% |
| 2011 | 17,886 | +17.4% |
| 2016 | 18,245 | +2.0% |
Source: Statistic Canada :
Panethnic groups in the Town of Quispamsis (2001−2021) :
| Panethnic group | 2021 | 2021 | 2016 | 2016 | 2011 | 2011 | 2006 | 2006 | 2001 | 2001 |
| Panethnic group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| European | 17,170 | 92.94% | 17,095 | 95.21% | 16,780 | 95.07% | 14,980 | 98.29% | 13,455 | 97.85% |
| East Asian | 490 | 2.65% | 315 | 1.75% | 305 | 1.73% | 40 | 0.26% | 40 | 0.29% |
| Indigenous | 275 | 1.49% | 240 | 1.34% | 195 | 1.1% | 45 | 0.3% | 70 | 0.51% |
| African | 230 | 1.24% | 150 | 0.84% | 170 | 0.96% | 45 | 0.3% | 95 | 0.69% |
| South Asian | 125 | 0.68% | 50 | 0.28% | 90 | 0.51% | 55 | 0.36% | 45 | 0.33% |
| Southeast Asian | 75 | 0.41% | 20 | 0.11% | 30 | 0.17% | 20 | 0.13% | 0 | 0% |
| Latin American | 30 | 0.16% | 20 | 0.11% | 40 | 0.23% | 50 | 0.33% | 30 | 0.22% |
| Middle Eastern | 10 | 0.05% | 45 | 0.25% | 50 | 0.28% | 10 | 0.07% | 20 | 0.15% |
| Other/multiracial | 75 | 0.41% | 35 | 0.19% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 20 | 0.15% |
| Total responses | 18,475 | 98.44% | 17,955 | 98.41% | 17,650 | 98.38% | 15,240 | 100.01% | 13,750 | 99.95% |
| Total population | 18,768 | 100% | 18,245 | 100% | 17,941 | 100% | 15,239 | 100% | 13,757 | 100% |
| Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses |||||||||||

## Parks

There are a number of recreational parks in the area. Parks open at dawn and closed at dusk. Parks include:
Arts and Culture Park (12 Landing Court) – includes walking trails, WiFi, picnic/chess tables, benches, stage and mezzanine. During the summer months there are outdoor movies and music free of charge and ice skating during the winter months.
Hammond River Park (28 Reynar Drive) – includes 40 acres, a fire pit, barbecue, picnic tables, hiking trails and a log cabin which is available for rent.
Off Leash Park (222 Vincent Road) – fenced-in area, trails and benches. This is an area for dog owners to let their dog run free.
Meenan's Cove Park (199 Model Farm Road) – includes picnic tables, barbecues, beach, boat dock, playground, ball field, walking trails and beach volleyball courts.
Ritchie Lake Park (Cedar Grove Drive) – includes picnic tables, beach and walking trails.
Quispamsis Qplex (20 Randy Jones Way) - includes two soccer fields, a baseball field, tennis courts, an arena, a swimming pool and a playground as well as many varied walking trails.
Gondola Point Beach - Gondola Point Beach is a supervised freshwater beach with changing rooms and picnic areas. It is situated on a sandbar overlooking the Kennebecasis River at the entrance to the Gondola Point Cable Ferry service in Quispamsis. In the summer of 2014 there was a section on the beach fenced off for a "dog beach".

## Transport

The Gondola Point Ferry, linking Quispamsis with the Kingston Peninsula, was originally installed by William Pitt and is the first underwater cable ferry in the world.
The COMEX bus service run by Saint John Transit runs through the Kennebecasis Valley and shuttles commuters from Quispamsis to Saint John every day, Mondays to Fridays. There are a few "park and ride" locations for commuters to leave their car for the day to take the bus into Saint John and along with other standing bus stops along the way.

## Education

Quispamsis has a number of schools from grades K-12, these schools are:
| School | Grades |
| Quispamsis Elementary School | K-5 |
| Lakefield Elementary School | K-5 |
| Chris Saunders Memorial Elementary School | K-5 |
| École des Pionniers | K-5 |
| Origins Academy | K-5 |
| Valley Christian Academy | K-12 |
| Quispamsis Middle School | 6-8 |
| Kennebecasis Valley High School | 9-12 |

## Notable people

* Randy Jones - Former professional ice hockey player who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Tampa Bay Lightning and Winnipeg Jets.
* Blaine Higgs - Politician and 34th Premier of New Brunswick