Madawaska County (2016 population 32,741^[1]), also known as the "New Brunswick Panhandle",^[2] is located in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. Over 90% of the county's population speaks French. Its Francophone population are known as "Brayons." Forestry is the major industry in the county.

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Madawaska
County
Location of Madawaska County.
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
Established	1873
Area [1]
• Land	3,461.89 km2 (1,336.64 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[1]
• Total	32,741
• Density	9.5/km2 (25/sq mi)
• Change 2011-2016	2.0%
• Dwellings	15,774
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)
Area code	506

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The first inhabitants of what is now called Madawaska County were the Maliseet or Wolastoqiyik, who occupied and used the land along the Saint John River Valley north to the St. Lawrence River and south to the Penobscot River. There is debate concerning the true origin of the word "Madawaska". The earliest settlers were from Quebec. The area was the focus of the bloodless Aroostook War, a border dispute led by businessman and political activist John Baker.

The earliest settlers of the Upper Saint John River Valley have been clearly verified, with census results of the Madawaska region taken in 1820 showing where most families had originated from Quebec.^[3][4]

As a census division in the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Madawaska County had a population of 32,603 living in 14,905 of its 15,851 total private dwellings, a change of -0.4% from its 2016 population of 32,741. With a land area of 3,454.97 km² (1,333.97 sq mi), it had a population density of 9.4/km² (24.4/sq mi) in 2021.^[8]

Language

More information Canada Census Mother Tongue - Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Census ...

Canada Census Mother Tongue - Madawaska County, New Brunswick[7][1]
Census		Total		French				English				French & English				Non-official languages
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2016		32,105		29,765	2.5%	92.71%		1,645	7.5%	5.12%		372	24.0%	1.17%		320	77.8%	1.00%
2011		32,510		30,500	2.2%	93.82%		1,530	8.1%	4.71%		300	13.2%	0.92%		180	54.4%	0.55%
2006		33,510		31,185	4.7%	93.06%		1,665	6.1%	4.97%		265	26.4%	0.79%		395	119.4%	1.18%
2001		34,845		32,735	3.8%	93.94%		1,570	14.2%	4.51%		360	14.3%	1.03%		180	44.0%	0.52%
1996		36,300		34,030	n/a	93.75%		1,830	n/a	5.04%		315	n/a	0.87%		125	n/a	0.34%

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Highways and numbered routes that run through the county, including external routes that start or finish at the county limits:^[13]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Madawaska County, New Brunswick.

• Republic of Madawaska
• Brayon
• List of communities in New Brunswick