A sudden and dramatic population explosion.
After the American Revolution, there was a large group of ‘American Yankees’ who chose to remain British subjects. They fled the United States for Canada—which at this point remained in British hands—and they became known as the Loyalists.
From 1783 to 1785, in just two years, the population of the territory that would become the colony of New Brunswick quadrupled with the arrival of 15,000 Loyalists. Many of them established at the mouth of the Saint John River, quickly outnumbering the 400 civilians and troops living in that region. They founded the city of Saint John, known as the “Loyalist City”.
To learn more about Loyalist history, visit Loyalist House in Saint John, Tilley House in Gagetown and the Loyalist habitations at Kings Landing.