West Isles Parish, New Brunswick

West Isles Deer Island
Parish
Location within Charlotte County.
Country	Canada
Province	New Brunswick
County	Charlotte County
Erected	1786
Area [1]
• Land	38.32 km2 (14.80 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]
• Total	718
• Density	18.7/km2 (48/sq mi)
• Change 2016-2021	9.9%
• Dwellings	475
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-3 (ADT)

West Isles is a geographic parish in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada.^[5]

For governance purposes, it is part of the Southwest rural district,^[6] which is a member of the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission.^[7]

Prior to the 2023 governance reform, it comprised a single local service district (LSD), which was a member of the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission (SNBSC).^[8]

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.^[9]

West Isles was erected in 1786 as one of the original parishes of the county,^[10] including Deer Island, Campobello, and Grand Manan, and islands in Cobscook Bay claimed by Britain.

West Isles Parish is bounded:^[3][11][12]

• on the northeast by the Letete Passage and the Bay of Fundy;
• on the east by the Bay of Fundy;
• on the southeast by Head Harbour Passage;
• on the southwest and west by the international border, running through the Western Passage and Passamaquoddy Bay.

West Isles was originally defined^[10] "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] a description that included any islands more than 2 miles (3.2 km) offshore except The Wolves in Pennfield Parish.

In 1803 Campobello was erected as its own parish, including nearby minor islands;^[13] Campobello inherited West Isles' claims to Cobscook Bay.

In 1816 Grand Manan and was erected as its own parish, including nearby minor islands.^[14]

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,^[15] transferring several islands from Saint George to West Isles.

The local service district of the parish of West Isles comprised the entire parish.^[16]

The LSD was established in 1970 to assess for fire protection.^[17] First aid and ambulance services were added in 1982,^[18] recreational facilities in 1987.^[19]

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.^[20] The taxing authority is 517.00 West Isles.

Communities at least partly within the parish.^[11][12][21] italics indicate a name no longer in official use

Bodies of water^[b] at least partly within the parish.^[11][12][21] italics indicate a name no longer in official use

Islands at least partly within the parish.^[11][12][21] italics indicate a name no longer in official use

Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places at least partly within the parish.^{[11][12][21][23]}

• The Old Sow
• Whitehorse Island Protected Natural Area^[e]

Canada Census Mother Tongue - West Isles Parish, New Brunswick[26]
Census		Total		English				French				English & French				Other
Year		Responses		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %		Count	Trend	Pop %
2011		730		710	13.4%	97.26%		15	n/a%	2.05%		5	n/a%	0.69%		0	0.0%	0.00%
2006		820		820	1.2%	100.00%		0	100.0%	0.00%		0	0.0%	0.00%		0	100.0%	0.00%
2001		850		830	2.4%	97.65%		10	n/a%	1.18%		0	0.0%	0.00%		10	n/a%	1.18%
1996		850		850	n/a	100.00%		0	n/a	0.00%		0	n/a	0.00%		0	n/a	0.00%

Highways and numbered routes that run through the parish, including external routes that start or finish at the parish limits:^[28]

• List of parishes in New Brunswick

44°58′54″N 66°56′40″W / 44.981799°N 66.944504°W / 44.981799; -66.944504 (West Isles Parish, New Brunswick)