St John

Seaport and largest city of New Brunswick, Canada, at the mouth of the St John River, 105 km/66 mi south of Fredericton; population (1991 est) 75,000, metropolitan area (1996 est) 129,100. It is a commercial centre, with shipbuilding (trawlers and small vessels), fishing, oil-refining, food-processing, brewing, and publishing industries. Vehicle parts, timber products, textiles, paint, and plastics are also manufactured. St John is one of Canada's main winter ports for European shipping, and has large dry-dock facilities.

The site was visited by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain on St John the Baptist's Day (24 June) in 1604. Fort Saint-Jean was erected by Charles de la Tour in 1635, and taken by the British in 1654.

The present city was founded in 1783 when several thousand Loyalists arrived from the USA after the American Revolution. It was originally named Parrtown after Governor Parr of Nova Scotia. In 1785 St John was the first Canadian city to be incorporated.