Education & Culture
New Brunswick has a strong cultural and educational heritage that reflects the influences of both its French-speaking and English-speaking populations.

In 1816 the New Brunswick colonial legislature passed a law providing for the establishment of primary schools in all counties. The province's modern public school system was established in 1871. In the early 1990's New Brunswick had 450 elementary and secondary schools with a combined annual enrollment of 141,650 students. There were few private schools. In the same period the province had 13 institutions of higher education, with about 22,450 students. Leading higher education institutions in New Brunswick include the University of New Brunswick (1785), at Fredericton, Canada's oldest university; Mount Allison University (1839), at Sackville; and the French-language Université de Moncton (1864), at Moncton.

Libraries, museums, and other cultural institutions are concentrated in Fredericton and Saint John. Major museums include the Beaverbrook Art Gallery and the Provincial Archives, both at Fredericton; the New Brunswick Museum, with historical collections, at Saint John; and the Musée Acadian at the Université de Moncton. Prominent libraries include the Harriet Irving Library of the University of New Brunswick at Fredericton, and the New Brunswick Museum Library, at Saint John.

Also of note is the provincial legislative library, at Fredericton. Symphony New Brunswick is based in Saint John, and Theatre New Brunswick has its headquarters at the Playhouse in Fredericton. Acadian cultural activities are coordinated by Le Centre de Promotion et de Diffusion de la Culture, at Moncton Historical Sites. Fort Beauséjour National Historic Park, east of Sackville, is the site of an 18th-century French fort. Remains of British defensive sites include the Martello Tower west of Saint John and the Saint Andrews Blockhouse, dating from the early 19th century. At Saint John are several historic structures, including houses that were built by Loyalists.

Politics
New Brunswick has a unicameral legislature with 55 seats. Elections are held at least every five years but may be called at any time by the Lieutenant Governor Lieu (the vice-regal representative) on consultation with the Premier. The Premier is the leader of the party that holds the most seats in the legislature.

There are two dominant political parties in New Brunswick, the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party. While consistently polling approximately 10% of the electoral vote since the early 1980s, the New Democratic Party has elected few members to the Legislative Assembly.
The dynamics of New Brunswick politics are different from those of other provinces in Canada.

The lack of a dominant urban centre in the province means that the government has to be responsive to issues affecting all areas of the province. In addition, the presence of a large francophone minority dictates that consensus politics is necessary, even when there is a majority government present. In this manner, the ebb and flow of New Brunswick provincial politics parallels the federal stage.

Liberal Premier Louis J. Robichaud (1960-1970) established the official equality of the French and English languages. Robichaud also pursued, often with federal assistance, a strategy of industrialization to create the jobs necessary to bring living standards up to the national average. His Progressive Conservative party successor, Richard Bennett Hatfield (1970-1987) continued Robichaud's policies of development. Hatfield played an active role in the patriation of the Canadian constitution and creation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In the 1987 election the Liberals, led by Frank McKenna (1987-1997) swept all seats in the legislature.

On September 18, 2006, the Liberals won a majority with 29 out of 55 seats, making 38-year old Shawn Graham the new Premier of New Brunswick.