For the first time in its history, Saint John may have fallen to third most populous city in New Brunswick. Recent government reforms gave other cities an influx in residents but Saint John didn’t add any. Combined with dwindling overall growth, the province’s once largest city could now rest at number three.
Slow population growth and government reforms may see city surpassed by Fredericton as 2nd largest
Abby Russchen · CBC News
· Posted: Aug 04, 2026 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
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For the first time, Saint John’s population may be overtaken by Fredericton, making it the third-largest city in New Brunswick. (Abby Russchen/CBC)
Just over a decade after Saint John was overtaken by Moncton as New Brunswick’s largest city, Fredericton may have closed in to push Saint John to third on the population podium.
Since 2022, Saint John has had the slowest increase in population compared with the province’s two other major cities, Fredericton and Moncton.
“It’s not something that keeps me up at night,” said Donna Reardon, mayor of the city on the Bay of Fundy that for more than 225 years was home to more people than any other place in the province.
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