The Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew

As the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew is approaching its bicentennial in 2025, we are offering biographical articles featuring some of the more prominent persons who have been members of the FSSA. The previous article highlighted John Simpson, the first Mayor of Fredericton. This article features John B. McNair who served as Premier of New Brunswick from 1940 to 1952.  John Babbitt McNair (1889 – 1968) Scholar, Lawyer, Politician, Premier, Judge, Lieutenant-Governor by Ian Andrews  On Waterloo Row in Fredericton, across from the Saint John River, stands a well-appointed structure, built in the 19th century, and identified by a plaque on the front as the Quartermain House Bed & Breakfast. Since becoming a B&B over a decade ago, the Quartermain House has more than once received the designation as the #1 Bed & Breakfast in North America. This place previously served as the home of John Babbitt McNair, a convenient short walk from the Provincial Legislature where ...

Come show your Nippy Knees and Rosey Cheeks!  On Saturday January 27 the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew and Fredericton Region Museum are honouring Robbie Burns Day by celebrating everything Scottish in Officers’ Square.  Come join in the fun of a Canadian tradition! Don your best tartan and come out for a free skate on the wonderful new skating surface at Officers’ Square.  Hot chocolate, shortbread cookies, and haggis burgers will also be waiting for you at the Fredericton Region Museum!  Register in advance here - and receive yours for free! 

The Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew scholarship was established in 1883 to be presented annually to a deserving student of Scottish birth or ancestry who is studying at the University of New Brunswick. We wish to thank Barb MacKinnon and Ian Andrews for their assistance in the selection process.  This year’s winner is Leah Morrison , a fifth-year mechanical engineering student at UNB, originally from Sydney on Cape Breton Island, whose family tree contains strong Scottish lineage on both sides.  Because her great grandparents spoke Gaelic, Leah decided to take Gaelic lessons in elementary school, as well as to attend Gaelic Immersion sessions at The Gaelic College  in St. Anns (Nova Scotia). To celebrate her Scottish heritage she has also attended many ceilidhs and taken seven years of fiddle lessons.  Leah has consistently performed at a high level in her studies at UNB and she currently possesses a 4.0 grade point average. Her transcript is filled with cou...

The Annual General Meeting of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew was held on October 3, 2023 at the City Club in Fredericton. It was nearly 200 years ago, on Saint Andrew’s Night, November 30, 1825 that the FSSA was founded. By an Act of the New Brunswick Assembly the Society was incorporated in 1845, over two decades before the Confederation of Canada. Planning has already begun to celebrate our bicentennial.  Before the culminating Celebration at the Feast of Saint Andrew in 2025, we hope to have several significant events designed to celebrate our Scottish heritage. From a whisky tasting evening under the direction of Frank Scott to a kilted skate on the new oval at Officers’ Square, the publication of a history of the FSSA and a special issue of Officers’ Quarters (the publication of the York-Sunbury Historical Society), featuring articles related to our organization – these are some of the ways in which we plan to celebrate... Read our newsletter.

Come one come all!  Join the Fredericton Society of St Andrew, FSSA Pipe Band, and the Nicole Odo School of Highland Dance for an evening of celebrating Scottish Culture. November 30, 2023 7 pm Picaroons Roundhouse Featuring Haggis and Neeps Tickets can be purchase online via   Eventbrite or Facebook    

by Ian Andrews -  President, Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew -  In 2023 the city of Fredericton is celebrating the 175th anniversary of its incorporation in 1848. The Fredericton Region Museum has prepared a special exhibit to commemorate this important milestone in the history of New Brunswick’s capital city. The first Mayor of Fredericton was John Simpson, a prominent citizen of Scottish origin who had been actively involved in the life of his chosen community.  Since John Simpson had been a founding member of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew in 1825, the FSSA decided to research and produce a short monograph on this “citizen of Fredericton”. The booklet was edited by FSSA members Ellen MacGillivary, John Ross and Wallace Brown and was published in 1987 under the title John Simpson: First Mayor of Fredericton and the First Secretary of the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew . The following biographical sketch of John Simpson is adapted from this source....

“We Rise Again” is the slogan used this year by the Cape Breton Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to indicate they plan to successfully return to their winning ways after suffering through several forgettable seasons. They are taking this theme from the popular Cape Breton anthem written by Leon Dubinsky and performed by the Rankin Family - designed to emphasize the fighting spirit of a people who have suffered through adversity but intend to overcome these past hardships.  After three years of Covid-19 restrictions, the Fredericton Society of Saint Andrew plans to “rise again” as we approach our 200th Anniversary in 2025. Established on Saint Andrew’s Day in 1825 our organization has undergone its ups and downs over the years, but we intend to persevere. We invite all members to suggest ways in which we can celebrate this milestone... Read our newsletter