Celebrate Loyalist Day in Canada's First Incorporated City

May 06, 2025

May 18th is Loyalist Day, marking the anniversary of the arrival of the Loyalists in what is now known as Saint John.

When the American Revolutionary War ended, American colonists who fought on the side of the British were ostracized by the new Americans and the United States. Their land and possessions were confiscated, causing many to flee to what is now Canada, as it remained under British rule. On May 18th, 1783, twenty ships carrying 3000 Loyalists, men, women, and children, arrived in the Saint John harbour at the Upper Cove. A second group landed at Lower Cove, further south of King Street. By the end of the year, 11,000 more Loyalists had arrived in the Saint John harbour.

The Loyalists established two settlements at the mouth of the Saint John River – Parr Town, named after the Governor of Nova Scotia, and Carleton, after their Commander-in-Chief in New York. Many moved and settled upriver. On May 18th in 1785, the two settlements were incorporated by Charter into the City of Saint John - making Saint John Canada's first incorporated city, and likely being the first recognition of the significance of Loyalist Day.