Bathurst, city in northeastern New Brunswick, Canada, seat of Gloucester County, at the mouth of the Nepisiguit River, along Chaleur Bay (Baie des Chaleurs). The economy is based on fishing, mining, the manufacture of forest products, and tourism. French and English are spoken equally in Bathurst. Once occupied by the Mi'kmaq, the site was settled by the French missionary Father Bernardine Sebastien in 1619. The community was originally called Nepisiguit and then changed to Saint Peters. It kept that name until 1826, when the present name was adopted in honor of the British statesman Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst. Bathurst was incorporated in 1966. Population 14,683 (1986); 13,815 (1996).
