It is named after the Petitcodiac River, which begins in the village at the junction of the North River and Anagance River. The name is believed to be derived either from a Mi'kmaq word meaning "bends like a bow" or from a Maliseet word meaning "sound of thunder".[2] Petcoucoyee (Franquelin, 1686); Pacoudiac (deCouagne, 1749); present spelling from mid 19th century.[3]
The village features a regional school, an outdoor swimming pool, an arena, a bowling alley, as well as several family-owned shops and churches servicing the surrounding area. There is also a Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron. The town is also home to a monthly community newspaper, the Maritime Motorsports Hall of Fame Local News & Views, which despite its name is not limited to motorsports, and is distributed free to residents and neighboring villages.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Petitcodiac had a population of 1,476 living in 609 of its 630 total private dwellings, a change of 6.7% from its 2016 population of 1,383. With a land area of 17.18 km2 (6.63 sq mi), it had a population density of 85.9/km2 (222.5/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
^Dr. Peter Paul interview with anthropologist Harald E.L. Prins and Bunny McBride, Hallowell, Maine, 12/02/1988, in In Memoriam: Peter Lewis Paul, 1902-1989, edited by K. Teeter, 19-21. Hull:Canadian Museum of Civilization, Canadian Ethnology Service. Mercury Series Paper 26, 1993.
^Hamilton, William (1978). The Macmillan Book of Canadian Place Names. Toronto: Macmillan. p. 82. ISBN0-7715-9754-1.
