Grand Manan Parish, located in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, Canada, is a civil parish that comprises one village and a part of a rural district. This parish is a member of the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission (SNBSC). It includes Grand Manan Island and numerous smaller islands, with only one having permanent year-round inhabitants.
The name of the parish is derived from Grand Manan Island, often shortened to Grand Manan. The island's name is believed to originate from 'Mun-aa-nook', a transcription of the locative form of the Passamaquoddy word for island, combined with the French adjective 'grand'. This term was used on some early French maps of the area.
Grand Manan Parish was established in 1816 from West Isles Parish as Grand-Manan, including "Grand-Manan with its appurtenances". The hyphen was dropped from the name in 1850, and 'appurtenances' was clarified in 1877, implicitly adding Machias Seal Island to the parish.
The boundaries of Grand Manan Parish encompass the main island and all islands to the south and west.
The village of Grand Manan was formed in 1995 and includes all of the parish except White Head Island.
White Head Island, established as a local service district (LSD) in 1979, was the last inhabited part of the parish to become part of a village or LSD. As of 2023, it forms part of the Southwest rural district.
Before 1995, Grand Manan Island comprised three villages and two LSDs. These were North Head, Castalia, Woodwards Cove, Grand Harbour, and Seal Cove.
All communities within the parish, except White Head, are part of the village of Grand Manan.
The parish is home to several bodies of water.
The parish includes Grand Manan Island and numerous smaller islands.
The parish boasts several parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places such as Castalia Provincial Park, Grand Manan Airport, High Duck Island Protected Natural Area, North and South Green Islands Protected Natural Area, The Anchorage Provincial Park, and Western Green Island Protected Natural Area.
Population totals do not include the village of Grand Manan.
