Portrait

The Loyalists first sailed into Paspebiac in 1784. Most of them had originated from the New York area and in search of a new land the loyal British subjects headed East and settled into Petit-Paspebiac which is now known as New Carlisle. Among them was Lieutenant-Governor Cox. Since he had been native to Carlisle in England, it is believed that New Carlisle was named in his honor.

It didn’t take long for the Loyalist to decide to make New Carlisle an administrative and legal center, a vocation which it has maintained over the years. Today, British heritage is still very evident in its largely Anglophone population and its architectural style reminiscent of New-England. There are numerous churches attesting to the religious diversity of the first settlers.

Since the turn of the century, the small locality of New Carlisle has played an important role in communications. The arrival of the railroad provided New Carlisle with the largest railroad facilities on the Gaspé. In 1933, CHNC-AM went on air and became the first Francophone radio station East of Quebec City. In 1974, the SPEC was inaugurated and it remains the only English weekly newspaper in Eastern Quebec. Quebec-Telephone in turn established its district office and also provided special services to the Q.P.P. and Canadian Coast Guard.

New Carlisle might be best known as the home town of René Lévesque who was a French-Canadian nationalist leader, founder of the Parti Québécois in 1968. He was the Premier of Quebec from 1976-1985.