Arrow-straight pines logged in the mid-19th century from vast forests in New Brunswick made masts for ocean-crossing square-riggers, built in Moncton and St. John. Today maple, birch, spruce, and fir supply pulp and paper mills—gearing toward production of high-quality stock. New Brunswick ranks first in Canada's output of bismuth, lead, and zinc; antimony, peat, potash, copper, and silver are also important.

In the Bay of Fundy tides that rise 15 meters (49 feet) or more keep the busy port of St. John, site of North America's first mainland oil supertanker terminal, ice-free year-round. The city, chartered in 1785, is New Brunswick's industrial engine.