Saint John City Market

Canada's oldest continuously operated farmers' market, trading since 1785

The Saint John City Market is the oldest continuously operating covered market in Canada, with a charter from 1785 and a building from 1876. It occupies a full block between Charlotte and Germain streets in uptown Saint John, its entrance arched and its interior long, vaulted, and atmospheric even when busy.

Inside, vendors sell dulse (the dried purple seaweed the Maritimes are famous for), local produce, smoked fish, chowder, cheese, and a rotating cast of prepared foods from breakfast onwards. Craft stalls occupy the side aisles. It is open Monday through Saturday and draws both tourists and the regular uptown lunch crowd. The weekday morning hours are the liveliest — arrive between ten and noon for the best variety and the most activity on the floor.

things to do market sight
A story
The market's ship's-keel ceiling — arching timber beams built like an inverted hull — was a deliberate reference to Saint John's days as one of British North America's great shipbuilding centres. The city once launched more wooden sailing ships than almost anywhere on the continent, and the market's builders wanted visitors to feel they were walking under a ship. The tradition survives: look up at the vaulted ceiling and you are looking at a built memorial to an industry that shaped the city.