Bathurst is situated in Gloucester County, in the mouth of Nepisiguit Bay of Chaleur Bay, on Highway 11, between Caraquet and Dalhousie.

Bathurst is the seat of Gloucester County. The economy is based on fishing, mining, the manufacture of forest products, and tourism. French and English are spoken equally. Once occupied by the Mi'kmaq, the site was settled by the French missionary Father Bernardine Sebastien in 1619. The community was originally called Nepisiguit and then changed to Saint Peters. It kept that name until 1826, when the present name was adopted in honor of the British statesman Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst.