New Brunswick's lodge market has two sides. One is the Atlantic salmon business on the Miramichi and Restigouche: riverfront lodges, salmon camps and outfitters whose value is tied to the water they can fish and the guides they employ. The other is road-access hospitality: four-season resorts, marinas and coastal inns along the Saint John River and the Bay of Fundy, valued much more like conventional hospitality businesses.
Salmon lodges sell water access and guides
New Brunswick requires non-residents to be accompanied by a licensed guide to hunt or to fish for Atlantic salmon, and a non-resident licence doesn't give access to Crown leased or private water without the lessee's or owner's consent. A salmon lodge's value rests on its pools, whether owned or leased, and on the licensed guides who take guests to them. A riverfront lodge without good water or reliable guides is mostly a building on a river.
Hook-and-release is the norm, and clients have adapted
All Atlantic salmon must be released in the Gulf Region in 2026, with daily release limits of two on the Miramichi and Restigouche. Outfitters on the Miramichi have reported that the hook-and-release rule hasn't hurt their business, and the clientele has largely accepted it. Buyers should model revenue on the rules as they stand, not on a return to retention.
What the 2025 Crown lease auction says about value
The province's once-a-decade auction of 10-year Crown angling leases in September 2025 cut minimum prices on salmon leases by 40% to 75%, reflecting declining salmon returns. Most leases sold at the minimum, but one Miramichi tributary pool still sparked a bidding war. The lesson for lodge buyers: average water has repriced, and the best water still commands a premium.
What NB lodges and resorts sell for
Across Canadian lodge and resort sales, gross revenue multipliers run from about 2.0× to 6.0×. Seasonal salmon lodges with high guiding costs sit lower in that range, and four-season resorts, marinas and coastal inns with stronger margins trade higher. New Brunswick-specific sale data is thinner on this platform than for the western provinces, so lean on the business's actual numbers and a local appraisal.
What drives value in New Brunswick properties
- Owned or leased salmon pools & water quality
- Licensed guides & guide retention
- Crown angling lease term & expiry
- Non-resident moose & bear allocations
- Four-season revenue beyond salmon
- Documented repeat clientele
- EBITDA margin & documented revenue history
- Warm-water risk & river closures
$1.3M – $2.3MAdvertised NB asking prices (CAD)Range of priced New Brunswick listings on this page right now.
10 yearsCrown angling lease termLeases go to the highest bidder at public auction, subject to a minimum price. New Brunswick has leased Crown angling water since 1883.
40% – 75%Cut to 2025 salmon lease minimum bidsThe province's September 2025 auction reflected declining salmon returns, though one Miramichi pool still drew a bidding war.
2.0× – 6.0×Gross revenue multiplier rangeCanada-wide lodge and resort sales, depending on water, access, margins and season length.
87% – 97%Most common sale-to-ask ratioAcross a Canada-wide sample of 100 lodge and resort sales. Nearly half sold below 87% of asking price.