For governance purposes Simonds is divided between the village of Fundy-St. Martins[5] and the Fundy rural district,[6] both of which are members of the Fundy Regional Service Commission.[7]
Prior to the 2023 governance reform, the parish was divided for governance purposes between the local service districts of Fairfield and the parish of Simonds.[8] Fairfield and most of Simonds helped form Fundy-St. Martins, while the Red Head area of the Simonds LSD was assigned to the rural district.[a]
Contrary to the map image on this page, Simonds does not and never has included the City of Saint John within its boundaries, although Saint John did annex part of Simonds in 1967.[9]
The parish may have been named in honour of Charles Simonds, Speaker of the House of Assembly when the parish was erected, or his family, who were prominent in the early history of the province.[10]
In 1902 an error in the boundaries of Saint John was corrected, returning part of Simonds.[12] The error occurred in 1889 when Saint John was amalgamated with Portland Parish and its boundary description was rewritten,[13] misstating the boundary at Drurys Cove.
In 1973 the territory annexed by Saint John in 1967 was formally removed in the revision of the Territorial Division Act.[14]
on the east by a line beginning at the shore of the Bay of Fundy and running northwesterly along the eastern line of a grant to Samuel Hugh at the mouth of Tynemouth Creek and its prolongation to the Kings County line;
^The Territorial Division Act[2] divides the province into 152 parishes, the cities of Saint John and Fredericton, and one town of Grand Falls. The Interpretation Act[3] clarifies that parishes include any local government within their borders.
^"2 Edward 7 c. 29 An Act to amend Chapter 8 of 59 Victoria intituled 'An Act to revise and codify an Act to provide for the division of the Province into Counties, Towns and Parishes' for the purpose of re-establishing a correct line between the City of Saint John and the Parish of Simonds at Drury Cove (so called) in the City and County of Saint John.". Acts of the Legislative Assembly of His Majesty's Province of New Brunswick. Passed in the Month of April, 1902. Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1902. pp. 102–103. Available as a free ebook from Google Books.
^"52 Vic. c. 27 An Act to unite the City of Portland with the City of Saint John, in the City and County of Saint John, and to amend the Charter of the City of Saint John, and the Law relating to Civic Government.". Acts of the General Assembly of Her Majesty's Province of New Brunswick. Passed in the Months of March and April, 1889. Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1889. pp. 133–223. Available as a free ebook from Google Books.
^"Chapter T-3 Territorial Division Act". Revised Statutes of New Brunswick 1973 Volume IV. Fredericton: Government of New Brunswick. 1973. pp. 1–70. The original printed version is cited separately to distinguish it from the edited version available online.
^ abcde"No. 157". Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development. Retrieved 22 June 2021. Remainder of parish on maps 158 and 165 at same site.
^ abcde"461"(PDF). Transportation and Infrastructure. Government of New Brunswick. Retrieved 22 June 2021. Remainder of parish on mapbooks 462, 474, 475, 485, 486, and 495 at same site.