Grew up in NB, In the late 70's driving down a woods road in Carleton county with my grandfather we came over a small rise, something was laying in the road ahead, at first we thought it was a deer, but it didn't look right, as we slowly drove ahead to about 50 yds, it stood up turned broadside and stood there for a few seconds, then walked off the road then stood in the ditch then calmly walked off into the bush. Have also seen cougar tracks in the snow around a deer kill site along the North Branch Becaguimic river east of Hartland NB.
Been living in BC and Alberta for the last 35 years and seeing several cougars and many tracks over the years I now know for sure what we saw many years ago in NB was definitely a cougar.
Back then and even now telling someone you saw a cougar in NB will get you ridiculed.