Moncton, New Brunswick

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For the parish, please see Moncton, New Brunswick (parish)

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Moncton (46°6′ N 64°46′ W) is the second largest city, and is at the heart of the fastest growing urban area in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Its metropolitan area includes the neighbouring city of Dieppe and the town of Riverview, as well as adjacent areas of Westmorland and Albert Counties.

The municipal coat of arms illustrates Moncton's agricultural, industrial and railway heritages, along with the Petitcodiac River's tidal bore.

Geography

Moncton is located in southeastern New Brunswick in the Petitcodiac River valley, along the north bank of the river at a point where it bends from a west-east flow to a north-south direction. As such, the early Acadian settlers in the region named the area "Le Coude" (French for "The Elbow"). Moncton was originally at the head of navigation up the Petitcodiac River, but a causeway to Riverview was built in the 1960's causing extensive infilling by sedimentation of the river downstream. The river is now no longer navigable by large craft.

Moncton is located at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. Moncton is nicknamed the "Hub City", partly for this reason and also because it historically was the railway "hub" for the Maritime Provinces.

Climate

Despite being located less than 50 km from the Bay of Fundy and less than 20 km from the Northumberland Strait, the climate is mostly continental, as opposed to maritime; this is most pronounced during the summer and winter seasons as maritime influences tend to temper the transitional seasons of spring and autumn.

Winter days are cold but usually sunny with solar radiation generating some warmth. There are several cold snaps throughout the winter with temperatures falling to the range of -15 to -25 celsius. Major snowfalls often result from nor'easter ocean storms moving up the east coast of North America from the southern United States. Large amounts of precipition can result from the counterclockwise rotation of these storms picking up moisture from the Atlantic Ocean and dumping it on southeastern New Brunswick as storms pass by to the south and east. In February 1992, a nor'easter lasted for two days and dropped 162 cm (65 inches) of snow on the Moncton area, paralyzing the city for nearly a week. Snowfalls typically average 20-30 cm and are sometimes mixed with rain or freezing rain.

Spring is delayed since the sea ice in the nearby Gulf of St. Lawrence requires time to melt, affecting the local micro climate. Snowfalls in late April and early May are not unheard of and trees are not in full leaf until the end of May.

Summers are usually hot and humid with daytime highs usually reaching the mid to high 20's Temperatures in the low to mid 30's occur 6-10 times per year. Rainfall is modest and periods of drought are not uncommon. The heaviest rainfalls tend to occur during thunderstorms.

Autumn is influenced by the retention of heat in the nearby Gulf of St. Lawrence and daytime temperatures remain warm until mid October. First snowfalls usually occur by mid November although consistent snow cover does not take place until mid December. Both October and November tend to have heavier precipitation and the Fundy coast of New Brunswick occasionally experiences the effects of hurricanes and tropical storms.

History

The area now known as Moncton began as an Acadian settlement called "Le Coude." The Acadians first settled the area in 1733. Following the deportation of the Acadians in 1755, the settlement remained empty until a group of eight immigrant families arrived from Pennsylvania in June 1766. They were armed with a land grant issued by the Philadelphia Land Company, one of the principal investors of which was Benjamin Franklin. A township gradually grew on the site and the new community was initially named "the Bend of the Petitcodiac". It was then formally named in honour of Lt.-Colonel Robert Monckton, the British military officer who had led the capture of nearby Fort Beausejour in 1755 and then subsequently oversaw the deportation of the Acadians from the Petitcodiac and Beaubassin regions. Due to a clerical error at the time that the community was named, the "k" from "Monckton" was omitted creating the spelling that is used today.

The new community of Moncton flourished as a centre for ship-building and was incorporated as a town in 1855. Two years later on August 20, 1857 the European and North American Railway opened its line from Moncton to the nearby Northumberland Strait port of Shediac; this was followed by the E&NA's line from Moncton to Sussex and on to Saint John opening in 1859. The arrival of the railway initially didn't have a significant impact on Moncton as the E&NA was headquartered in Shediac, where it maintained its locomotive shop.

At about the same time, the invention of steam-powered iron ships brought an end to the era of wooden shipbuilding and the industrial collapse that developed from this forced Moncton to surrender its civic charter in 1862. Many of the ship builders who had come to Moncton prior to this did not want to return to their original home (be it from overseas or from the surounding areas), having already rooted themselves in the community. These people were subsequently granted land north and east of the town. This created several distinctive rural settlements which are still in existence today, albeit incorporated into the larger municipality. The largest of these remaining settlements is Irishtown, but they also included Evangeline, Cape Breton, Scotch Settlement, LeBlancville, Macdougall, and Dufourville.

Moncton's economic depression did not last long and a second era of prosperity came to the area when Moncton was selected to be the headquarters of the Intercolonial Railway of Canada in 1871; the ICR merged the E&NA and the Nova Scotia Railway into its system and Moncton became the hub of the ICR with the following lines connecting the city:

• The existing E&NA system merged into ICR, containing the Moncton-Saint John and Moncton-Shediac routes.
• The newly-built ICR line constructed between Truro and Painsec Junction (east of Moncton on the E&NA's line to Shediac). This connected to the NSR at Truro which went to Halifax and to Pictou.
• The newly-built ICR line from Moncton north to Newcastle, Bathurst, Campbellton and on into Quebec to link with the Grand Trunk Railway at Riviere-du-Loup. It was the construction of this route which cemented Moncton's place as the most important economic centre for servicing northern New Brunswick - a relationship which continues to this day.

Moncton was subsequently reincorporated in 1875 with the motto "Resurgo" (I rise again). One year later, the ICR line to Quebec was opened. The railway boom and associated employment growth associated with this saw Moncton achieve city status on April 23, 1890. A major fire at the ICR's riverfront railyard in 1906 was very nearly disastrous for the local railway industry but ultimately even more expansion to the city's railway's facilities occurred and a larger locomotive shop was subsequently built northwest of the downtown.

Growth in Moncton was quite rapid during the early part of the 20th century, particularly after provincial lobbying saw the city become the eastern terminus of the massive National Transcontinental Railway mega-project in 1912; this line linking Moncton with Edmundston, Quebec City, and on to Winnipeg where the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway continued to Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Prince Rupert. The First World War brought a halt to the age of railway expansion in Moncton but the city was to become an important trans-shipment point for war material funnelling onwards to the port of Halifax.

In 1918, the ICR and NTR (then autonomous companies grouped under the Canadian Government Railways) were merged by the federal government into the newly-formed Canadian National Railways (CNR) system. The ICR shops would become CNR's major locomotive repair facility for the Maritimes and Moncton became the headquarters for CNR's Maritime division. Railway employment at the height of the steam locomotive era peaked at several thousand before starting a long decline following the Second World War. Reflecting the city's importance as a railway and logistics/shipping hub, the T. Eaton Company's catalogue warehouse located to the city in the early 1920's, employing over five hundred people. Meat packing plants and light manufacturing also contributed to the local economy.

As the city grew, it began to draw upon its hinterland for population growth. Much of the surrounding countryside to the east and the north of the city was (and is) of French-Acadian descent. For the 150 years between it's founding by the Pennsylvania Dutch in 1766 and the 1920s, Moncton had been an English speaking community but the influx of francophone Acadians seeking employment beginning in the early 1900s would result in a major demographic and cultural shift for the community.

During the 1930s, the city government of the time changed the name of the town to the original spelling of "Monckton". The nostalgic move of bringing back the "k" was met with a public outcry however and the name was officially reverted back to "Moncton".

Moncton continued to develop as a regional distribution and transportation hub during the Second World War, which saw its importance as a railway centre proven once again. The Royal Canadian Air Force constructed two air bases in the area for training and operational squadrons (RCAF Station Moncton in Dieppe, and RCAF Station Scoudouc) in Scoudouc. The Canadian Army also built a large supply base along the railway mainline near the CNR shops facilities northwest of downtown; this facility was used to sort much of the war materiel heading on to the ports of Halifax, Saint John and Sydney, as well as supply army facilities throughout the Maritimes. Following the war, RCAF Station Moncton became a civilian airport while RCAF Station Scoudouc was transferred to the provincial government for use as an industrial park; the army continued to use the supply base which saw renewed activity during the Cold War.

A regional road network expanded from the city through the 1950s and the latter part of that decade also saw CNR begin development of a major railway hump yard in the city's west end. Further changes saw the downtown railyard modified and the historic passenger station demolished in favour of a small modern structure. This was followed by development of the Highfield Square shopping centre and several office buildings (CN Terminal Plaza) in the early 1960s.

Moncton was placed on the Trans-Canada Highway network in the early 1960s after Route 2 was built north of the city along Lutes Mountain, before curving around the city's perimeter. Subsequent development saw Route 15 built between the city and nearby Parlee Beach at Shediac and on to Port Elgin. At the same time, the infamous Petitcodiac River Causeway was constructed.

The Université de Moncton was founded in 1963. This began an Acadian "renaissance" which was in large measure encouraged and supported by university faculty who had been trained in Quebec during the founding years of the "quiet revolution". U de M, the renaissance, and the election of premier Louis Robichaud and his program of "equal opportunity" all led to increasing demands by the francophone populace for municipal services in French and led to tension between the Acadian minority and the anglophone majority during the latter part of the 1960s and early 1970s.

The Acadian population began to become more prosperous and influential during the 1980s as linguistic tensions began to relax, although not disappearing entirely. The anglophone population of the city generally accepted the principal of bilingualism and some anglophone children began to be enrolled in French Immersion classes in public schools. Bilingualism would become one of the strengths of the community.

The late 1970s and the 1980s again saw a period of economic hardship hit the city as several major employers closed or restructured. The Eaton's catalogue division closed in 1976 and CN closed its locomotive shops facility in 1988, throwing thousands out of work and forcing the federal and provincial governments to step in with economic restructuring packages to diversify the Moncton economy. CFB Moncton was also closed at about this time due to defence cutbacks resulting from the end of the Cold War. Moncton was so despondent that at one point in the late 1980s (prior to economic restructuring having a positive impact) the city's official motto was simply Moncton - We're OK.

Diversification in the early 1990s saw the rise of information technology, led by call centres which made use of the city's bilingual workforce. Bilingualism was heavily promoted by premier Frank McKenna's government to attract the call centre industry in order to provide a temporary employment "bridge" for the city as it transitioned from the old to the new economy. By the late 1990s, retail, manufacturing and service expansion began to occur in all sectors and within a decade of the closure of the CN locomotive shops, Moncton had more than off-set this loss of employment. The city's recent growth has been impressive and Moncton is expected to become New Brunswick's most populous city within the next 5-10 years and its census agglomeration is expected to become the province's most populous urban area.

Language & demographics

Moncton's linguistic majority is English, however the city has an active French-speaking Acadian minority population (35%), many of whom speak the Chiac variant of Acadian French. The adjacent city of Dieppe is approximately the reverse, being majority French and has benefitted from an ongoing rural depopulation of the Acadian Peninsula and areas in northern and eastern New Brunswick. The town of Riverview meanwhile is heavily (95%) anglophone. The different linguistic characteristics of the three communities have defeated several attempts at metropolitan amalgamation.

In 1998, Prime Minister Jean Chretien used the city's growing French community to political advantage when he was forced to select a Canadian site to host the Francophonie Summit in 1999 (it rotates among member nations). Following the near disaster of the 1995 Referendum on Quebec sovereignty, Chretien felt it important to host the summit someplace other than Quebec and with Moncton having the largest urban population of French speakers outside of that province, the choice became obvious. The summit was held in late August 1999 and was the largest conference ever held in the city with heads of state and delegations attending from 54 nations around the world.

The growth rate of the city of Moncton is 0.7% annually, which is greater than the provincial average. The census agglomeration had a population of 117,727, as of 2001 national census, but the current population is estimated to be approximately 125,000. Historically, the population of the city has been racially very homogenous with almost all residents originating from northwest Europe (Great Britain, France and Ireland). This is slowly changing but it still remains a challenge to attract visible minorities as new immigrants to the city.

Racial composition

• White: 97.3%
• All others: 2.7%

Religious composition

• Roman Catholic: 55.0%
• Protestant: 33.3%
• Other Christian: 1.3%
• Non religious: 9.3%

Linguistic composition

• Anglophone: 65%
• Francophone: 35%

A large portion of the population of the city (40%) is bilingual. The only other cities in Canada that approach this level of linguistic duality are Ottawa and Montreal.

Culture & recreation

The Capitol Theatre is an 800 seat, meticulously restored 1920s-era vaudeville house on Main Street that serves as the centre for cultural entertainment for the city. The theatre routinely hosts live stage productions (TNB), as well as symphony orchestra and dance performances. The smaller Empress Theatre, located immediately behind the Capitol provides a more intimate venue for smaller productions and performances. A school for the performing arts is currently being organized by the Capitol Theatre. The Atlantic Ballet Theatre is based in Moncton and has recently been garnering national attention. Theatre l'Escaouette is a francophone live theatre company that has its own auditorium and performance space on Botsford Street. . The Aberdeen Cultural Centre, an Acadian cultural cooperative containing multiple studios and galleries, is also located on Botsford Street close to Theatre l'Escaouette. There are two main museums in the city, The Moncton Museum on Mountain Road and Le Musée Acadien at Université de Moncton.

Moncton is home to the Northrop Frye Literary Festival, a bilingual literary celebration in honour of world renowned literary critic and favorite son Northrop Frye. This celebration attracts authors from around the world and takes place in the month of April. The World Wine and Food Exposition is the largest event of its kind in eastern Canada and takes place every November. The annual Atlantic Nationals Automotive Extravaganza, held each July, is also one of the largest events of its kind in Canada. Other notable events include the Atlantic Seafood Festival every August ,the Hubcap Comedy Festival in the Spring and "Le 15 Aout des Fous", celebrating Acadia's National holiday.

The Moncton Coliseum, a 7,000-seat arena, serves as a venue for major concerts and trade shows and is the home of the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The CN Sportsplex is a major recreational facility built on the former CN Shops property. It includes nine ballfields, six soccer fields and an indoor rink complex with four ice surfaces (the Tim Horton's 4-Ice Centre). An indoor air supported multi-use building (the Dundee Sports Dome) has also been constructed at the Sportsplex. This building is quite large and allows for year round football, soccer and golf activities. A newly constructed YMCA near the CN Sportsplex has extensive cardio and weight training facilities as well as three indoor pools. The CEPS at Université de Moncton contains an indoor track and a 50 metre swimming pool with diving towers. The only velodrome in Atlantic Canada is located in Dieppe.

Moncton has hosted major sporting events in the past, such as the Brier (the Canadian national mens curling championship) and Skate Canada's national figure skating championship. Moncton will host the Memorial Cup (the Canadian national major junior A hockey championship) in 2006. Ted Nolan, a former NHL hockey player and head coach of the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL, signed on to coach the Wildcats for their Memorial Cup run.

Moncton is one of only two cities in the world left in the running to host the 2008 World Junior Track & Field Championship. Hosting this event would necessitate the construction of a 15-25,000 seat outdoor stadium. This undoubtably would bolster the city's ambition to land a CFL (Canadian Football League) franchise. However, it is in competition with Halifax for the CFL franchise, a much larger and more well-known city.

There are eight 18 hole golf courses in the metro area, two of which are residential courses and two more of which are in the process of being converted to residential courses. These courses include:

• The Moncton Golf and Country Club (Riverview)
• Fox Creek Golf Club (Dieppe)
• Royal Oaks Golf Club (Moncton)
• Magnetic Hill Golf Club (Moncton)
• Lakeside Golf Club (Moncton)
• Memramcook Valley Golf & Country Club (Memramcook)
• Maplewood Golf Club (Irishtown)
• Country Meadows Golf Club (Catamount)

The Moncton, Royal Oaks and Fox Creek golf clubs can all be rightfully considered as being championship courses. Royal Oaks is the first Rees Jones designed golf course in Canada.

There are two major urban parks located in Moncton, Centennial Park in the city's west end and Mapleton Park adjacent to the Trans Canada Highway in the northwest section of the city. Both of these parks are in excess of 250 acres (1 km²) and contain numerous walking trails and recreational facilities. Mapleton Park is under pressure from commercial and residential development in adjacent lands, however the city and local developers understand the park's importance and are making every effort to maintain the existing 300 acres (1.2 km²) of park.

In addition to these two parks, The Irishtown Nature Park in the north end of the city and the St. Anselme Park in Dieppe also constitute major urban green spaces.

Transportation

Moncton is serviced by a newly expanded international airport, the Greater Moncton International Airport (YQM). The GMIA is the third busiest and third largest airport in Atlantic Canada and handles more traffic than all other airports in New Brunswick combined. Yearly passenger volume is in excess of 500,000.

Regular carriers serving the GMIA (and destinations) include:

• Air Canada Jazz, - (Halifax, Montreal, Toronto)
• WestJet, - (Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Calgary)
• CanJet, - (St. John's, Toronto, Sarasota Florida (Winter))
• Air Labrador, - (Magdalen Islands, Quebec City, Montreal)
• Continental Express, - (New York City)

A number of charter airlines; including Corsair (France), Air St. Pierre (France), Condor (Germany), Air Transat (Canada) and Skyservice (Canada) also fly into the GMIA with direct connections to St. Pierre and Miquelon, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Germany and France.

The GMIA also is a major air cargo trans-shipment centre, rivalling the Halifax International Airport in terms of tonnage shipped. Both Federal Express and Purolator have their Atlantic Canada air courier bases located at the airport.

The Moncton Air Traffic Control Centre, located in Riverview and operated by NAV Canada controls high altitude air traffic over the Maritime Provinces. All flights between North America and Europe pass through Moncton Centre airspace.

Moncton is serviced by railway companies VIA Rail Canada, Canadian National Railway and the New Brunswick East Coast Railway. VIA Rail provides daily rail passenger service with the Ocean to Halifax and Montreal.

Moncton is a hub for the Acadian Lines interprovincial bus service. The Greater Moncton Area is also serviced by Codiac Transit, which operates on 25 routes in Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview.

Moncton is located on the Trans-Canada Highway, at the junction of several major road routes in the Maritime Provinces. None of the other major Maritime cities is more than a three hour drive from Moncton. Because of all these attributes, Moncton has developed as a major transportation, distribution, commercial and retailing center.

Attractions

The Moncton area has several major attractions:

• Champlain Place - The largest single story shopping mall in Atlantic Canada with over 150 stores and services, located in Dieppe. Major tenants include Sears, Wal Mart, Sobeys, Future Shop, Sports Chek, Toys R Us, Gap, Eddie Bauer and the Disney Store.
• Crystal Palace - An indoor amusement park adjacent to Champlain Place that also includes a hotel, restaurant, eight cinema multiplex and a Chapters bookstore.
• Tidal Bore - A phenomenon created by the extreme tides of the Bay of Fundy which actually reverses the downstream flow of the Petitcodiac River. A causeway built across the river to Riverview in the 1960s has significantly diminished the effects of the bore. Efforts are underway to have the causeway replaced by a bridge in order to restore the river flow, however there is a great amount of opposition from land owners on the "Lake" or western side of the causeway.
• Magnetic Hill - An optical illusion created by local topography, is also the site of a major tourism development, including the nationally recognized Magnetic Hill Zoo and a water theme park called Magic Mountain. Magnetic Hill also features a major outdoor concert site. Pope John Paul II held a papal mass there in 1984. The Rolling Stones held a concert there on the 3rd of September,2005 before 85,000 fans.

Moncton is well situated as a tourism destination. There are two national parks (Fundy National Park and Kouchibouguac National Park) within a one hour drive of the city. The warm water beaches of the Northumberland Straight are only 15 minutes away in nearby Shediac and the Hopewell Rocksare only a half hour's drive down the Petitcodiac river valley. The Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island is only a one hour's drive east of the city. Other nearby attractions include the Cape Jourimain National Wildlife Preserve (at the base of the Confederation Bridge), La Dune de Bouctouche (ecotourism site, longest remaining unspoiled barrier dune system on the eastern seaboard), Cape Enrage (historic lighthouse, fossils and adventure tourism) and La Pays de la Sagouine (Acadian cultural theme park).

Education

Moncton is home to two universities: Université de Moncton, the largest French language university in Canada outside of Quebec,and Atlantic Baptist University, a small Christian liberal arts and science institution. In addition, the University of New Brunswick offers health sciences degree courses in Nursing and Medical X-ray Technology based out of the Moncton Hospital. Mount Allison University, consistently ranked as one of the best undergraduate universities in Canada is located one half hour away in the nearby town of Sackville.

There are two campuses of the New Brunswick Community College located in the region; NBCC Moncton campus is anglophone while CCNB Dieppe is francophone. These institutions specialize in training for trades and technology. There are also a number of private colleges in the city including the Moncton Flight College, one of Canada's oldest and most prestigious flight schools.

There are 34 public schools in greater Moncton which are administered by seperate anglophone and francophone school boards. District One is francophone and administers nine schools. District two is anglophone and administers 25 schools.

High Schools in the greater Moncton area include

• Moncton High School, (Moncton, anglophone)
• Harrison Trimble High School, (Moncton, anglophone)
• Dr. L. Bernice MacNaughton High School, (Moncton, anglophone)
• Riverview High School, (Riverview, anglophone)
• Ecole Secondaire Mathieu-Martin, (Dieppe, francophone)
• Ecole Secondaire l'Odyssée, (Moncton, francophone)

Health facilities

There are two major regional referral and teaching hospitals in Moncton; The Moncton Hospital (principally anglophone, 400 beds, affiliated with Dalhousie University Medical School, tertiary services in neurosurgery, vascular surgery, orthopedics, trauma, burn unit, medical oncology, neonatal intensive care,) and the Hopital Georges-L. Dumont (principally francophone, 350 beds, affiliated with Université de Sherbrooke Medical School, tertiary services in oncology (including radiation oncology) and nephrology). Between these two institutions, Moncton serves as the main medical referral centre for the central Maritime region.

Media

Moncton has two daily newspapers; the Times & Transcript (anglophone—New Brunswick's largest circulation daily newspaper), and l'Acadie Nouvelle (the provincial francophone newspaper).

There are two television stations in the city; CBAFT-TV, (The regional CBC French service) and CKCW-TV, the New Brunswick/PEI affiliate of the CTV television network. In addition, both the CBC English and Global television networks maintain news bureaus in the city and also have broadcast repeaters located in the city. Rogers cable has its provincial headquarters located in Moncton and also its main provincial television production facilities.

There are a total of 14 broadcast radio stations (ten English and four French) in the city. These stations include:

• CBA 1070 AM - (CBC Radio One, News & Information)
• CBAF 88.5 FM - (Radio-Canada, French News & Information)
• CKNI 91.9 FM - (News 91.9, News/Talk/Sports Radio)
• CKUM 93.5 FM - (Universite de Moncton)
• CKCW 94.5 FM - (K94.5, Contemporary Rock)
• CBA1 95.5 FM - (CBC Radio Two, Classical)
• CJXL 96.9 FM - (XL96, Country & Western)
• CBAL 98.3 FM - (Espace Musique, French Classical)
• CHOY 99.9 FM - (Choix 99, French Contemporary)
• CIRM 101.9 FM - (Moncton Information Radio)
• CJMO 103.1 FM - (C103, Classic Rock)
• CFQM 103.9 FM - (Magic 104, Light Rock)
• CITA 105.9 FM - (Religious programming & Christian music)
• CKOE 107.3 FM - (Xtreme Radio, Christian Rock)

Buildings

• Aliant Tower- A 127 metre concrete microwave communications tower which is the tallest structure in New Brunswick. (Formally known as the NBTel Tower)

• Place Assumption Place- A 20 storey office building which is the headquarters of the Assumption Mutual Life Insurance Corporation. This is the tallest office building in New Brunswick

• Blue Cross Centre- Although only 8 stories tall, this building is architecturally distinctive and encompasses a full city block. It is the headquarters of Medavie Blue Cross Insurance.

There are about a half dozen other buildings in Moncton that range between eight and ten stories in height. These include the Delta Beausejour Hotel, Brunswick Crowne Plaza Hotel and the Terminal Plaza office complex. None of these buildings however are imposing enough to really help define the city.

Economy

A number of regionally prominent corporations have their head offices in Moncton including Atlantic Lottery Corporation, Assumption Mutual Life Insurance, Medavie Blue Cross Insurance, Pizza Delight Corporation, Major Drilling International, Rogers Communications and Co-op Atlantic. There are a number of major call centres in the city including Asurion, Exxon Mobil, Royal Bank of Canada, UPS Courier, Fairmont Hotels, Rogers Communications, America Online and OAO Technologies. A burgeoning high tech sector includes companies such as Whitehill Technologies and Spielo Manufacturing ULC (Spielo is a leading provider of video lottery machines and related products, software and services to the global gaming industry). Several arms of the Irving corporate empire have their head offices in Greater Moncton. These include Midland Transport, Majesta/Royale Tissues, Irving Personal Care, Master Packaging and Cavendish Farms. A number of transportation companies are located in Moncton, the largest and most important of which is Armour Transportation Group. Molson Breweries has recently announced that they will construct a new brewery in the Caledonia Industrial Park.

Major planned development projects in the city's central core include a new courthouse, 160+ room hotel, convention center, expansion of the Blue Cross Centre, new retail including an expansion to Highfield Square (the main downtown mall), and a four lane bridge to Riverview, across the Peticodiac River. The bridge will dramatically reshape the traffic flow and layout of the downtown area, as Vaughan Harvey Boulevard, a major artery, is to be re-aligned and extended to accommodate traffic flow onto the bridge. CN Rail plans to construct a railroad bridge over this extension. Furthermore, Albert Street, Bridge Street, and Assumption Boulevard will all be realigned and/or expanded.

Once completed, the current Gunningsville bridge will be demolished.

The retail sector in Moncton is increasingly becoming one of the most important aspects of the local economy. Major retail projects such as the Moncton Power Center, located on Trinity Drive and now Plaza Boulevard, have quickly become major destinations for locals and tourists alike. Major tenants of this development include Atlantic Superstore, Costco, Winners, Wal-Mart, Kent, Sears,Staples, Old Navy, Pier One Imports, Empire Theatres and the Home Depot.

Government

Municipal government consists of a mayor and ten city councillors elected to four year terms of office. The council is non partisan with the mayor serving as the chairman, casting a ballot only in cases of a tie vote. There are four wards electing two councillors each with an additional two councillors selected at large by the general electorate.

The current mayor of Moncton is Lorne Mitton (elected May 2004).

Councillors:

• Kathryn M. Barnes - At Large
• Norman Crossman - Ward 1
• Merrill A. Henderson - Ward 2
• Brian A.Q. Hicks - Ward 3
• Chris Collins - Ward 4
• Pierre Boudreau - At Large
• Steven Boyce - Ward 1
• Doug Robertson - Ward 2
• Steve Mitton - Ward 3
• René (Pepsi) Landry - Ward 4

Provincially, six ridings (out of 55 in the legislative assembly) are located in the greater Moncton area. Elected MLA's (and party affiliations) include:

• Bernard Lord, Progressive Conservative - Moncton East, Provincial Premier
• Joan MacAlpine, Progressive Conservative - Moncton South, Cabinet Minister
• Mike Murphy, Liberal - Moncton North
• John Betts, Progressive Conservative - Moncton Crescent
• R. Bruce Fitch, Progressive Conservative - Riverview, Cabinet Minister
• Richard LeBlanc, Progressive Conservative - Dieppe-Memramcook

Moncton is located in the federal riding of Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe, the current representative of which is Claudette Bradshaw, (Liberal). She currently serves as the Minister of State (Human Resources Development) in the federal cabinet of Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Famous Monctonians

Although not everyone in this list was born in Moncton, they all live or have lived in Moncton and have had significant connections to the community.

• MUSICIANS:
  • Eric's Trip and Julie Doiron, indie rock musicians
  • Marie-Jo Therio, Acadian singer and actress
  • Lina Boudreau, Acadian songstress
  • George Hebert, guitar player and member of Anne Murray's band since the 70's.
  • Theresa Malenfant, jazz and blues singer
  • Jasper Wood, internationally renowned concert violinist
  • Roger Lord, internationally renowned concert pianist, brother of Premier Bernard Lord
  • An Acoustic Sin, Internationally known for their heart-touching genuine music

• ACTORS & ACTRESSES:
  • Marshall Button, artistic director of the Capitol Theatre, comedian, created the character "Lucien"
  • Sandy Gillis, comedian, better known as "Jimmy the Janitor"
  • Robb Wells, actor, plays "Ricky" on TV's Trailer Park Boys
  • Viola Leger, actress & Canadian Senator, known for her role as "la Sagouine"

• AUTHORS:
  • Sheree Fitch, childrens author
  • Gerald Leblanc, author and poet.
  • Antonine Maillet, francophone author, recipient of the "Prix Goncourt", the highest honour in francophone literature.

• ATHLETES:
  • René Goguen, WWE wrestler better known as René Dupree.
  • Gordie Drillon (1913-1986), 1938 NHL scoring champion and Hall of Fame ice hockey player.
  • Russ Howard, two time world champion men's curler.
  • Hugh Yik, Canadian junior mens figure skating champion
  • Rheal Cormier, Major League Baseball relief pitcher.

• ACADEMICS:
  • Northrop Frye (1912-1991), scholar and literary critic
  • Donald Savoie, political scientist.

• LAWYERS & POLITICIANS:
  • Michel Bastarache, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
  • Ivan Cleveland Rand (1884-1969), Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Creator of the Rand Formula which sees union dues automatically subtracted from workers salaries. Member of the UN Special Committee on Palestine which oversaw the partition of Palestine in 1947.
  • Henry Robert Emmerson (1853-1914), Premier of New Brunswick (1897-1900), Federal Minister of Railways and Canals (1904-1907)
  • Herménégilde Chiasson, artist, academic, current Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
  • Frank McKenna, prominent liberal politician, Premier of New Brunswick (1987-1997), current Canadian ambassador to the United States of America.
  • Roméo LeBlanc, former federal cabinet minister, Senator and Speaker of the Canadian Senate. Governor-General of Canada (1995-1999).
  • Bernard Lord, Current Premier of New Brunswick.

External links

• L'Université de Moncton
• Portal for the city of Moncton
• Moncton's Top Community Portal
• Moncton guide on Wikitravel
• Google Map
• MonctonLocals