Provincial funding for Moncton events centre uncertain

MONCTON, N.B. – Moncton’s mayor says provincial funding is key to securing partners to invest in a downtown events centre the city has been working on for years.

Mayor George LeBlanc said in an interview with Global News Wednesday that the city needs $24 million from both the federal and provincial governments.

“The federal government I believe is waiting for the provincial government to confirm their commitment to this project,” he said. “So it is important obviously that we have support from both levels of government.”

The former Conservative government announced they’d invest $23.85-million into the project on August 20, 2014.

Read more: Province to invest $24M into Moncton’s future events centre

Premier Brian Gallant said Tuesday that investment may not go ahead.

“Unfortunately for many communities the past government has set expectations,” Gallant said. “We’re going to analyze all of these projects and ensure that they fit within our criteria.”

The new centre is set to be built on the old Highfield Shopping Mall site. The city recently purchased the site for $12.5 million.

That also pays for the site’s demolition and clean-up.

But now the city needs money from both levels of government to build the centre.

LeBlanc said he understands where the Premier is coming from. But he said governments could recoup some of their investment within the first two years of building the centre.

“For the province the number is somewhere around $7 million which is about a 25 per cent investment,” he said. “So from our perspective it’s a very good investment from all levels of government.”