MONCTON, N.B. – Like the ebb and flow of the Petitcodiac River that runs through it, Moncton can always be counted on to rise back up.
The southeastern New Brunswick city has had its share of struggles in recent decades. But these days, a tide of economic success and population growth is transforming the formerly hard-done-by region.
“You need economic activity to attract people,” said John Thompson, chief executive of Enterprise Greater Moncton, the city’s economic development agency.
“Nothing happens by chance, it normally happens by design. There’s a lot of effort going into positioning Greater Moncton as a place to do business.”
Data from the latest census shows the population of the census metropolitan area of Moncton shot up by 9.7 per cent over the last five years, outpacing the rest of Canada. The national rate, by comparison, was 5.9 per cent.
When the 2011 census was taken last May 10, the population of the census metropolitan area of Moncton was 138,644, compared with 126,424 in 2006. The population of the actual city of Moncton was 69,074, up from 64,128 five years earlier.
Census metropolitan areas are different than established municipal boundaries. Statistics Canada defines them as a metropolitan area with a population of at least 100,000 people with an urban core of at least 50,000.
Economist Donald Savoie said he’s not surprised to see the growth of Greater Moncton, which also includes the town of Riverview and the Acadian city of Dieppe.
Moncton’s central location in the Maritimes, its diverse economy and bilingual status have made the so-called Hub City an attractive choice for newcomers, particularly francophones from rural parts of northern New Brunswick, Savoie said.
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“It’s been in the making for a number of years.”
But there was a time not long ago when Moncton’s future seemed grim.
The biggest hit to the city’s economy – and its identity – came in 1988 when CN Rail closed its repair yard, throwing some 2,000 people out of work.
Years earlier, the city suffered another major blow when the Eaton’s catalogue centre shut its doors, eliminating hundreds of positions.
“If you drove downtown on Main Street Moncton, every third store was boarded up,” recalled Savoie, a professor of public administration and economic development at the University of Moncton.
“It was fairly bleak.”
There are no signs of that setback now. And if there are any naysayers, they can scarcely be heard among the rumble of construction crews building another shopping plaza or sports facility.
The turnaround started in the 1990s with a boom in the call centre industry that saw major companies set up shop in the city – a renaissance widely known as the “Moncton miracle.” There was also a new crop of Acadian graduates from the University of Moncton keen on starting up new businesses in their language, on their home turf.
Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc says bouncing back has always been the city’s biggest strength.
Even the city’s motto – “Resurgo” – is Latin for “I rise again.”
“Moncton was somehow able to pull it all together and it really came from a community effort, from the ground up,” said LeBlanc.
“I think we will continue to grow and we’ll continue to do very well. But at the same time we have to realize that no one is immune to setbacks.”
Case in point: Maple Leaf Foods announced plans last year to close its Moncton plant by the end of 2014, throwing more than 400 people of work as part of a national restructuring plan.
These days, however, Moncton’s economy is diverse enough that if one sector takes a hit, it’s unlikely to have a major impact, said Thompson.
Manufacturing, retail and entertainment have all established niches in the area.
“There’s no one sector that represents any more than about 10 or 11 per cent of the overall economy (in Greater Moncton),” he said.
“That diversity within our own economy has allowed us to weather the storm quite well when it came to the economic downturn that we saw globally.”
Savoie said Moncton has also benefited from sound municipal management and good ideas.
In recent years, the city has established itself as a world-class entertainment venue by opening up the site of the Pope’s 1984 visit to massive outdoor concerts. The Magnetic Hill site has since hosted major acts including the Rolling Stones and U2, spectacles that attracted tens of thousands of fans.
The city has also hosted two regular-season Canadian Football League games despite not having a CFL team, as well as the world junior track and field championships.
But apart from good management, there’s also been a healthy dose of good luck, Savoie said.
Moncton’s natural location in the Maritimes and its proximity to other centres, including Halifax, make it an ideal spot for distribution centres and other industries, he noted.
While the city has seen success before, only to fall on hard times, Savoie said he doesn’t anticipate the need for another “Moncton miracle” any time soon.
“I think we have gone over that hump,” he said. “People around Moncton are very optimistic.”
– By Melanie Patten in Halifax
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