Saint John city council approves regional economic development model

Saint John city council has cleared the way for a regional economic development area.

At a virtual meeting on Monday night, councillors approved the new regional economic development model for the Saint John area.

It’s an extension of a pre-existing relationship between the six communities of Saint John, Rothesay, Quispamsis, Grand Bay-Westfield, Hampton and St. Martins.

Under the new model, initiatives involving economic development, economic infrastructure, tourism and population growth would be funnelled through a single agency.

The new model will see each community contribute financially to help fund the operations of the new organization.

“We are, as a region, really positioning greater Saint John to be one of — if not the — strongest economic region in all of Atlantic Canada,” said Saint John Mayor Don Darling.

“One strategy, one plan, one message, one voice, and boy, are we there tonight!”

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1:44 New Saint John regional economic development model close to reality

The shared services model is expected to help Saint John deal with deficits of more than $10 million in 2021 and 2022.

The City of Saint John was the last community to approve the model, with the governments of Rothesay, Quispamsis, Grand Bay-Westfield, Hampton and St. Martins already voting to support the measure.

— With files from Global News’ Tim Roszell