Moncton, New Brunswick

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

Economy

After twice going bankrupt, the city of Moncton was incorporated successfully in 1890, with the motto Resurgo ("I rise again").

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The Intercolonial Railway and National Transcontinental Railway were major employers during Moncton's early years. These companies merged to form part of Canadian National Railways, and CNR then became the largest employer in the region with major railway yards and locomotive shop facilities located throughout the city. In 1988 CNR closed its locomotive shops in Moncton, throwing thousands out of work and forcing the federal and provincial governments to step in with economic restructuring packages to diversify the Moncton economy. Moncton was so despondent that at one point in the late 1980s, prior to the changes having a positive impact, the city's official motto was Moncton - We're OK.

Related Topics:
Canadian National Railways - 1988

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Diversification in the 1990s saw the rise of information technology, led by call centres which made use of the city's bilingual workforce. Retail, manufacturing and service expansion began to occur in all sectors and within a decade of the closure of the locomotive shops, Moncton had more than off-set this loss of employment. Moncton is expected to become New Brunswick's largest city within the next 5-10 years.

Related Topics:
Information technology - Call centres

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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.

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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.

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Once completed, the current Gunningsville bridge will be demolished.

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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.

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