Saint John, New Brunswick

Saint John is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick and the oldest incorporated city in Canada. In 2001 it had a population of 69,661 (metropolitan population/conurbation 122,678).

Economy

Saint John remains the industrial powerhouse of New Brunswick and the Maritimes and currently hosts the greatest concentration of industry on the Atlantic coast north of New York City. Wealthy industrialist K.C. Irving and his family built an industrial conglomerate in the city during the 20th century with interests in oil, forestry, shipbuilding, media, and transportation. Irving companies remain dominant employers in the region with the most important businesses being eastern North America's first deepwater oil terminal, Canada's largest oil refinery, a medium-sized pulp mill, a newsprint mill, and a tissue paper plant.

Related Topics:
New Brunswick - Maritimes - New York City - Industrialist - K.C. Irving - 20th century - Oil refinery

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Until the early 2000s, Canada's largest shipyard, also owned by the Irving conglomerate, had been an important employer in the city. During the 1980s-early 1990s the shipyard was responsible for building 9 of the 12 Halifax class multi-purpose patrol frigates for the Canadian Navy, however the shipyard was left without contracts for almost a decade following the warship construction and the federal government appeared to be intentionally trying to force Canada's shipbuilding industry out of business after signing several international trade agreements preventing subsidization and tax relief (as most shipbuilding nations provide such incentives). There has also been speculation that federal politics through the 1990s played a role in federal policies which have hurt the city, including the closure of the shipyard, the abandonment of VIA Rail passenger train service, changes to social housing policies (Saint John has a large number of older housing stock), and the closure and relocation of numerous federal offices. Several government offices were relocated to Moncton and Fredericton.

Related Topics:
2000s - Shipyard - 1980s - 1990s - Halifax class - Frigates - Canadian Navy - VIA Rail - Moncton - Fredericton

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Other important economic activity in the city is generated by the Port of Saint John (New Brunswick's largest port), the Moosehead brewery, the New Brunswick Power Corporation which operates three electrical generating stations in the region (Courtney Bay GS, Coleson Cove GS, and the Point Lepreau Nuclear GS), Aliant Telecom which operates out of the former NB Tel headquarters, numerous information technology companies, and the Atlantic Health Sciences Corporation - the regional health authority for southwestern part of the province and operator of New Brunswick's largest health care facility, Saint John Regional Hospital. There are also a number of call centres which were established in the 1990s under provincial government incentives - some of the companies operating (or have operated) call centres in Saint John include Air Canada and Xerox.

Related Topics:
Moosehead - New Brunswick Power Corporation - Point Lepreau Nuclear GS - Aliant Telecom - NB Tel - Information technology - Saint John Regional Hospital - Call centres - 1990s - Air Canada - Xerox

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Prior to the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in the late 1950s, the Port of Saint John functioned as the winter port for Montreal, Quebec when shipping was unable to traverse the sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River. The Canadian Pacific Railway opened a line to Saint John from Montreal in 1889 across the state of Maine and tranferred the majority of its trans-Atlantic passenger and cargo shipping to the port during the winter months. The port fell into decline following the seaway opening and the start of year-round icebreaker services in the 1960s. In 1994 CPR left Saint John when it sold the line to shortline operator New Brunswick Southern Railway. Canadian National Railway still services Saint John with a secondary mainline from Moncton.

Related Topics:
St. Lawrence Seaway - 1950s - Montreal, Quebec - Sea ice - Gulf of St. Lawrence - St. Lawrence River - Canadian Pacific Railway - 1889 - Maine - Icebreaker - 1960s - 1994 - Shortline - New Brunswick Southern Railway - Canadian National Railway - Moncton

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