Greater Moncton Economic Development

Greater Moncton Economic Development
Name	Greater Moncton Economic Development
Type	Regional economic development agency
Founded	1996
Headquarters	Moncton, New Brunswick
Area served	Greater Moncton metropolitan area
Key people	CEO (varies)
Website	(official)

Greater Moncton Economic Development Greater Moncton Economic Development is a regional agency that promotes investment, trade, and business growth in the Greater Moncton area, centered on Moncton, New Brunswick, Dieppe, New Brunswick, and Riverview, New Brunswick. The agency works with local municipalities, provincial ministries such as Government of New Brunswick, and national organizations including Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada to attract domestic and international capital from markets like United States, United Kingdom, France, and China. It supports projects across sectors associated with firms headquartered in hubs such as Moncton Coliseum, Champlain Place, and regional campuses of institutions like Université de Moncton and Mount Allison University.

Overview and History

The organization traces its origins to cooperative efforts among municipal administrations of Moncton, Dieppe, and Riverview in the 1990s, influenced by economic shifts following the restructuring of companies such as Canadian Pacific Railway and federal restructuring in the era of Brian Mulroney and Jean Chrétien. Early partnerships involved provincial agencies including Opportunities New Brunswick and federal entities such as Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to diversify activity previously concentrated in sectors associated with firms like Air Canada and utilities such as NB Power. Over successive administrations—working alongside politicians from Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick and Liberal Party of New Brunswick—the agency expanded mandates to include trade missions to regions like Ontario, Quebec, and international centres such as Boston, Paris, and Shenzhen.

Economic Profile and Key Sectors

Greater Moncton’s cluster strategy emphasizes targeted sectors: information technology firms similar to those located in Fredericton, call centre operations influenced by legacy employers such as IBM and Bell Aliant, financial services including firms tied to TD Bank Group and Scotiabank, health sciences with links to Horizon Health Network, and advanced manufacturing reminiscent of plants like Irving Shipbuilding. Tourism assets such as Magnetic Hill and cultural institutions including Moncton Museum support hospitality companies observed in destination economies like Niagara Falls and Whistler. The regional profile benefits from proximity to transportation and distribution nodes linking to Port of Saint John, Greater Halifax, and the Trans-Canada Highway corridor.

Business Attraction and Investment Initiatives

Initiatives include incentive offers co-developed with Invest in Canada principles, tax credit coordination with provincial fiscal frameworks inspired by policies from Ontario Ministry of Economic Development examples, and targeted outreach leveraging networks such as Chamber of Commerce and international consortia like World Bank missions. The agency organizes trade delegations to keystone markets such as New York City, London, and Munich, and participates in industry conferences including CES, Web Summit, and Collision Conference to court venture capital from firms like Bessemer Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital. Public-private partnerships often involve local anchor institutions including Université de Moncton, regional hospitals, and regional utility partners.

Workforce Development and Education

Workforce strategies coordinate with post-secondary partners such as Université de Moncton, Crandall University, New Brunswick Community College, and corporate training programs modeled on initiatives from IBM Skills Academy and Microsoft Imagine Academy. Programs link to federal upskilling efforts like Skills for Success and provincial apprenticeship streams inspired by frameworks used by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training. Collaborations with local school districts and organizations such as Workforce Development Board connect employers to talent pipelines analogous to those in Kitchener–Waterloo and Halifax Regional Municipality.

Infrastructure and Transportation

The region’s infrastructure portfolio includes coordination around Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport, rail connections tied to Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City, and highway linkages via the Trans-Canada Highway. Broadband and digital infrastructure projects align with national strategies similar to Connect to Innovate, and freight logistics planning references operations at hubs like Port of Quebec and multimodal centres in Montreal. The agency participates in capital planning for industrial parks, brownfield remediation projects influenced by precedents such as Sydney Tar Ponds, and transit improvements that echo initiatives in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Regional Partnerships and Governance

Governance involves a board of representatives from municipal councils of Moncton City Council, Dieppe City Council, and Riverview Town Council, business leaders drawn from associations like Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce, and liaisons with provincial ministries including New Brunswick Department of Economic Development. Partnerships extend to regional economic organizations such as Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and national stakeholders including Export Development Canada and Business Development Bank of Canada. Collaborative frameworks mirror intermunicipal models used by regions like Ottawa–Gatineau and Greater Toronto Area for coordinated investment attraction.

Performance Metrics and Recent Projects

Key performance indicators tracked include metrics comparable to those used by Statistics Canada and World Bank—job creation, capital expenditures, export values, and new-venture formation rates—benchmarked against peer regions like Saint John, New Brunswick and Fredericton. Recent projects reported by the agency have included expansions in contact centre operations, technology scale-ups tied to venture funding from firms analogous to Real Ventures, manufacturing facility investments leveraging supply chains connected to Irving Oil, and tourism developments around Magnetic Hill Zoo and regional festivals similar to Dieppe Kite International Festival. Ongoing initiatives focus on brownfield redevelopment, workforce upskilling with provincial colleges, and enhancing export readiness for small and medium enterprises modeled on programs by Export Development Canada.

Category:Organizations based in Moncton Category:Economy of New Brunswick