Quote:
Originally Posted by ue
Is this supposed to disprove Halifax's chief status within Atlantic Canada? I think it's obvious Moncton will continue to prosper and will probably move ahead of Saint John, with further distance in population, but I can't see it unseating Halifax. I mean, anything's possible, 50, 100 years out, but given current conditions, I can't see it. The most I could see is Moncton challenge St John's position as #2 in Atlantic Canada.
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Halifax is, and likely always will be, Atlantic Canada's largest and most important city. Halifax has a lot of advantages (historical gravitas, political capital of NS, major port, military infrastructure, universities, hospitals etc). Halifax has momentum, similar to a supertanker travelling at top speed in the middle of the ocean. It's difficult to stop or even slow down.
The article however is interesting as further proof that Moncton
also has momentum, based on it's own advantages, and will become increasingly a force to reckon with in Atlantic Canada. Moncton has traditionally been ignored (by the rest of Canada), dismissed (by Haligonians) and underestimated by everyone. These attitudes are beginning to change (except by the Haligonians).
The nadir for Moncton was in the late 1980s with the closure of the CN shops, CFB Moncton and the Eaton's catalogue warehouse throwing literally 4,000 or so people out of work (in a city at the time with a population between 90-100,000). It was a near death experience for the community and we came within a whisker of being another Industrial Cape Breton (economic basket case). Fortunately we had a supportive premier at the time (Frank McKenna) and visionary civic leadership who were capable to find a way out of the economic catastrophe. Positive energy and a can-do attitude count for a lot. The city has been growing for the last 25 years, and our economic strength continues to accelerate - including in all sectors, even in areas you might not expect (insurance, finance, biomedical research, IT start-ups, light manufacturing, heavy industry (rail car manufacturing), etc).
Moncton should not be underestimated or dismissed. No, we will not supplant Halifax as the east coast metropolis, but we will continue to challenge Halifax in certain sectors and become a force to reckon with. To look west for an analogy, Moncton may not become a new Calgary, but we will damned sure become a Saskatoon.......