History of Moncton

Moncton is situated at the southern end of a traditional native portage route between the Petitcodiac River and Shediac Bay on the nearby Northumberland Strait.

Early settlement was centered on the region of the Tantramar Marshes but there was gradual expansion of the settled areas towards the west during the succeeding decades.

Settlement then gradually extended up the Petitcodiac and Memramcook River valleys, finally reaching the site of present-day Moncton (50 km inland) in 1733.

In 1755, the Petitcodiac River valley fell under British control after the capture of nearby Fort Beauséjour by forces under the command of Lt. Col. Robert Monckton.

This attack was led by the American sympathizer Jonathan Eddy and was supported by local Yankee settlers and some Acadians from the Memramcook Valley.

This proved to be a significant impetus to the future growth of the community.Lumbering became important to the local economy of Moncton Township by the 1840s and in the latter part of that same decade, Joseph Salter arrived from Saint John and built a major shipyard at The Bend.

The Bend developed a service based economy to support the shipyard and gradually began to acquire all of the amenities of a growing town.

In particular, as the economy strengthened, an important financial institution (the Westmorland Bank) opened and this in turn was able to finance further expansion of the shipbuilding industry.

The arrival of the railway initially didn't have a significant impact on Moncton as the E&NA was headquartered in Shediac, where it maintained its locomotive shop.

His lobbying was successful and a larger locomotive shop facility was subsequently built northwest of the downtown and the future of the community was preserved.

Moncton grew rapidly during the early part of the 20th century, particularly after provincial lobbying saw the city become the eastern terminus of the massive National Transcontinental Railway project in 1912; this line would link Moncton with Edmundston, Quebec City, and on to Winnipeg where the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway continued to Saskatoon, Edmonton, and Prince Rupert.

The First World War brought a halt to the era of railway expansion but the city would become an important trans-shipment point for materiel funnelling onwards to the port of Halifax.

Much of the surrounding countryside to the east and the north of the city was (and is) inhabited primarily by French-Acadians who were descendants of the refugees that had returned to the region following the deportation of 1755.

Railway employment in Moncton at the height of the steam locomotive era peaked at about six thousand workers before starting a long decline following the Second World War.

This began an Acadian "renaissance" which was in large measure encouraged and supported by university faculty who had been trained in Quebec during the founding years of the "Quiet Revolution".

The anglophone population of the city generally began to accept the principle of bilingualism and enrollment in French Immersion classes in public schools became popular.

Bilingualism was heavily promoted by premier Frank McKenna's government to attract the call centre industry in order to provide a temporary employment "bridge" for the city as it transitioned from the old economy to a more modern one.

By the late 1990s, retail, manufacturing and service expansion began to occur in all sectors and within a decade of the closure of the CN locomotive shops, Moncton had more than made up for its employment losses.

In 1998, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien used the city's growing French community to political advantage when he selected a Canadian site to host the Francophonie Summit in 1999 (it rotates among member nations).

Moncton became the choice, partly because francophone Acadians consider the city to be their "capital" and also because Chrétien had briefly represented the neighbouring federal district of Beauséjour and wanted to show his appreciation to the area.

Following the World Trade Center attacks of September 11, 2001, United States airspace was abruptly closed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The confidence of the community has been bolstered by its ability to host major events such as the Francophonie Summit in 1999, a Rolling Stones concert in 2005 and the Memorial Cup in 2006.

[9] The Pinehurst Park area of the town was subsequently locked down, with residents being asked to stay in their homes; public transit being suspended; and schools, government offices, stores, and business being closed.