Economic Functions of our Five Main Cities
- Fredericton is the capital of New Brunswick and, A lot of the economic fortune that flows into the city is determined by its public sector (taxes) because the city has the highest percentage of workers with postsecondary degrees and even higher wages. Has a growing IT and commercial center as well that forms most of the cities income. One of the main industries in Fredericton is Forestry. It is an industry with massive potential and there are several institutions dedicated to educating on forestry. Forestry has opened many job opportunities which has helped the province's unemployment rate.
- Saint John is the largest city in New Brunswick and has long history of shipbuilding since the 1800’s. The city is often called the fundy city as it is located on the Bay of Fundy. The University of New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Museum and the New Brunswick Community College are important institutions that have been important to the cities economic growth and popularity (population growth). There are many waterside businesses, and the port of Saint John is significant as well.
- Moncton is one of the central cities in the Maritimes and it’s the largest catchment area in the maritimes as well ( an area that attracts the most visitors and tourists). The city of Moncton’s local economy is heavily reliant on its heritage as a transport, distribution, retailing, and commercial centre. It’s education (university), IT, healthcare, and insurance sectors and very successful. The city can pride itself with a 6% unemployment rate which is below the national average.
- Edmundson is a very rural town that makes most of its money off of the Saint John paper factory (Rural = pop at least 1000 and density of 400 or more people per sq km). Forestry is one of the main ways of making money for the town and has been for many years historically speaking.
- Dieppe is a Francophone city with almost 73.4% of the residents that speak french as their first language. Dieppe was originally settled as it was a good location for a port side trading post, it retains its legacy as it’s main way of making income is through ports, trading, and fishing. Also known for shipbuilding.
This is a picture of Saint John, in New Brunswick
Taxes
- New Brunswick has HST or Harmonized Sales Tax ever since the Excise Tax Act in 1985. On October 18th, 1996 the Canadian government and the province of NB signed the Comprehensive Integrated Tax Coordination Agreement (CITCA) which led to the integration of HST. HST is the value added from both the GST (5%) and the provincial tax (8%) meaning that the HST is at a rate of 13%
- GST (5%) + Provincial Tax (8%) = HST (13%)
Major Economic Sectors
The main economic sectors that keep the province running are Trade (12%), Finance/Insurance/ Real Estate (18%), and Public Administration (12%) → This is a percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
To the right is a recent pie graph taken to show New Brunswick's GDP in 2013, it shows it's main economic sectors. |
The Economic Regions
- Fredericton County is known for it’s impact on forestry in New Brunswick. Northern New Brunswick has a lot of Mining that has always brought profit to the province. Caraquet, Pêcheries Ste-Cécile Inc and Miramichi/Restigouche are Fishing companies that have been around for nearly a century. Hopewell Cape is a tourism destination. Bouctouche is the main city of the Irving Oil Company.
The Atlantic Region
- New Brunswick is located in the Atlantic Region. This economic region is home to many harbours as it is the home of the Maritimes and Newfoundland & Labrador. It is a good location to have great trade with the USA. Since the 1500’s (Since John Cabot arrived in Newfoundland), the first nations have hunted, trapped, fished, and farmed in the region. At the time, there were plenty of fish in the Grand banks and this drew in fishers from England, Portugal, and France. For hundreds of years, fishing remained as one of the most economically beneficial activity. There wasn’t much settlement in the Atlantic Region for many years but the fertile and vast land brought in many immigrants from all over to settle and farm the land. Farming began in 17th century (Farmed foods like: potatoes, corn, dairy products, and fruit) When Confederation dawned, Saint John had an important role in building ships which were wooden at the time until the 1890’s when steam power was introduced. In Cape Breton (Nova Scotia) coal mining was a massive industry and once supplied Canada two thirds of its coal/ Steel manufacturing was also major in the area. Steel was a hazard to the environment until it was shut down in 2001. After confederation, the region’s mining, financial, and manufacturing industries were no longer as prominent as Canada’s mainland economic regions and the area has suffered a decline in natural resources relative to the rest of Canada.
- Today, the Atlantic Region has changed and prospered in different ways. There was the fall of the cod industry which devastated many communities but there is hope that it may recover. On the other hand though, agriculture has thrived in the area and by 2008, McCain Foods Ltd. employed over 20,000 people for multiple job positions across the company's branches. The oil fields near Newfoundland have large economic potential for the region.
Provincial Economy
-The province of New Brunswick has a very broad niche when it comes to the ways it uses its vast arsenal of resources. New Brunswick has mining, forestry, oil and gas, and fishing companies as well as many tourist destinations that help with the commercial sector. People make their earnings by doing anything really, New Brunswick is diverse with it’s choices in industries which also means many career options for students. A 2014 poll suggests that the average salary of a resident in New Brunswick was $44,044 a year which is the highest among the Maritime provinces. Considering that Mining is one of the largest industries in NB and Canada has had an income of over 5 billion dollars in Mining since 1975 we can assume that a fair share was mined by New Brunswick. Tourism and Fishing are more individual and help cities economies rather than the province as a whole. Currently the economy of New Brunswick is on an all time high with mining exports being opened (Poll from early this last March).
Some Economic Locations
Northern New Brunswick (Mining): The Brunswick #12 Mine in the Bathurst mining camp is one of the main mines in our province and has been active since 1953. Mining in general has been one of the largest industries in New Brunswick although the industry has died down quite a bit due to over exploitation and lack of natural resources today.
Caraquet, Pêcheries Ste-Cécile Inc (Fishing): Fishing is the very beginning of industry in our province and is the oldest industry in the Atlantic Economic Region. Pêcheries Ste-Cécile Inc is one of the living and successful fishing companies in New Brunswick today and usually deals with the catching of fresh fish and packaging them cold to sell to large retailers.
Miramichi and Restigouche Rivers (Fishing): These two different rivers situated on the Miramichi and Restigouche Rivers in Northern New Brunswick and long time fishing companies that deal with the fishing, transportation, and distribution of freshwater fish.
The Hopewell Rocks (Tourism): Situated along the Bay of Fundy is one the marine wonders of the world and and brings in many nature lovers to it every year. The attraction has been successful for many years and to this day many people from around the world come to New Brunswick to feast their eyes upon the beautiful rock structures.
Irving Eco-Centre (Oil and Gas/ Innovative Energy): The Irving Eco-Centre is based in Bouctouche and is the most successful oil and gas company in New Brunswick with new ways of improving how our province uses its energy.
Some Economic Locations
Northern New Brunswick (Mining): The Brunswick #12 Mine in the Bathurst mining camp is one of the main mines in our province and has been active since 1953. Mining in general has been one of the largest industries in New Brunswick although the industry has died down quite a bit due to over exploitation and lack of natural resources today.
Caraquet, Pêcheries Ste-Cécile Inc (Fishing): Fishing is the very beginning of industry in our province and is the oldest industry in the Atlantic Economic Region. Pêcheries Ste-Cécile Inc is one of the living and successful fishing companies in New Brunswick today and usually deals with the catching of fresh fish and packaging them cold to sell to large retailers.
Miramichi and Restigouche Rivers (Fishing): These two different rivers situated on the Miramichi and Restigouche Rivers in Northern New Brunswick and long time fishing companies that deal with the fishing, transportation, and distribution of freshwater fish.
The Hopewell Rocks (Tourism): Situated along the Bay of Fundy is one the marine wonders of the world and and brings in many nature lovers to it every year. The attraction has been successful for many years and to this day many people from around the world come to New Brunswick to feast their eyes upon the beautiful rock structures.
Irving Eco-Centre (Oil and Gas/ Innovative Energy): The Irving Eco-Centre is based in Bouctouche and is the most successful oil and gas company in New Brunswick with new ways of improving how our province uses its energy.
A map showing both the Miramichi and Restigouche Rivers
Employment Rates and American Involvement
- The current unemployment rate in New Brunswick is 9.9% meaning that many people cannot find a job in NB currently. This is a small increase from last year by 0.2% (drop in unemployment rate :) / was 10.1%)
- The American Relations Division has an interest in the government in New Brunswick and recognized the strategic positioning of the two. There is daily/ easy trade between the two through the ports of NB. Both the USA and NB want to maintain contact with each other to share mutual thoughts on border safety, transportation, trade, environment, energy in hopes that there can be cooperative help. There is also a sense of promoting the interests of NB by keeping presence as a member of the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG-ECP), the Council of State Governments (Eastern Region), the Southeastern U.S. Alliance, and other groups that offer more framework for improving development in all areas.
- The American Relations Division has an interest in the government in New Brunswick and recognized the strategic positioning of the two. There is daily/ easy trade between the two through the ports of NB. Both the USA and NB want to maintain contact with each other to share mutual thoughts on border safety, transportation, trade, environment, energy in hopes that there can be cooperative help. There is also a sense of promoting the interests of NB by keeping presence as a member of the Conference of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG-ECP), the Council of State Governments (Eastern Region), the Southeastern U.S. Alliance, and other groups that offer more framework for improving development in all areas.