Moncton, New Brunswick, is the most populous city in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Nestled in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton is at the geographic heart of the Maritime Provinces. The city has earned the nickname "Hub City" due to its central inland location in the region and its history as a railway and land transportation hub for the Maritimes. As of the 2021 Census, the city had a population of 79,470. The metropolitan population in 2022 was 171,608, making it the fastest-growing CMA in Canada for the year with a growth rate of 5.3%. Its land area is 140.67 km2 (54.31 sq mi).
The Moncton area was first settled in 1733, but it was officially founded in 1766 with the arrival of Pennsylvania German immigrants from Philadelphia. Initially an agricultural settlement, Moncton was not incorporated until 1855. It was named for Lt. Col. Robert Monckton, the British officer who had captured nearby Fort Beauséjour a century earlier.
A significant wooden shipbuilding industry had developed in the community by the mid-1840s, allowing for the civic incorporation in 1855. However, the shipbuilding economy collapsed in the 1860s, causing the town to lose its civic charter in 1862. Moncton regained its charter in 1875 after the community's economy rebounded, mainly due to a growing railway industry. In 1871, the Intercolonial Railway of Canada chose Moncton as its headquarters, and Moncton remained a railway town for well over a century until the Canadian National Railway (CNR) locomotive shops closed in the late 1980s.
Despite the economic trauma caused by the collapse of the shipbuilding industry in the 1860s and the closure of the CNR locomotive shops in the 1980s, the city was able to rebound strongly on both occasions. It adopted the motto Resurgo (Latin: "I rise again") after its rebirth as a railway town. Its economy is stable and diversified, primarily based on its traditional transportation, distribution, retailing, and commercial heritage, and supplemented by strength in the educational, health care, financial, information technology, and insurance sectors. The strength of Moncton's economy has received national recognition and the local unemployment rate is consistently less than the national average.
On 1 January 2023, Moncton annexed an area including Charles Lutes Road and Zack Road; revised census information has not been released.
Moncton lies in southeastern New Brunswick, at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The city is along the north bank of the Petitcodiac River at a point where the river bends acutely from west−east to north−south flow. This geographical feature has contributed significantly to historical names for the community. Petitcodiac in the Mi'kmaq language has been translated as "bends like a bow". The early Acadian settlers in the region named their community Le Coude ("the elbow"), an allusion to the 90° bend in the river near the site of the settlement.
The Petitcodiac River exhibits one of North America's few tidal bores: a regularly occurring wave that travels up the river on the leading edge of the incoming tide. The bore is a result of the Bay of Fundy's extreme tides. Originally, the bore was very impressive, sometimes between 1 and 2 metres (3 ft 3 in and 6 ft 7 in) high and extending across the 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) width of the Petitcodiac River in the Moncton area. This wave occurred twice a day at high tide, travelling at an average speed of 13 km/h (8.1 mph) and producing an audible roar.
Despite being less than 50 km (31 mi) from the Bay of Fundy and less than 30 km (19 mi) from the Northumberland Strait, the climate tends to be more continental than maritime during the summer and winter seasons, with maritime influences somewhat tempering the transitional seasons of spring and autumn. Moncton has a warm summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with uniform precipitation distribution.
Moncton generally remains a "low rise" city, but its skyline encompasses buildings and structures with varying architectural styles from many periods. The city's most dominant structure is the Bell Aliant Tower, a 127 metres (417 ft) microwave communications tower built in 1971. When it was constructed, it was the tallest microwave communications tower of its kind in North America. It remains the tallest structure in Moncton, dwarfing the neighbouring Place L’Assomption by 46 metres (151 ft). Indeed, the Bell Aliant Tower is also the tallest free-standing structure in all four Atlantic provinces.
The most popular park in the area is Centennial Park, which contains an artificial beach, lighted cross country skiing and hiking trails, the city's largest playground, lawn bowling and tennis facilities, a boating pond, a treetop adventure course, and Rocky Stone Field, a city-owned 2,500 seat football stadium with artificial turf, and home to the Moncton Minor Football Association.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the City of Moncton had a population of 79,470 living in 35,118 of its 37,318 total private dwellings, a change of 10.5% from its 2016 population of 71,889. With a land area of 140.67 km2 (54.31 sq mi), it had a population density of 564.9/km2 (1,463.2/sq mi) in 2021.
Moncton's Capitol Theatre, an 800-seat restored 1920s-era vaudeville house on Main Street, is the main centre for cultural entertainment for the city. The theatre hosts a performing arts series and provides a venue for various theatrical performances as well as Symphony New Brunswick and the Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada. The adjacent Empress Theatre offers space for smaller performances and recitals. The Molson Canadian Centre at Casino New Brunswick provides a 2,000-seat venue for major touring artists and performing groups.
There are two major regional referral and teaching hospitals in Moncton. The Moncton Hospital has approximately 381 inpatient beds and is affiliated with Dalhousie University Medical School. The Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre has about 302 beds and hosts a medical training program through the local CFMNB and distant Université de Sherbrooke Medical School.
Moncton is served by the Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport (YQM). Moncton lies on Route 2 of the Trans-Canada Highway, which leads to Nova Scotia in the east and to Fredericton and Quebec in the west. Greater Moncton is served by Codiac Transpo, which is operated by the City of Moncton. It operates 40 buses on 19 routes throughout Moncton, Dieppe, and Riverview. Freight rail transportation in Moncton is provided by Canadian National Railway.
Moncton, New Brunswick, has two sister cities: Lafayette, Louisiana, United States, and North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
