Moncton v Saint John

savevp · #1 Posted **Oct 17, 2014, 6:31 PM**

Hi,
I was wondering (as someone from Ontario) which of Moncton or Saint John is the more 'important' city in New Brunswick.

Moncton Saint John
1733 Year Established 1604
27th Ranking of urban agglomeration population in Canada . 31st
$ 35 652 Median Income (2005) $ 37 608
4 245 Total Immigrant Population (2006) 5 030
4* Number of Universities
*includes Mt. Allison in nearby Sackville
† UNB Satellite Campus 1†

--
I put together a couple of the above statistics from the census, sorry for the formatting - I'm not great with that.

I was wondering if anyone else had any statistics that would show one way or the other.

Cheers!

MonctonRad · #2 Posted **Oct 17, 2014, 7:06 PM**

This thread isn't worth the trouble.

There is a long history of internecine warfare (bitter rivalry) between the two cities on SSP but things have been pretty civil the last six months or so. As an Ontarian, I'm sure you're not aware of this, which is fine.

In any event, I'm not participating in this particular thread. Sorry.......

michael_d40 · #3 Posted **Oct 17, 2014, 7:14 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

This thread isn't worth the tro.

There is a long history of internecine warfare (bitter rivalry) between the two cities on SSP but things have been pretty civil the last six months or so. As an Ontarian, I'm sure you're not aware of this, which is fine.

In any event, I'm not participating in this particular thread. Sorry.......

Going to have to agree with MonctonRad. I'm not either. it gets bad too quick.

Franco401 · #4 Posted **Oct 17, 2014, 7:49 PM**

Nice idea. You were off on universities, UNBSJ should definitely be there. If I could suggest something, I would count the whole CMA, not just the city proper, or it's not even close. Saint John has shrunk considerably since the 70s, and huge numbers live out in Quispamsis, Rothesay and Grand Bay-Westfield. Moncton would also get a huge boost from Dieppe.

In my opinion, it's not something that could be simply decided. Moncton has the railway and the most fortunate location possible, with all that travel to and from NS and PEI. Saint John, on the other hand, has the railway to the States, and the home of Irving, the largest employer in the province. Passing through the province on the TCH, Moncton is front and centre, whereas Saint John is nowhere near the highway. Moncton Airport is the biggest in the province, while Saint John has the Port. Neither are the capital, which is unfortunate. This should be an interesting discussion

OliverD · #5 Posted **Oct 17, 2014, 7:57 PM**

Both are dwarfed in importance by Fredericton.

Monctoncore · #6 Posted **Oct 17, 2014, 8:08 PM**

I would say both are equally important to the province. Neither is better, nor worse than the other.

SignalHillHiker · #7 Posted **Oct 17, 2014, 11:01 PM**

From an outside perspective: Moncton is Mississauga, Saint John is Hamilton.

Just depends on what you want. If you want old grandeur and great bones and are willing to deal with a city that can feel a little stagnant and deserted, then Saint John. If you want boom and energy and shiny new growth, and don't mind if it feels suburban, then Moncton.

Walk then Run · #8 Posted **Oct 17, 2014, 11:04 PM**

Well if I can come up with a quick analogy, the province of NB is a nice multi-grain bread and the two cities are like peanut butter and jelly.

Now some may think that the peanut butter is what makes a good PB&J sandwich, while others think the jelly is what makes it awesome. I, like most, believe nothing beats a mean PB&J sandwich.

Franco401 · #9 Posted **Oct 18, 2014, 12:31 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walk then Run

Well if I can come up with a quick analogy, the province of NB is a nice multi-grain bread and the two cities are like peanut butter and jelly.

Now some may think that the peanut butter is what makes a good PB&J sandwich, while others think the jelly is what makes it awesome. I, like most, believe nothing beats a mean PB&J sandwich.

Freddy is the chips on the side... it takes up a small portion of the meal and it is sometimes forgotten, but it pulls everything together and it's hard to hate.

KnoxfordGuy · #10 Posted **Oct 18, 2014, 5:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franco401

Freddy is the chips on the side... it takes up a small portion of the meal and it is sometimes forgotten, but it pulls everything together and it's hard to hate.

Perfect Franco lol

Monctoncore · #11 Posted **Oct 18, 2014, 7:26 PM**

Just for fun, Freddy is the one who helps start the fire, then backs away and laughs when the two cities argue... If anything both should turn on Freddy.

Only joking, but Fredericton does always seem to hide on the side lines when the war breaks out.

UptownJeff · #12 Posted **Oct 18, 2014, 9:54 PM**

Oh come on. This thread really should be removed. I'm also from Ontario and live in Saint John for a number of reasons. Rather than pit city's against each other.....which this type of thread does.....we should be joining forces. We are a province with less population than the city of Ottawa. There is far too much "I'm better than you are" and "haha, we got a bigger whatever than you do". I will not be participating or visiting this ridiculous thread again and whoever is the admin should remove it.

savevp · #13 Posted **Oct 19, 2014, 12:29 AM**

My apologies for potentially starting a flamewar, I had no idea! Was just curious as I figured the two cities were fairly equal but was interested in what people of the province thought.

Sorry about that, glad to see both cities (and Fredericton) play such an important role in the Province, and I really hope to visit soon and grab myself some poutines rapee that I just cannot seem to find in Ontario!

Taeolas · #14 Posted **Oct 19, 2014, 2:00 AM**

New Brunswick's 3 cities are all important for different aspects in the province's history. Whether intentional or not, we've focused different things in the different cities. While it may have slowed our overall development down, it does mean we're going to have 3 CMA's in a province with fewer people than Ottawa within a decade.

Personally, I think this division has served us well, despite the slowdown. It gives us a bit more resiliancy, and (as I've said in other threads long ago) it spreads out the "Us vs Them" mentality you tend to get in Uni-city provinces.

Lately, Moncton has been on a major growth spurt, while SJ has been languishing a bit. Depending on how things go, that can flip very quickly, but neither city is in particular trouble over all. (And Fredericton seems to be the perpetual "Slow and Steady wins the race" city; it'll probably never completely catch up with SJ or Moncton; but it also never seems to suffer the lows the others can sometimes slip into).

Overall, Moncton feels like more of a destination city than SJ; but that's just how it's built itself up in the naughties; as an entertainment/shopping destination. SJ's still trying to catch up with it (with the cruise ships) but internally, people tend to want to go to Moncton more than SJ which affects how people view the cities; but Industrially, SJ is probably going to be more dominant for the province.

So all in all, they are equally important to the province, with their own pros and cons.

JHikka · #15 Posted **Oct 19, 2014, 5:21 PM**

The amount of infighting within the Maritimes, especially within New Brunswick, is staggering, and does nothing but pull us further back from the rest of the country. We're certainly built to infight (small provinces with small populations with smaller, spread-out municipal centres) but we really should start working together more. I'd like to think that a lot of the dislike and fighting stems from the older generations who were (and mostly still are) just poorly informed about regional matters.

swish · #16 Posted **Oct 26, 2014, 10:59 PM**

Yes it is very true all the fighting and not just between moncton and sj but the whole region. I was born in moncton and have relatives in sj so i have stakes in both cities and it really saddens me how the cities don't cooperate and compliment bus same thing for summerside and charlottetown.

mmmatt · #17 Posted **Oct 29, 2014, 1:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by swish

Yes it is very true all the fighting and not just between moncton and sj but the whole region. I was born in moncton and have relatives in sj so i have stakes in both cities and it really saddens me how the cities don't cooperate and compliment bus same thing for summerside and charlottetown.

At least in PEI there is a clear "winner" unlike in NB

Whaler · #18 Posted **Oct 30, 2014, 3:15 PM**

Saint John contributes 60% of the economy to the province.
All 3 cities are valued in their own way.
As some have said, things are tough now in all of NB but good news is on the horizon.
Not sure why you have asked this question? Are considering moving to NB?
The time would be right to invest in NB!

MonctonRad · #19 Posted **Oct 30, 2014, 4:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whaler

Saint John contributes 60% of the economy to the province.

I have no difficulty believing that in terms of export sales, that SJ contributes 60% to the overall export economy. I think though that in terms of overall economic activity (domestic and export) that things are far more equitable between the three cities.

Freddypop · #20 Posted **Oct 30, 2014, 10:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

From an outside perspective: Moncton is Mississauga, Saint John is Hamilton.

Just depends on what you want. If you want old grandeur and great bones and are willing to deal with a city that can feel a little stagnant and deserted, then Saint John. If you want boom and energy and shiny new growth, and don't mind if it feels suburban, then Moncton.

Would that mean then that Freddy is Ottawa