GREATER MONCTON: THE CITY AT THE CENTRE OF IT ALL

Moncton: the fastest growing city in Atlantic Canada. Embracing the motto "Resurgo", Moncton has redefined itself time and time again through years of dynamic change and growth. We truly are a community, and a hospital, on the move.

Greater Moncton, population 140,000, is Eastern Canada's city of choice for relaxed lifestyle, affordable housing, diversified recreational facilities, eco-tourism attractions, première shopping, fine cuisine, expansive arts and crafts community and a vibrant culture. We have been making a name for ourselves throughout the world as a economic success story, and as the first fully bilingual city in Canada. Our population is a mix of ethnicity, with the majority split between English and French.

Education: Moncton offers primary, secondary and post-secondary education in both official languages. Within the city are two universities: Université de Moncton and Atlantic Baptist University. Mount Allison University in Sackville, is only a 30-minute drive away and offers extension programs and evening courses in our neighbouring city of Dieppe. The New Brunswick Community College also has campuses in both Moncton and Dieppe. With 36 primary and five secondary schools, our students have a choice of English, French or French immersion curriculums.

Sports: The Moncton Coliseum is the home of the Moncton Wildcats, and it needs not be said that we love our hockey. Our new Tim Horton's 4-Ice sports centre offers several ice surfaces and the l'Université de Moncton joins a number of private enterprises to provide well-equipped fitness facilities and tracks. The area also boasts a number of excellent golf courses, baseball and soccer fields, tennis courts, recreational parks, and aquatics centre.

Ease of Access: Moncton has been called the Hub of Maritime Canada. Our brand new International Airport provides regularly scheduled flights to many locations in North America and much of Europe. We are mere hours away from any other Maritime city and a day's drive from Montreal. The beaches of Prince Edward Island are a day trip, the rocky coastline of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, a weekend getaway.

Technology: New Brunswick boasts some of the most advanced wireless technology in the world. We are fully digital, with dual fibre-optics rings around the entire province and world-class, innovative telecommunication providers.

Recreation: Within minutes of downtown Moncton, you will find long stretches of sandy beaches lapped by the warmest waters north of Virginia, a number of fully equipped marinas, the spectacular rocky coastline and world's highest tides of the Bay of Fundy, two national parks, a number of world-class attractions, such as the Hopewell Rocks and Pays de la Sagouine, the idyllic rolling countryside and covered bridges of our scenic rural areas, superior hiking, biking, kayaking and canoeing in summer and kilometers of groomed snowmobile and x-country ski trails in winter. And in less than two hours, downhill skiers can drive to any one of three area ski slopes.

Multi-Cultural: Moncton embraces it's multi-cultural roots, affording residents and visitors the luxury of enjoying a diversity in musical tastes, regional cuisine, entertainment, and celebrations. With a variety of galleries, art centres, concerts, festivals and our historic Capitol Theatre for live productions, Moncton is a model to the world of cultural cooperation. We invite you to discover our human and natural history in any number of local museums and interpretive centres.

Moncton plays host to a variety of festivals including the popular Moncton Jazz and Blues Festival, the International Francophone Film Festival, Northrop Frye Literary Festival, Seafood Festival, HubCap Comedy Festival, and our highly successful World Wine Festival.

Retail and Dining: Greater Moncton's retail sales growth has been the highest in Atlantic Canada for the past several years, making us the shopping mecca of the east. We boast a number of retail centres, (among them Champlain Place, the largest single level shopping centre in the region), a plethora of specialty boutiques, two farmer's markets, and the Trinity Drive Power Centre, showcasing an ever-expanding selection of retail super giants.

Summer means many outdoor cafés Greater Moncton offers an exceptionally wide variety of dining experiences from well-known franchises to our local brew-pub, casual eateries, pasta, steak, seafood, ethnic specialty restaurants, and the finest of Haute Cuisine.