History of Moncton - Recent History

Recent History

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). Following the near disaster of the 1995 Referendum on Quebec sovereignty, Chrétien felt it more appropriate to host the summit someplace other than Quebec and he decided that the time had come to honour Canada's Acadian population. 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. The summit was held in late August 1999 and was the largest conference ever held in the city, with heads of state and delegations attending from 54 nations around the world.

Following the World Trade Center attacks of 11 September 2001, United States airspace was abruptly closed by the FAA. Over a dozen flights with about 2,500 passengers were diverted to the Greater Moncton International Airport as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon. The Moncton Coliseum was turned into a temporary refugee camp for the stranded passengers but the citizens of the city opened their hearts and every passenger that wanted to was able to find billets in private homes.

The growth of the community has continued unabated since the 1990s and has been accelerating. 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. Recent positive developments include the Atlantic Baptist University achieving full university status and relocating to a new campus in 1996, the Greater Moncton Airport opening a new terminal building and becoming a designated international airport in 2002, and the opening of the new Gunningsville Bridge to Riverview in 2005. In 2002, Moncton became Canada's first officially bilingual city. In the 2006 census, Moncton was officially designated a Census Metropolitan Area and became the largest metropolitan area in the province of New Brunswick.