David Campbell, president of Jupia Consultants speaking to town council on Monday

A newly released report recommends that Tantramar focus on developing key sectors such as tourism, the arts, agriculture and health care over the next 10 years to promote a thriving and prosperous economy.

“It’s really just meant as a sort of starting document to get you thinking about the future from a population growth and economic opportunity perspective,” consultant David Campbell told Tantramar Town Council on Monday as he presented highlights from a 35-page report commissioned by the Southeast Regional Service Commission.

The report called “Tantramar A Look Forward to 2035” says the municipality will need to attract more workers to replace just over a quarter of its workforce that is now 55 or older.

Campbell presented a slide showing that compared to Canada as a whole, Tantramar has a disproportionately older population.

The report notes that Tantramar’s population grew by an estimated 11% between 2013 and 2023 to a total of about 9,600, but that more housing will be needed to attract additional workers.

It says the Tantramar workforce is mobile with many workers who live here going out of town to work, with many who live elsewhere, coming in to work here.

The report lists the top employers in Tantramar as: Mount Allison University (925 workers), Dorchester Penitentiary (645 workers), health care and social assistance (560), professional services (300), finance and insurance (300), construction (290), accommodation and food services (280) and retail trade (280).

The report recommends developing key sectors over the next 10 years and presents ideas for how to do it:

Tourism

The tourism industry is important to the Tantramar economy and supports multiple industries including arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodations and food services; and retail trade. The community hosts many festivals and events that draw in people from across the Maritimes and beyond. There are many tourism activities to explore and many attractions. In the years ahead, there could be potential to attract more investment to boost Tantramar’s dominance in the tourism industry.

The tourism industry took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are many reasons why the future could hold additional potential for Tantramar. The aging population across North America is expected to give tourism spending a boost over the next 20-30 years. Further, international tourists were a fast-growing segment of traffic pre-pandemic. It is expected to continue rebounding in the coming years. The university is a magnet not only for students but for tourists as well.

Opportunity: • Attract more tourism investment to the municipality leveraging the municipality’s existing assets including the beaches and ocean-based tourism. • Continue to expand the season for tourism. Bringing in more tourists in the shoulder seasons would result in more year-round jobs and boost the economy for more than just a few months each year. • Continue to develop events and activities that draw tourists from other parts of New Brunswick, Canada and beyond. Live Bait Theatre and the Mount Allison Performing Arts provide excellent entertainment. • Work with the farming sector to develop agritourism opportunities.

Arts and culture

One of the industries that could hold potential in the future is the arts and culture sector. Tantramar has a vibrant arts and culture scene including art exhibitions, theatrical performances, recitals, concerts, film, festivals, and more. Anchoring the arts and culture sector is Mount Allison University with its many arts and cultural assets. The Owens Art Gallery is the oldest art gallery in Canada. The Brunton Auditorium hosts more than 80 concerts, recitals and guest speakers each year. The 1,500 seat Convocation Hall can accommodate large performances. Adjusted for population size, the municipality is home to more than twice as many companies operating in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector compared to the rest of southeastern New Brunswick. There are four performing arts companies, theatres, heritage institutions, museums and other arts and cultural assets. Tantramar is an ideal location for creators offering beautiful landscapes, water views and other inspiration. 

Opportunity: • Attract more independent artists to the municipality. • Continue to work with the university to expand the arts and culture sector.

Health care 

The Municipality of Tantramar is home to the Sackville Memorial Hospital, an acute care community hospital that serves the population of Sackville, Dorchester, Port Elgin and surrounding areas, including the large student population of Mount Allison University. Health care ranks as the third most important industry in the municipality in terms of employment and revenue (behind education and the penitentiary). However, there could be health care services that are currently offered in the Greater Moncton region but there is enough demand for them to be offered in Tantramar. For example, according to Lightcast, per capita revenue in the ‘ambulatory health care services sector’ was 40 percent lower than the average across southeastern New Brunswick in 2022. Adjusted for population size there are only half as many doctors’ offices and 24 percent fewer dentist offices.

Opportunity: • Determine gaps in health care services by surveying residents or other methods. Develop a business case to attract more health care service providers to fill any gaps. 

Farming

According to Lightcast, revenue from the farming sector in Tantramar (including the former parish) exceeded $22 million in 2022. This makes farming one of the most important private sector industries in the municipality. The number of farms in the area is shown in Table 6. In addition to the 37 farms, there are five food manufacturing companies in the municipality including two bakeries, a frozen food manufacturer, a snack food manufacturer and one brewery.

Opportunity: There is an opportunity to encourage more farming in and around the municipality. This would require attracting young farmers to the area and providing them support. There could be more opportunities for small scale value-added food production. Agri-tourism could be developed further in conjunction with the growth in farming. A report prepared for the Southeast Regional Service Commission suggested that agri-tourism revenue could double in the coming years if there was a focused effort.

Personal & professional services

Residents of Tantramar commute into Greater Moncton or Amherst to access a wide variety of services. Based in the number of businesses per 1,000 population, Tantramar could be under-serviced in areas such as legal services, engineering services and financial services. There are 25 percent fewer limited service eating places. There are considerably fewer retail stores (e.g. furniture, building supplies, specialty foods, etc.). This is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, one of the benefits to being a municipality located adjacent to a larger urban centre is that residents can access a much broader mix of services compared to more remote municipalities. However, if there is enough demand in the municipality for specific stores and services, residents may wish to shop local rather than commute into the urban centre.

Opportunity: Develop a detailed market threshold analysis to determine if there is a business case for specific stores and services to be located in a central part of Tantramar.

To read the full report, click here.

Note: The report is one of 13 that the Southeast Regional Service Commission asked Jupia Consulting to compile for municipalities in southeastern New Brunswick. To read an overview report on the whole region, click here.