As Moncton’s population continues to grow at a rapid rate, the city says it’s on track to keep up with the projected growth when it comes to future developments and making sure everyone has a place to live.
“We are on track right now to hit our short-term targets,” said Joshua Adams, a senior planner in the long range planning division for the City of Moncton.
According to city estimates, 4,500 new housing units will be needed in the next five years alone, which Adams says accounts for the short-term goals.
“What we’re seeing so far in our building permit numbers is we’re actually on track to hit that. So last year alone we did about 1,285 resident units, so that’s new units added just to the city,” he said.
“2022 was the biggest year, but I think since the pandemic, and really since 2019, growth has really taken off,” he added. “So 2020 was a record, 2021 was another record after that and 2022 was our latest record. So each year is just record-breaking year after record-breaking year, which is really a sign of how much growth the city is currently experiencing.”
In fact, Adams says that in 2022 the city saw over $366 million in building and development permits.
“We need all types of units, basically from rentals to single family dwellings,” he said. “Right now, a lot of the growth that we’ve been experiencing has been from new immigrants, new immigration to the city of Moncton, new permeant residents. Often times these people, when they first arrive, they look for more of the rental market; they’re not quite ready to go into home ownership just yet, so that’s where a lot of the growth has been -- in that sector to accommodate that growing segment of the population.”
According to preliminary estimates from the city, Moncton’s population is expected to grow to about 100,000 people by 2031.
“Over the long term, over 25 years, we expect to need over 16,000 new housing units and that’s what we’re currently working on planning,” said Adams.
There are currently a number of projects in the pipeline, including residential projects in and around the downtown, industrial projects and employment centres -- including a new industrial park off Shediac Road and another planned off Horseman Road later this year.
Planning is also underway for the long-term development goals, including a municipal plan amendment that is expected to take place soon.
“This is going to be a real opportunity to engage with the citizens of Moncton and really try to answer the question of, ‘How should the city grow over the next 10 years, 20 years and what should that development look like and whose needs is that development going to serve?’” said Adams.
As for creating more affordable housing, he says the city has a number of programs in place to help stimulate affordable housing developments.
“I think it’s no secret that we have a housing crisis currently in this city,” he adds. “All we can do is continue to plan for the growth the best we can and continue to work with our provincial departments, our partners there, and our partners at the federal government, to try and ensure that we’re tapping into as many programs as we can to try and stimulate affordable housing and continue those talks as well.”
