I was surprised to learn that Greater Moncton had been declared one of the world's most intelligent communities by a New York based think-tank, the Intelligent Community Forum. How does a small community like Moncton achieve such a ranking? According to the Forum, intelligent communities are those which have, whether through crisis or foresight, come to understand the enormous challenges of the Broadband Economy and taken steps to create an economy capable of prospering in it. They are not necessarily big cities or famous technology hubs. They are located in developing-nations and industrialized nations, suburbs as well as cities.

For most of the 20th Century, Greater Moncton was the transportation hub of Atlantic Canada. The Canadian National railroad (CN) had its repair shops in the city and a cluster of transport-dependent employers, such as the Eaton's Catalog Center. As many of you will recall, Moncton ran into the perfect economic storm in the 1980s. CN announced that it was closing down its Moncton Shop facilities. The Eaton's Catalog Centre closed and several local factories followed close behind. A once-proud transportation centre suddenly found itself with short-term economic problems and serious concerns about its economic future. Compounding the circumstance was the fact that rail and transportation had dominated Moncton's economy for so long, that its workforce was caught in a time-warp - educated for manual work, unprepared for the emerging knowledge economy.

Moncton responded to its crisis by organizing a series of planning exercises beginning in 1989. Symposium 2000 brought together local government and business leaders from Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview, as well as provincial and federal agencies. A partnership was forged between local and provincial governments that would attract new business to the region. Perhaps most important, they formalized collaboration among Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview on sharing the management of municipal services such as water and policing and on the joint development of projects like the Greater Moncton International Airport.

In the late 1980s, Moncton became a player in the call-centre industry. NBTel (now Bell-Aliant) executive Gerry Pond and Frank McKenna, then Premier of New Brunswick worked closely on the call-centre file. NBTel became the first Canadian carrier to build a 100% digital network, creating a suite of services to support call centers, including the leasing (rather than purchase) of costly switches and systems for home-based employees.

Greater Moncton, boasting low costs and the fact it had one of the largest bilingual workforces in Canada worked with the provincial government to actively promote the region as a place to base telecom-intensive services and IT operations. Together, they helped the city attract national and international call-centers such as Exxon-Mobil, UPS, Purolator, FedEx, Fairmont Hotels, Rogers Communications and the Royal Bank of Canada.

Call-centers had become a major employer by 1994 but Greater Moncton recognized that call-center success was not enough. The future lay in development of the "knowledge businesses" – natural and applied sciences, business and finance, computer programming and information systems.

During the latter part of the 1990s, homegrown ICT businesses prospered. Atlantic Lottery Corporation which manages the Atlantic region's gaming industry became a world leader in technology advancement and deployment. PropertyGuys.com developed a national business by leveraging the Internet to become one of Canada's dot-com success stories.

By 2006, almost 45 out of every 1,000 workers in the Greater Moncton Census Area worked in customer service, information or related positions, compared with an average of 12 for Canada. Moncton witnessed a 300% increase in employment in ICT companies, a 153% increase in employment for graphic designers and illustrators and a 43% increase in jobs for writers and translators.

What is really significant is that Greater Moncton has added more than 25,000 jobs in management, finance, health services, technology and education since 1990. To add perspective, one should know that between 2001 and 2006, the province of New Brunswick suffered a net population loss of 3,900 people while Greater Moncton added 6,800 new residents. In 2008, the call-centre industry had a $290 million payroll and generated a $765 million in economic activity.

The 2009 Cushman & Wakefield LePage "Marketbeat Report" says Greater Moncton's new $90 million casino, hotel and entertainment centre (currently under construction), the new $50 million courthouse, the $40 million shopping complex on Mapleton Road and the new $20 million track and field stadium that will host the 2010 IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships at the l'Université de Moncton should cause metro's economic growth figures to soar. "While other North American cities face economic troubles, Greater Moncton could have a record year in 2009," the Report says. It seems clear to me that Greater Moncton has earned its designation as one of the world's most intelligent communities.

W.E. (Bill) Belliveau is a Shediac resident and Moncton business consultant. He can be contacted at bill.bellstrategic@nb.aibn.com