CyberVoices

Canada's first officially bilingual city, Moncton is called “Hub-City” which earned this nickname because of its central inland location in the region and its history as a railway and land transportation hub for the Maritimes. Moncton seems to be continuing this tradition in the technology space as it bridges Fredericton to the west and Halifax to the east. Greater Moncton’s population stands at 178,000. Moncton ranked number twelve nationally as a great place to live and work in cybersecurity in CCN's recent CyberTowns 2024 results.

Communities in New Brunswick have benefited immensely by significant past and continued investments by the Government of New Brunswick into cybersecurity education and research and development institutes such as the Canadian Institute of Cybersecurity, out of the University of Fredericton but which supports all New Brunswick as well. New Brunswick Community College, Oulton College, Universite de Moncton, are part of the reason why Moncton is thriving and embedding technology and cybersecurity education in this city.

Moncton stood out in our recent CyberTowns community as the #2 most affordable in the cities we reviewed, making it a prime destination for younger people. This is proven out by Moncton’s #12 population growth ranking from 2021 and its continued growth making Moncton and Halifax some of the fastest growing Canadian communities. It is also a city where we are seeing more new Canadians and international students making their way. It is therefore critical the community adopt more community services and technology hubs to help support entrepreneurial and networking opportunities.

Another interesting intersection seems to be between health services and technology with a recent investment of $1 million in AI kicking off opportunities for the community. University of New Brunswick and Universite de Moncton are also partnering on AI via the Frank McKenna Institute.

The Province of New Brunswick has been a leader since the introduction of Blue Kits in 2017. The kits were part of a pilot project created by CyberNB, an initiative of Opportunities New Brunswick aimed at making the province the epicentre of cybersecurity, to increase the digital literacy of young New Brunswickers. Unfortunately, CyberNB, a not for profit no longer exists but its cyber legacy continues to live and breathe in many of the programs it created and the new generation of cyber leaders it created and inspired. The future of cybersecurity is not always a linear path, but one of trial and error and kudo’s must be given to those who helped forge the way.

Moncton’s rise is a surprise too many but not to those who live in New Brunswick and know it’s legacy and the passion of those who live there. Francois Guay, Founder of the Canadian Cybersecurity Network says he was surprised by the success of Moncton and the rise of Fredericton as such strong cybersecurity technology hubs, but once he saw the passion and collaboration of those working within the province he understood. New Brunswick he says, “is the most collaborative province in the country when it comes to cybersecurity, from structured education programs, significant and early investments in cybersecurity, AI and other technologies, New Brunswick leads the way in cooperation, a lesson others should emulate.”

Hub-City is definitely one to watch as the city and the province continues to lead the way from a technology investment, but more importantly from a collaboration perspective.