The roots of the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce date back to
the year 1891. Driven by the desire to secure cheaper rail rates
and build a new railway station and additional wharf
accommodations, a group of local merchants signed a petition to
form the Moncton Board of Trade. A Board of Directors was elected
with C.P. Harris as Chairman.
Main street, 1890, looking west from Church street 1 year
before the chamber was founded.
The new Board's first task was to appoint standing committees on
finance, harbour and city improvements, legislation, transportation
and freight, information and statistics, reception, Merchants' Week
and manufacturing. A total of thirty-five businesses joined the
Board of Trade in its first year of operation. Moncton's population
in 1891 was 8,762.
As the century drew to an end, Moncton enjoyed relative prosperity
and had much to offer prospective investors. The golden age of
shipbuilding was over, but new investments, particularly the coming
of Intercolonial Railway (ICR), provided Moncton with a revitalized
economic base. The local economy was also fuelled by federal policy
decisions on restrictive tariffs and trade that encouraged local
entrepreneurs to take advantage of Canada's protected domestic
markets.
The YMCA on the corner
of Main and Alma Streets became the site of regular board of trade
meetings around 1900..
By 1900, Moncton had established itself as an important regional
centre for business. A 1915 publication entitled "Moncton: The City
of Opportunity" states that the Board played an active role in
developing the city as an industrial centre: "It has been
instrumental in bringing to Moncton some of its largest
industries."
During the several decades that followed, the Moncton Board of
Trade continued to play a vital role in the economic development of
the region. Records dating back to 1935 show that the Board of
Trade helped persuade the Federal government to establish a
national park in Albert County. Fundy National Park was the
result.
In 1947, the Moncton Board of Trade worked with the Council of
Women to form the Moncton Welfare Council that was responsible for
bringing a social worker into the area. A few years later, the
Board of Trade formed a Better Business Bureau to insure that
businesses in the area were maintaining high standards of business
practice. The first was opened in 1949 with Harold Farthing as
Secretary-Manager. That same year the first credit reporting
service was established, the Credit Bureau of Moncton.
In 1958, the Chamber recommended that a civic corporation be formed
to purchase property that it would service and make available to
prospective industrial purchasers at cost. As a result, Moncton
Industrial Development, the first industrial organization in New
Brunswick, was established and today more than 300 businesses
operate out of Moncton Industrial Park and Caledonia Estates.
Because the term "board of trade" is a British tradition, many
boards of trade decided to change their names to reflect the North
American business culture. The Moncton Board of Trade changed its
name to the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce in 1971.
In the mid-1970's, the Chamber formed a small committee of
volunteers to look into the revitalization of the city's core area.
Eventually, this committee evolved into an independent organization
now called Downtown Moncton Incorporated whose mission is to
promote, develop, and enhance the interests of property owners and
tenants in a vital and safe downtown core.
The Chamber of Commerce in its role of catalyst or supporter has
helped with other notable accomplishments over the years including
the:
formation of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Society
development of the slogan "Hub of the Maritimes"
formation of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council
creation of the Christmas lighting program
foundation of the Moncton Jaycees and Junior Achievement
Program
formation of the Atlantic Provinces Transportation
Commission
establishment of Mosquito Control Program
establishment of United Way
establishment of the Greater Moncton Economic Commission
building of a new regional library
forming the Westmorland-Albert Solid Waste Commission
privatization of the Greater Moncton airport
establishment of the Greater Moncton Immigration
Committee
Over a century since C.P. Harris knocked his gavel for the first
time, today the Chamber enjoys a history of notable contributions
to the development and the growth of the Greater Moncton area.
Today the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce has over 800 members
and more than 100 volunteers on the board and on committees.
Through the delivery of a wide-variety of programs and services
from its new premises at 24 High Street, the GMCC continues to help
its members network, grow and prosper and is the voice of its
members on issues affecting business and community economic
development.
