Moncton

Moncton es la ciudad más grande de la provincia canadiense de New Brunswick. Situado en el valle del río Petitcodiac, Moncton se encuentra en el centro geográfico de las provincias marítimas. La ciudad se ha ganado el sobrenombre de "Ciudad del Eje" debido a su ubicación central en el interior de la región y su historia como un centro de transporte ferroviario y terrestre para las Islas Marítimas..

La ciudad propiamente dicha tiene una población de 71.889 (2016) y tiene una superficie de 142 km2 (55 millas cuadradas). El Moncton CMA tiene una población de 144,810 (2016), por lo que es la ciudad más grande y CMA en New Brunswick, y la segunda ciudad más grande y CMA en las Provincias Marítimas. El CMA incluye la ciudad vecina de Dieppe y la ciudad de Riverview, así como las áreas suburbanas adyacentes en los condados de Westmorland y Albert.

Aunque el área de Moncton se estableció por primera vez en 1733, se considera que Moncton se fundó oficialmente en 1766 con la llegada de inmigrantes holandeses de Pensilvania desde Filadelfia. Inicialmente un asentamiento agrícola, Moncton no se incorporó hasta 1855. La ciudad fue nombrada por el teniente coronel Robert Monckton, el oficial británico que había capturado el cercano Fort Beauséjour un siglo antes. Una importante industria de construcción naval de madera se había desarrollado en la comunidad a mediados de la década de 1840, permitiendo la incorporación cívica en 1855, pero la economía de la construcción naval colapsó en la década de 1860, causando que la ciudad perdiera su carta cívica en 1862. Moncton recuperó su carta en 1875 después de que la economía de la comunidad se recuperó, principalmente debido a una industria ferroviaria en crecimiento. En 1871, el Ferrocarril Intercolonial de Canadá había elegido a Moncton para ser su sede, y Moncton siguió siendo una ciudad ferroviaria durante más de un siglo hasta el cierre de las tiendas de locomotoras del Canadian National Railway (CNR) a finales de los años ochenta.

Although the economy of Moncton was traumatized twice—by the collapse of the shipbuilding industry in the 1860s and by the closure of the CNR locomotive shops in the 1980s—the city was able to rebound strongly on both occasions. The city adopted the motto Resurgo after its rebirth as a railway town. The city's economy is stable and diversified, primarily based on its traditional transportation, distribution, retailing, and commercial heritage, and supplemented by strength in the educational, healthcare, financial, information technology, and insurance sectors. The strength of Moncton's economy has received national recognition and the local unemployment rate is consistently less than the national average.

Despite being less than 50 km (31 mi) from the Bay of Fundy and less than 30 km (19 mi) from the Northumberland Strait, the climate tends to be more continental than maritime during the summer and winter seasons, with maritime influences, somewhat tempering the transitional seasons of spring and autumn.

Moncton has a warm summer continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with uniform precipitation distribution. Winter days are typically cold but generally sunny with solar radiation generating some warmth. Daytime high temperatures usually range a few degrees below the freezing point. Major snowfalls can result from nor'easter ocean storms moving up the east coast of North America. These major snowfalls typically average 20–30 cm (8–12 in) and are frequently mixed with rain or freezing rain. Spring is frequently delayed because the sea ice that forms in the nearby Gulf of St. Lawrence during the previous winter requires time to melt, and this will cool onshore winds, which can extend inland as far as Moncton. The ice burden in the Gulf has diminished considerably over the course of the last decade (which may be a consequence of global warming), and the springtime cooling effect has weakened as a result. Daytime temperatures above freezing are typical by late February. Trees are usually in full leaf by late May. Summers are hot and humid due to the seasonal prevailing westerly winds strengthening the continental tendencies of the local climate. Daytime highs sometimes reach more than 30 °C (86 °F). Rainfall is generally modest, especially in late July and August, and periods of drought are not uncommon. Autumn daytime temperatures remain mild until late October. First snowfalls usually do not occur until late November and consistent snow cover on the ground does not happen until late December. The Fundy coast of New Brunswick occasionally experiences the effects of post-tropical storms. The stormiest weather of the year, with the greatest precipitation and the strongest winds, usually occurs during the fall/winter transition (November to mid-January).

The underpinnings of the local economy are based on Moncton's heritage as a commercial, distribution, transportation, and retailing center. This is due to Moncton's central location in the Maritimes: it has the largest catchment area in Atlantic Canada with 1.6 million people living within a three-hour drive of the city. The insurance, information technology, educational, and healthcare sectors also are major factors in the local economy with the city's two hospitals alone employing over five thousand people.