Steeped in history and culture, Moncton is the fastest growing urban area east of Toronto and one of Canada's most vibrant cities.

The road to success has not always been smooth for this small city. Take a quick look at the city's history though and it's clear Moncton is worthy of its motto "resurgo" or "I rise again"- in more ways than one.

For centuries, the people living along the north shore of the Petitcodiac River in southeastern New Brunswick have watched the tide rise twice daily up the river from the Bay of Fundy. They have also witnessed the ebb and flow of their community's fortunes over the years, as Moncton's economy has gone from boom to bust and back again.

Moncton can trace its roots to 1733, when the community known as Le Coude or The Elbow, as it was at a bend in the Petitcodiac River, began to take shape where the city stands today. The original Acadian farmers who had settled the area were expelled after the British - lead by Lt. Col. Robert Monckton - seized the region in 1755.  By 1766, Pennsylvania Dutch settlers began farming the area, calling their new home simply The Bend.

By the 1800s wooden shipbuilding had become a booming industry and the small town had grown so much that by 1855 it was ready to incorporate. A glitch in processing dropped in the "k" from Lt. Col. Robert Monckton's name. The error was never corrected - not in 1862, after the advent of the steam engine collapsed the economy, resulting in Moncton reverting from town to village status, nor again in 1875 after the growing railway industry revived the local economy and Moncton got back on track to become a town once more.

In 1918, following the creation of the Canadian National Railways (CNR) system, Moncton was the little city that could as it became home to both CNR's major locomotive repair facility for the Maritimes and Maritime division headquarters. The 1970s and 1980s were grim times for the city though, as several major employers closed or restructured, including the locomotive repair shop, putting thousands of people out of work.

As it had done in the past, the economic tide turned once more for Moncton and by the mid-1990s the city began riding a wave of prosperity that shows no sign of turning back. The increasing diversification of the economy, the rise of information technology and the strength of the city's bilingual workforce, has fuelled what's been called "The Moncton Miracle." The economic upswing has created a "can-do" attitude in city's residents, resulting in Moncton hosting major events, such as the Francophonie Summit in 1999 and the Memorial Cup in 2006 and major concerts, such as the Rolling Stones performance in 2005 and AC/DC in 2009.

In 2004, Canadian Business Magazine named Moncton the "The best city for business in Canada" and in 2007 fDi magazine named Moncton the fifth most business-friendly small-sized city in North America.

Things to do in Moncton, New Brunswick