Geographic Location and Infrastructure of the Enterprise Fundy Region
The Enterprise Fundy Region is located in south-central New Brunswick and includes major portions of Kings, Westmorland and Albert counties. It is central to the Province’s three major urban areas ( the cities of Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton ) and is strategically positioned for easy access to major American, central Canadian markets via road, air, and rail systems, as well as South American and European markets via ship and air.
Looking at a map of the Enterprise Fundy Region is very deceptive. It covers nearly 5,000 square kilometres or approximately seven percent of the Province’s land mass. It looks small on a Canadian map but is very large when compared to the size of many other countries such as those in Europe and elsewhere.
Highway Transport Systems
Canada has a small population relative to its geographic size. Since the population is distributed across a large area, there is an extensive highway system here, including multi-lane divided highways. This system evolved as the most efficient system for people living here and as a result most people travel by car and most goods and services are delivered to their markets using trucks.
Similarly in the Enterprise Fundy Region, access to the major cities both here and in other provinces and the U.S., is primarily by car. The major highways are divided multi-lane systems that are comparable to the autobahns found in Europe. Further encouraging people to use cars is the abundance of gas and diesel fuel here at much lower prices than in Europe. This, plus the convenience of having their own automobile for personal transportation whenever you want to go somewhere, is also the reason why there is very limited passenger train service throughout Canada which is unlike the situation in Europe
With more than 50 million potential customers within a one-day drive and more than 100 million within a two-day drive of this region, this network of high quality highways provides easy and cost effective road transport to these markets, in the rest of Canada and throughout the United States.
Ship and Rail Freight Transport Systems
The Port of Saint John, near the Enterprise Fundy region, is the largest seaport in the Province of New Brunswick. Located on the Bay of Fundy, it is an ice-free, year-round, deep-water port that handles an average of 25 million metric tonnes of cargo annually. It is one of Canada's key ports, recognized for its strategic importance to the nation's trade and economy.
Within three hours of the Enterprise Fundy region there are three additional port facilities:
- The Port of Bayside is 15 km (9 miles) from the Canada / USA border.
- The Port of Belledune is located on the south shore of the Chaleur Bay in northeastern New Brunswick. It is at the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway providing access to Central Canada and beyond.
- The Port of Halifax is situated on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia.
All of the ports are directly connected to the region by road and have freight train access.
The main freight train line linking this province to the rest of Canada and the United States passes directly through the Enterprise Fundy Region. There are several spur lines within our region that provide access to this rail system for delivery of products to markets or for receiving raw materials.
Air Transport Systems
There are four airports near the Enterprise Fundy Region. The Moncton International Airport is closest to this Region, followed by the Saint John and Fredericton Airports and the Halifax International Airport. These regional airports are serviced by regional, national and some international carriers, thus linking this Region to the world with both passenger and cargo carrying capabilities.
Again due to Canada’s smaller population, there are fewer flights and less air transport infrastructure here than in the much more densely populated countries in Europe.
Telecommunications Services
New Brunswick offers one of the world’s most sophisticated telecommunications networks. High-Speed Broadband Internet connections are available throughout most of the Enterprise Fundy Region, despite the large geography that must be covered with infrastructure to connect a very dispersed, rural population.
Financial Services
The North American banking system is somewhat different from the European system. Access to credit is based on an individual’s or business’s “credit history”. You develop a “credit history” by taking out a loan or using a credit card (borrowing money) and then repaying the debt promptly and consistently. The philosophy of credit worthiness here is based on a history of debt repayment rather than the existence of a lack of debt. While this may seem unusual to people immigrating here, it is normal here for our financial institutions to require this proof of repayment history before they will lend money to anyone.
In some instances, the financial institutions may require that a potential borrower give them a security deposit that is taken to assure the institution that the borrower has the financial resources with which to repay any loan. Once a “North American” style credit history has been established this will no longer be required.
Other Infrastructure
An efficient electrical service delivery system, soon to be available natural gas in some areas, developing industrial and business parks with both existing buildings and serviced lots available for sale and many other features all contribute to making establishing and doing business in the Enterprise Fundy Region easy and cost competitive.