Newcomers Guide
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FREDERICTON • 2014 NEWCOMERS GUIDE WWW.FREDERICTON.CA 506-46 0-2020 Table of Contents Quick Reference ................................................................................................................ 2 Welcome / Overview ..................................................................... 3 About Fredericton .......................................................................... 4 Our Population .................................................................................................................. 4 Our Weather ...................................................................................................................... 4 Air Access ............................................................................................................................ 5 Local Media ........................................................................................................................ 5 Living in Fredericton ....................................................................... 6 Housing/ Real Estate ...................................................................................................... 6 Transportation .................................................................................................................. 8 Health Care ......................................................................................................................... 8 Municipal Services ........................................................................................................ 10 Education ......................................................................................................................... 11 Year-Round Recreation & Fitness .......................................................................... 12 Working & Studying in Fredericton ............................................... 14 Employment .................................................................................................................... 14 Business Support .......................................................................................................... 14 Universities ..................................................................................................................... 16 Immigrating to Fredericton .......................................................... 19 New to Canada? ............................................................................................................. 19 Politics ............................................................................................................................... 21 Multiculturalism ............................................................................................................ 21 Immigration Resources .............................................................................................. 22 New Residents – Useful Information .................................................................... 23 Quick Reference To assist with your relocation process, we are pleased to provide the following information: Digital Tour: www.teamfredericton.com/en/videos.asp Community Profile: www.ignitefredericton.com Newcomers: www.ignitefredericton.com Visitor Guide: www.tourismfredericton.ca (attractions, restaurants & shops) 2 WWW.FREDERICTON.CA Welcome / Overview On behalf of the City Fredericton, I extend a warm welcome to you and your family! Fredericton is a vibrant, culturally-diverse city where you can enjoy affordable, safe living, a balanced lifestyle with abundant recreational and cultural amenities, short commutes, clean drinking water, healthcare and premium educational facilities. It is no wonder the city has ranked "Among Canada's Top Ten Best Places to Live" by MoneySense, and a Cultural Capital of Canada! We hope this kit and resources contained within answer your essential questions about life in Fredericton, and assist with your relocation process. Welcome home! BRAD WOODSIDE Mayor Social Media City of Fredericton www.facebook.com/CityOfFredericton @CityFredGov twitter.com/CityFredGov 3 WWW.FREDERICTON.CA About Fredericton Did You Know? Fredericton is the Capital of the Situated along the scenic St. John Province of New Brunswick located River, Fredericton was originally in the Maritimes, which includes inhabited by the Maliseet and the provinces of New Brunswick, Mi’kmaq who hunted, fished, and Prince Edward Island, and Nova grew crops. Intermittently for 100 Scotia. Fredericton is within an years, the French and English fought hour’s drive to the U.S. Interstate for ownership of Nova Scotia, which 95 - the major American north- included the City of Fredericton. It south corridor; within a day’s drive was not until 1784 that the area of Halifax, Toronto and New York; north of the Bay of Fundy was less than an hour away from Saint known as New Brunswick. Early John - the region’s busiest seaport; and just a fifteen-minute drive from the Fredericton industries included Fredericton Airport. mills, a canoe factory, tanneries, carriage and wagon manufacturers, As the ‘Startup Capital of Atlantic Canada’, Fredericton has a high breweries and broom factories. In concentration of knowledge industry companies, particularly in ICT, and the 20th century, the city’s industries emerging growth clusters in bio sciences, clean technology, aerospace & evolved to universities, reinforcing defence, and the most engineers per capita in the entire country. With four Fredericton’s education and cultural universities and the fourth highest university-educated population in centric feel. Canada, Fredericton has a continuous supply of skilled talent. As the provincial capital, Fredericton is also home to many government departments. The majestic St. John River runs through the heart of downtown, providing beauty and green space. Fredericton has more than 88km of walking trails, and 3076 acres of parkland within city limits. You’ll find engaging history, world-class art galleries, gourmet delights and Maritime friendliness in perfect balance. Our Population There are over 322,670 (2006) people living within a 100 km radius of the capital city including Fredericton. The Greater Fredericton Region has a total population of 124,172 (2006), and Fredericton's Census Agglomeration (CA) population in 2011 was 94,268. Our Weather Fredericton is located inland from the Atlantic ocean. As a result of this, it has higher summer temperatures and lower winter temperatures than New Brunswick coastal locations such as Saint John and Moncton. Fredericton has a semi-continental climate with a warm summer and a cold winter. Snow depths of 1+ cm are seen approximately 105 days each year. 4 WWW.FREDERICTON.CA Seasons Season Date Average Temp. Did You Know? Spring March 21 to June 21 4 to 16°C Fredericton enjoys a delightfully Summer June 21 to September 21 12 to 24°C sunny climate, averaging around Fall September 21 to December 21 6 to 12°C 2,000 hours of sunshine each year. Winter December 21 to March 21 -10 to -1°C The average rainfall for Fredericton is around 885 millimeters annually. Air Access New Brunswick’s capital city airport is conveniently located only minutes from downtown Fredericton and CFB Gagetown – the primary training centre for Canada’s military. The Fredericton International Airport is served by Air Canada with direct, daily flights to Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax – connecting you to the world. Seasonal flights are also available. Fredericton ranked 8th in the world for clean air (World Health Local Media Organization) Newspapers Daily Gleaner, Telegraph Journal, Times & Transcript www.canadaeast.com Brunswickan www.thebruns.ca Aquinian www.theaquinian.net Radio Fredericton’s radio stations are a great way to stay current with news and other information. CBC Radio 99.5 FM www.cbc.ca Capital 106.9 FM www.capitalfm.ca CHSR 97.9 FM www.chsrfm.ca CJPN 90.5 FM @cjpnfm on Twitter The New HOT 92.3 FM thenewhot923.com KHJ Country 1260 AM & 95.1/103.5 FM www.khj.ca The Fox 105.3 FM www.foxrocks.ca Joy FM 96.5 www.joyfm.ca CJRI Radio 104.5 www.cjrifm.com 5 WWW.FREDERICTON.CA Living in Fredericton Did You Know? New Brunswick is the only officially Housing/ Real Estate bilingual province in Canada with approximately 22% of the Temporary Housing population having knowledge of You may require temporary housing following your arrival, while searching both French and English. for a permanent home. ____________________________________ Refer to the Yellow Pages or telephone book under Hotels, Motels or Bed & Breakfast or visit www.tourismfredericton.ca for a list of accommodations. New Brunswick Holidays If arriving in the summer, both the University of New Brunswick (UNB) and New Years Day – January 1 St. Thomas University (STU) rent residence rooms/suites. Visit these links for additional information: Good Friday – April 18 UNB: www.unb.ca Victoria Day – May 19 STU: http://w3.stu.ca Canada Day – July 1 Renting an Apartment or House New Brunswick Day – August 4 Fredericton has a variety of apartments and houses available for rent. It is common for a lease to be required, meaning you are committing to rent for Labour Day – September 1 a specified period of time. Thanksgiving – October 13 The government of New Brunswick has a Rentalsman, a department whose mandate includes ensuring both landlords and tenants behave responsibly, Remembrance Day – November 11 and to mediate disputes when they arise. You can find information about renting on their web site: http://www.snb.ca/irent Christmas Day – December 25