Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe

Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe is an urban riding in southeastern New Brunswick, encompassing the city of Moncton, the predominantly francophone city of Dieppe to its southeast, and most of the town of Riverview across the Petitcodiac River. Together these communities form the core of Greater Moncton, the fastest-growing metropolitan area in Atlantic Canada, with a combined population that had surpassed 125,000 by 2011.

Candidates

Robert Goguen (Conservative) — Goguen was a Moncton lawyer and past president of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick. He graduated from the Universite de Moncton with a law degree in 1983 and was a founding partner of the law firm Actus Law Droit, practising in corporate and commercial law, civil litigation, and personal injury. His deep roots in provincial Conservative organizing positioned him as a strong challenger in a riding the party had not held since 1988.

Brian Murphy (Liberal) — Murphy was the incumbent MP, first elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2008. A lawyer by training, he held a B.A. from Dalhousie University, an LL.B. from the University of New Brunswick, and an LL.M. from Osgoode Hall Law School. Before entering federal politics, Murphy served as a Moncton city councillor from 1992 to 1998 and then as Mayor of Moncton from 1998 to 2004 — a tenure during which the city became Canada's first officially bilingual city in 2002. In Parliament, he served as Atlantic Caucus Chairman and as critic for Justice and Democratic Reform.

Shawna Gagne (NDP) — Gagne carried the NDP banner in the riding, benefiting from the party's strong national surge under Jack Layton.

Steven Steeves (Green Party) — Steeves represented the Green Party in the riding.

About the Riding

Moncton has long served as the transportation and distribution hub of Atlantic Canada. For much of the twentieth century, the Canadian National Railway's repair shops anchored the local economy, but the 1988 closure of the CN Shops forced a dramatic economic reinvention. By 2011, Moncton had successfully repositioned itself around call centres, information technology, and logistics. The city hosted dozens of call centres employing thousands of workers, drawn in part by Greater Moncton's highly bilingual workforce — roughly half the population speaks both English and French. The Universite de Moncton, the largest francophone university outside Quebec, is a major employer and institution in Dieppe and the broader region. Riverview, situated on the south bank of the Petitcodiac River, is primarily a residential community whose residents commute into Moncton for work. The Greater Moncton International Airport and the city's position at the junction of the Trans-Canada Highway and major rail corridors reinforce its role as a regional logistics centre. Heading into the 2011 election, key local issues included sustaining economic diversification, bilingual federal services, and managing the rapid population growth reshaping the metro area.