New Brunswick’s New Sports Tourism Strategy
By Angela Kryhul
NEW BRUNSWICK is developing a sport tourism strategy that aims to pool resources, maximize strengths and enhance infrastructure across key destinations such as Moncton-Dieppe, Fredericton and Saint John.
At the core of this strategy, set to launch in 2025, is a commitment to co-hosting more national and international sporting events, says Alison Aiton, director of festivals and events at Tourism New Brunswick.
Co-hosting major events is “not a new concept for us,” Aiton notes. Bathurst and Campbellton, NB, successfully co-hosted the 2003 Canada Winter Games, but it was the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, co-hosted by Moncton and Halifax, that ignited the idea of a provincewide strategy. This event serves as a model for how smaller destinations can work together to successfully manage international tournaments.
“It’s really hard for a smaller population province like New Brunswick to attract some of the larger events. But the 2023 World Juniors really provided a blueprint for how partnerships can work,” Aiton explains.
Building on this momentum, Moncton and Saint John submitted a bid to co-host the 2029 Canada Summer Games.
By collaborating, cities with limited infrastructure can collectively accommodate large crowds and elite competitions. While the three main cities already share a tri-city partnership for hosting business events, expanding this model to sports tourism allows the provincial government to make strategic investments in venues and facilities for long-term growth.
“It will allow us to be smart about our investments, get the biggest bang for our buck, and really look at where we build our centres of excellence in certain sports,” Aiton adds.
Beyond economic gains, this approach also strengthens community engagement and sports development. “On the sports legacy side, what’s really important are upgraded facilities, growth in volunteers—especially coaching, refereeing, and officiating—and getting people in the community more active in sports,” Aiton explains. “From a reputational perspective, it’s that New Brunswick is able to host some of the bigger events very well and welcomes the world to our province.”
The Power of Partnership
We spoke with representatives of Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton-Dieppe about what it takes to make co-hosting partnerships work.
THE PARTICIPANTS
Jillian Somers, CEO, Destination Moncton-Dieppe
Pat Olsen, sport tourism coordinator, Fredericton Capital Region
Lindsay Smith, sales manager, Envision Saint John
Jen Silliphant, director of destination marketing, Envision Saint John
WHEN DOES CO-HOSTING MAKE SENSE?
Lindsay Smith: I think co-hosting the World Juniors really opened everyone’s eyes… We came to realize that we could be mightier if we collaborate. Our co-bid with Moncton for the 2029 Canada Summer Games also led to a lot of discussions about pre and post events for all three cities.
Pat Olsen: When Charlottetown hosted the 2023 Canada Winter Games, they approached us to use the Crabbe Mountain facility in our region. It was great because the athletes were here for a week.
Jillian Somers: The sport tourism opportunity is very top of mind provincially. Sometimes, the sports side can bleed into business event hosting if a tournament has an annual general meeting component.
WHAT DOES BEHIND-THE-SCENES COORDINATION LOOK LIKE?
Lindsay Smith: We are fully transparent on the events that we’re bidding on. We have the kind of relationship where we can reach out to Destination Moncton-Dieppe and get their feedback. Perhaps we negotiate a two-year agreement where it’s one year in Saint John and one year in Moncton-Dieppe. If not, then we often bid against each other. And if they win, we still celebrate them because the event is coming to the province.
Jen Silliphant: We like to call it ‘co-opetition.’ As long as an event is coming to New Brunswick, everybody’s winning.
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
Jen Silliphant: We truly are in close proximity to each other [no more than 1.5 hours’ drive]. Once, we would have considered that to be a hurdle, but teams are travelling similar distances everywhere else. That also goes for our air access. The way we now look at it is that sport event planners have three airports to choose from.
Pat Olsen: We’re trying to build our fishing brand in New Brunswick. We hosted the Pan-American Black Bass Championship last September, in partnership with the province and smaller municipalities in our region such as Nackawic, which hosts an annual Smallmouth Bass Tournament. Fredericton now has a three-year partnership with Nackawic to help build and promote its fishing event; some of the anglers may even stay in Fredericton if they need more accommodations.
Published March 2025
