November 2013
| Business World Magazine | 71
an hour. An early tourist attraction, it had vanished
from the landscape with the building of the Petitco-
diac causeway in the 1960s. As a further consequence,
the river channel silted to so reduce the bore that it
rarely grew to more than 15–20 cm of height.A few
years ago, Moncton and the Provincial government
decided to open the causeway gates in an effort to re-
store the river, and once more, the bore returned to
its full glory. Earlier this year, two surfers set a new
world record by surfing the 29-kilometre length of
the river, the longest ride on a tidal bore ever to be
achieved in North America. Surfers from the around
the world have since traveled to Moncton, and their
exploits have prompted spectators in the tens of thou-
sands. City leaders have discussed plans to develop
special events or tournaments around this new venue
opportunity, while also cautioning that such practices
include risks, not limited to the rocks and shifting of
river tides. Such risks have only seemingly added to the
want to tackle the challenge by surfer throughout the
world, certainly leading to other challenges Moncton
will overcome.
As for now, Alcide Richard asserts Moncton is de-
ploying a disciplined view of the future that adheres to
intelligent growth and an inherent philosophy of bal-
ancing work and play – virtues that will no doubt help
this historical hub to maintain its growing renown as a
hub of the future.
