Jan 5, 2020 by Allan Dearing
MONCTON – The only French Consulate in Atlantic Canada was set to close in 2019 to save money but the Government of France later reversed that decision.
A number of organizations were instrumental in efforts to keep it open including the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Moncton.
With New Brunswick needing more immigrants, CEO John Wishart believes the consulate has a big role to play.
“There’s a part of the new immigration strategy which calls for 33 percent of all immigrants being from francophone countries. So obviously France should be a main contributor to that,” he says.
With the new Canada-Europe Free Trade Agreement (CETA), he believes the office can help facilitate trade for the more than 57 New Brunswick companies which are currently doing business directly with France. In addition, Wishart notes how there are important language and cultural ties between l’Acadie and France which can’t be ignored.
Alan Dearing is a news reporter with 91.9 The Bend, a Huddle content partner.