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4mo ago

Saint John Opens Realigned Retail Drive as N.B. Trims Bus Support and Renewables Lift Local Budgets

Policy choices underscore trade-offs across infrastructure, public services, energy and food systems.

At the end of Carlisle Road, the farthest reaches of Fredericton’s city limits, the road transforms into what can be best described as an ATV trail.
Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon spoke at the official completion of the Retail Drive realignment project Tuesday.
Gerard LeBlanc, 86, of Rexton is recuperating in hospital after his car went off a section of Route 490 north of Moncton, down the hill and into a stream. He used a wheel wrench to break the back left window to escape the vehicle and then climbed a steep, rocky hill to the road.
Public Works director Tim O’Reilly helped officially mark the completion of the Retail Drive realignment project Tuesday. PAUL HUTCHINGS/BRUNSWICK NEWS

Overview

  • Saint John officials marked the Nov. 18 opening of the Retail Drive–Ashburn Lake Road realignment, a $8.4 million project with federal, provincial and city funding that added new water, sanitary and storm systems plus modern signals.
  • New Brunswick’s Vehicle Management Agency has stopped dispatching spare buses to breakdowns and limited mechanic service to 8 a.m.–5 p.m., prompting safety worries, trip cancellations and logistical strain on districts with aging fleets.
  • A Pembina Institute analysis reports Alberta municipalities received a record $70 million in 2025 tax revenue from wind and solar, including about $1.34 million for Warner County, even as new investment slows.
  • Developers and municipalities cite ongoing regulatory uncertainty after Alberta’s 2023 approval pause, with cancelled projects and investors waiting for clarity as AESO finalizes details for new rules.
  • At its Moncton convention, the National Farmers Union is pressing for policies to raise farmers’ share of grocery prices and invest in local processing infrastructure; a Calgary Sun column separately argues federal major-project picks sideline new oil development.