Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe, New Brunswick share services while being governed by separate mayors and councils- however, a new poll suggests most residents support the idea of amalgamation.
The three communities already share wastewater treatment, transit, and policing. Some residents find three mayors and three separate councils to be a waste of money.
The results come from an independent telephone survey conducted by Corporate Research Associates. 400 adult residents 18 years of age or older from the three communities were polled earlier this spring.
“This is the second time we've done it in the past year and the results have been very consistent,” says Don Mills with Corporate Research Associates.
The polls show almost six out of 10 residents support amalgamation, 28 per cent don’t like the idea, 7 per cent say they neither support nor oppose the idea, while the remaining 6 per cent didn’t know or didn’t answer.
The greatest support was in Dieppe, with 65 per cent in favor of amalgamation. Riverview was the least interested in the idea, with only half of respondents saying it was a good idea.
“Riverview is separate, we've always been separate,” says town resident Dennis Livingstone.
The Mayor of Riverview agreesthat Riverview should stay separate.
“What I hear over and over from our citizens is that they're very happy with the services that we provide here in the town of Riverview” says Mayor Ann Seamans.
CTV News reached out to Moncton Mayor Dawn Arnold, but she was out of town Thursday. Dieppe City Hall did not return CTV’s phone calls.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis
