Dieppe, N.B., marks record year for development

Despite gloomy skies above, things are looking bright for the City of Dieppe’s development.

“Along Dieppe Blvd. you’re seeing a new grocery store take place, you’re seeing a new pharmacy take place, a new pet store take place,” said Alexandre Girard, director of planning and development for the city.

Similar to other Maritime cities like Moncton and Halifax, Dieppe, N.B., is working to keep up with the population growth that’s being seen across the entire city limits.

“The growth has been very fast,” said Dieppe mayor Yvon Lapierre. “I remember when I go back to my first days on council we had a population of about 7,000 people and we’re now 32,000.”

More than 500 building permits have been issued so far this year, which represents almost $150M and sets a brand new construction record for the city.

“It’s going to draw more people to our community and we will see that growth probably carry on for the next 10-15 years,” said Lapierre.

By the end of October, there were 120 permits for commercial, industrial, and institutional projects worth approximately $50.6M, with another 387 permits for residential projects worth $99.3M.

“I think one of the main focuses for us is to ensure that development is happening in our high growth areas, so certainly along Dieppe Blvd or developing our downtown area,” said Girard.

“When it comes to other forms or other land uses such as industrial and commercial development, those are certainly priorities for the municipality certainly with our partners Expansion Dieppe.”

The Moncton North East Construction Association, which represents about 400 members, says the project demand has been seen first hand.

“I think Dieppe, along with the Greater Moncton area, have established itself as a good place to do business so when you are able to do that you are able to attract investors,” said President, Nadine Fullarton. “There’s definitely significant demand when it comes to building, commercial, institutional, civil type projects in the city of Dieppe.”

Despite the record year, Dieppe says between 3,500 and 4,400 new residential units will be needed in the next 10 years.

“In regards to meeting our targets, at this point it’s a little bit preliminary to determine if we are on target; however, the municipality has taken the action to developing a housing strategy so we’re currently working on that housing strategy right now,” said Girard. “There’s currently approximately 1,000 units being built right now as we speak, so we are certainly well on our way to meeting that target.”

However, Fullarton says right now the association is in a labour crunch and in order to meet the projected need in the coming years, it needs a labour force.

“We’re working very closely with our partners at the provincial government, federal government to look at ways to meet the labour demands. Immigration would be one solution obviously that we’re really on the ball with,” she said.

Fullarton noted the association is also working with underrepresented groups like women, First Nations, and newcomers to show them the opportunities that exist.

“I’ll use the example of some of our plumbers, in the next year with some of the contracts, some of our plumbers, our red seal plumbers, will be making $100,000 a year salary and that doesn’t include pension and benefits,” she said.

As for the City of Dieppe, Lapierre says it plans to work closely with its residents.

“Every two years we’re very happy to consult with our population and see what they see for the future and try to deliver on their ambitions,” he said.

Dieppe’s most recent development record was $119.4M in 2022.

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