Building the Northern Coalition: It’s Time to Get the Bypass Done
The Centennial Bridge closure has changed the conversation overnight.
What was once a long-standing infrastructure discussion is now something people will be feeling every single day; on their commute, in their businesses, and in the cost of simply getting from one place to another. This isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s real, and it’s affecting all of us.
And it’s not just Miramichi.
Right now, Northern New Brunswick is bottlenecked. The movement of goods, services, workers, and families is being slowed across the entire region. Miramichi sits at the center of that system. When we feel pressure here, the North feels it everywhere.
The Northern Bypass is not a “Miramichi Bypass.”
It is a critical highway connection that links Northern New Brunswick to the rest of the province, and right now, we are seeing exactly what happens when that link doesn’t exist.
For industry, time is money; and right now, both are being lost. Slower routes, restricted movement, and added fuel costs are creating real pressure on the companies that drive jobs and economic activity in our region.
Residents are losing time.
Businesses are absorbing higher costs.
Families are spending more on fuel at a time when prices are already stretched.
And the current freight restrictions only highlight how fragile our infrastructure really is. Oversized trucks are now limited to narrow travel windows, yet we don’t even have the proper truck stop infrastructure to support them. That’s not a minor oversight; it’s a failure in planning that is now impacting the entire supply chain.
But behind all of this are real people.
In recent conversations in Bathurst, I kept hearing the same thing: residents from across the North rely on Miramichi to access critical services; cancer treatments, dialysis, specialized care. For many, this isn’t about convenience. It’s about access to healthcare and the ability to live their lives.
Freedom of movement matters.
That’s why I’ve begun discussions with our northern neighbours about forming a Northern New Brunswick Coalition. If this is a provincial project, then it needs a unified regional voice behind it. For years, no one has been able to push this across the line in Fredericton. That doesn’t mean it can’t be done; it means the approach needs to change.
Our municipality has not advocated strongly enough for this. That needs to be said plainly. And it needs to change.
This is about building relationships across communities, aligning priorities, and applying coordinated pressure where it matters. It’s about showing that this isn’t one city asking for a project, it’s an entire region demanding the infrastructure it needs to function.
At the same time, supporting local has never been more important. As traffic patterns shift and costs rise, our businesses will feel it. Where we choose to spend our money right now matters more than ever.
What we are experiencing gives us something we haven’t quite had before: leverage.
We are no longer speaking about the Northern Bypass as an idea—we are living the consequences of not having it. That changes the tone. That changes the urgency. And it should change the outcome.
The Province is operating within a budget that includes a $1.4 billion deficit. In a budget of that scale, it is more than reasonable to ask why a project this critical to Northern New Brunswick wasn’t included. If we are serious about economic stability, healthcare access, and regional growth, this is not a project that can keep getting pushed aside.
This is the moment to move.
I’m not interested in watching this get studied again. I’m interested in organizing, advocating, and building the momentum it takes to get it done.
Miramichi is the hub of the North.
It’s time we start acting like it - and leading like it.
If I’m elected as your next Mayor, this is how I will lead: by organizing, advocating, and getting results that move Miramichi forward.
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