We Are Miramichi: It’s Time to End the Divide

The divide between Chatham and Newcastle is something I refuse to accept as normal.

Not because it’s loud or obvious every day. It isn’t. It shows up in smaller ways. In how we talk about “the other side.” In where we choose to go or not go. In the quiet assumptions that have been passed down long enough that they feel normal. And that’s the problem. Something that shouldn’t be normal has become part of how we define ourselves.

We are one city. But too often, we don’t act like it.

My heritage comes from both sides of the river. My roots are planted on both sides. I’ve never believed in this divide, because for me, there has only ever been one Miramichi.

If you know me, you know this is exactly the kind of problem I get pulled toward. The more complex, the more layered, the more rooted in history and emotion, the more I want to get my hands around it and figure out a way forward. I don’t shy away from that kind of work. I chase it. My phone is full of people who have picked up a call from me that starts the same way every time. Hello, I have an idea.

Because I do. Constantly.

And this is one I can’t let go of.

I believe we can shrink this divide. Not by talking about it endlessly, not by pointing fingers, and not by pretending it doesn’t exist. We do it by creating something bigger than it. Something that invites people in. Something that makes it easier to connect than to stay separate.

I call it We Are Miramichi. A homecoming.

This is not a single event. It is a city wide experience. A full week where every corner of Miramichi is activated and celebrated. Both downtowns. Our historic sites. Our neighbourhoods. Our seniors groups. Our youth. Our businesses. Our artists. Our volunteers. Everyone.

The idea is simple but powerful. We showcase the Very Best of who we are. Together.

Imagine a week where there is a coordinated schedule of events happening across the entire city. Community led initiatives supported by strong, city led promotion. An open invitation not just to residents, but to families who have moved away, to visitors, to anyone who has a connection to this place. Come home for the week. Come experience Miramichi as one community.

Picture moving through the city that week and feeling something different. Energy. Pride. Curiosity. People crossing the river not out of obligation, but because there is something worth seeing, worth experiencing, worth being part of.

And then one night, we bring it all together.

Fireworks.

Not one show. Not one location. The exact same show, launched at the same time from both ends of the river. Douglastown and Chatham on one side. Newcastle and Chatham Head on the other. No matter where you stand in this city, you look up and you see the same thing. You share the same moment. You feel part of the same celebration.

Because that is who we are. One river. One community. One city.

And being there means something. It means you are choosing to be part of that. You are choosing connection over division. You are choosing to build something stronger than what we inherited.

Around that, we encourage neighbourhood block parties. Smaller, local moments that make the big idea feel personal. Streets filled with people who might not have spoken before. Kids playing together. Music, food, laughter. Real connection at the ground level.

This is how culture shifts. Not through policy alone, but through shared experience.

I am not naive. I know something like this takes work. It takes coordination, leadership, and buy in. It takes groundwork. It takes people willing to step up and participate. But that is exactly why I believe in it. Because this community has already shown, time and time again, that when we come together around something meaningful, we deliver.

And maybe the timing matters too.

We are in the middle of a difficult period with the Centennial Bridge construction. There is strain. Frustration. Disruption. It is testing people. It is testing businesses. It is changing how we move through our own city. That kind of pressure can either pull us further apart, or it can push us closer together.

What if we chose the second option.

What if we marked the end of that period not just as the completion of a project, but as a celebration of resilience. A moment where we say we got through it together, and we are stronger because of it.

That is what We Are Miramichi can become. Not just an event, but a statement about who we are and who we are choosing to be.

This is how I think. This is how I lead.

I am drawn to complexity because I believe there is always a solution worth finding. I believe in ideas that bring people together, not push them further apart. I believe in doing the work to turn vision into something real, something people can feel and be part of.

And I believe, without hesitation, that this city can be its Very Best.

We are not two sides of a river. We are one city built around it. What runs through us should bring us together, not keep us apart.

We are Miramichi. Together is where we are at our Very Best.

t.g.