Balancing Legacy and Leadership: Reflections on Lorneville and the Future of Industry in Saint John
May 15, 2025
As a councillor at large for the City of Saint John, I have taken seriously the responsibility to serve the whole city—every neighbourhood, every resident, and every future generation who will call this place home. Over the past few weeks, during this public hearing on industrial zoning expansion into Lorneville, I’ve heard from many of you: passionate residents, business owners, activists, and families who care deeply about your community.
What follows is not a final decision, because the hearing is ongoing, and I remain open to being convinced. But it is a transparent accounting of how I’m thinking, why I’ve supported this direction before, and what principles are guiding me now.
The Bigger Picture: A City Poised for National Opportunity
Back in March 2022, I wrote publicly in the Telegraph-Journal that Saint John has the opportunity—and responsibility—to lead Canada’s shift toward economic self-reliance. We’re living through a time when global supply chains are unraveling, geopolitical alliances are shifting, and governments at all levels are recognizing the need to bring back the capacity to make, build, and innovate closer to home.
Saint John is uniquely positioned to answer that call. We have a deepwater port with quadrupling capacity, an expanded CP Rail connection into the U.S. and Mexico, serviced industrial land, a modernized airport, and proximity to shipping lanes and energy assets. These aren’t just civic bragging rights—they’re levers of national significance. In the years ahead, cities like ours will be expected to carry a larger share of the country’s industrial weight.
We are already seeing the payoff of the strategy council set in motion two years ago: two major companies have submitted letters of intent. One proposes a $1 billion data centre employing 150+ people long-term, and over 700+ during construction. The other is advanced manufacturing processing facility of similar scale. These are transformative opportunities—not just for the tax base, but for skilled jobs, spin-off businesses, and long-term economic resilience. If even one of them comes here, we will not have seen this kind of development and expansion in Saint John since the refinery was built. So it is a once in a generation project.
The Local Reality: Listening to Lorneville
And yet, this isn’t a textbook case of clean economic development. This is real life, with real people. Lorneville is not just a grid on a zoning map—it’s a community of around 800 people, most of whom have spoken out against this project in it’s entirety and a few have even questioned the moral composition of those of us who would even consider this. Their concerns are valid. Industrial development, even with safeguards, changes the character of a place. It raises fears about noise, traffic, property values, and the environment.
To ignore these voices would be a betrayal of my duty. But to uncritically echo them without weighing the broader public good would be a different kind of failure—one of leadership.
That’s why I believe the process we are in matters. And that’s why I’ve made it clear that any support for this development must include unprecedented levels of zoning restrictions and environmental planning. The proposal in front of us connects the Lorneville Industrial Park to the Spruce Lake Park, but it also introduces limits we’ve never used before—prioritizing non-emitting, green-focused, medium industry. This is not business-as-usual sprawl. It’s a customized, deliberate strategy.
The Tension We Must Face: Local Impact vs. National Responsibility
Every difficult decision in public life has a tension at its core. Here, it is this: Do we accept local disruption to advance a generational economic shift that benefits our entire city, province, and nation? Or do we protect one community’s immediate environment, knowing full well that the opportunity may move down the highway—to a city like Moncton already building its fourth industrial park? Speaking of the environment, how can we maintain international supply chains that emit inordinately more than if we made things, grew things, and built the things we consume closer to home?
There was a moment during the last part of the public hearing when a resident made sniping and disingenuous statements about the project and questioned our moral fabric for even considering it. These types of encounters are not productive, which is what I said. I wasn’t saying this was a waste of time, like one resident heckled. I was saying “THIS” type of engagement isn’t productive. No one would want someone to speak to them in such a way, unchallenged and uninterrupted, for 10 minutes. So why would they behave that way towards another? Never a truer comment was made than “treat others the way you want them to treat you”. Engaging this way creates separation and delivers nothing to the issue. People voted to put me here. I have written about this issue going back to 2022 when I wrote the last blog, and I have an obligation to all of the residents of the city, of which there are 78,000+
I’ve spent my adult life advocating for sustainable local economies. I co-founded the Saint John Tool Library on the belief that shared resources build stronger communities. I’ve managed campaigns for the Green Party, worked as a carpenter, and raised five children here. I don’t arrive at this decision lightly, nor do I mistake progress for concrete alone. However, democracy has spoken loud and clear about these matters in our recent federal and provincial elections. The Conservative Party of Canada through it’s leader Pierre Poilievre ran on a platform of cutting municipal red tape. Pierre said on March 25, 2025 to CTV
“Poilievre was in Jonquiere, Que.., to announce that a Conservative government would create what he calls “shovel-ready zones” with pre-approved construction permits for major resource or energy projects.
“We block everything in this country,” Poilievre said. “We get in our own way. It takes 17 years to get a mine approved in Canada.”
Despite this quote, MP John Williamson wrote us a letter encouraging us to turn this down. The letter from Mr Williamson didn’t attempt to give justification for the separation between his position on this and his party leaders’ position.
Mark Carney and the Liberal government are now in a position to drive our proverbial bus over some very bumpy roads internationally. In a Global News article written about the Carney campaign, Ari Rabinovitch noted that
“Made in Canada” supply chains could prove among the most impactful measures, it may also prove the most challenging... Carney’s plans to build infrastructure, housing and energy projects rely heavily on key materials sectors, including steel, aluminum and lumber, and critical minerals like lithium, nickel and copper. To speed things up, Carney proposed a ‘backwards integration’ strategy.
Mark Carney is the dance partner we have and Susan Holt’s team has endorsed the project as well. Alignment exists at the two main levels of government. As much as I tried, David Coon nor Elizabeth May of the Green Party did not win the government and I have to read the democratic room as I represent the thousands of Saint Johners who voted for Liberal governments and even Conservative Representatives.
I believe that meaningful work—secure, well-paid, future-focused work—matters. It uplifts families. It restores dignity. And it gives us the means to build the green, equitable, sustainable society we all want. If done right, industrial development and environmental responsibility are not enemies. They are co-authors of a better future.
Where I Stand—So Far
I will continue to listen, and I welcome further submissions before council renders its final decision. This moment calls not for division, but for clarity. Not for shouting, but for building. The Saint John I believe in—the one I serve—is capable of doing both. We have made significant errors in the past as a city and as a province, and we need to demonstrate that we can learn from those mistakes and plot a pathway forward. We are at a hinge point nationally, according to Mark Carney, and I want to make sure Saint John comes closer to the cause and call of the nation to rally, to build, and prepare.
Brent Harris
Councillor @ Large
brent.harris@saintjohn.ca