The Municipal District of St. Stephen (MDSS) is looking to rebrand the municipality following the amalgamation of many different areas in greater St. Stephen.
Chief Administrative Officer Jeff Renaud said the council had identified this type of exercise as something it wanted to explore.
Hayley Bohan was asked by staff to prepare a proposal on her services to see what the rebranding might cost and what it could entail.
“We were very impressed with both her and her proposal,” he said. “We’re bringing it here to see if that goal is still a goal that (the) council wants to pursue.”
Coun. Earle Eastman did question whether the province would be able to pay for the rebranding – as councils across the province look to find their new identity under amalgamation.
“They’re part of the problem,” he said.
However, Renaud said if it was something the council wanted, it would need to go it alone.
“We did try that during amalgamation, but a lot of things that were promised during amalgamation did not come to fruition,” he said.
Renaud thinks that if they sought external funding, the current council, which is slated to face an election in 2026, might not be around the table.
“If we’re going to do it and we’re going to do it right, we need to start it in the near future,” he said.
St. Stephen took in more than a dozen areas as part of the amalgamation, mainly rural areas, including Oak Bay, Crocker Hill, and Mayfield, among others. The new areas made the urban-rural divide about 50-50, according to Renaud.
Its current motto is ‘The middle of everywhere’, citing its proximity to major areas in New Brunswick, but also the U.S.-Canada border.
Renaud said the old and current formation of the municipality is stuck with too many tag lines.
“Are we in the middle of everywhere, are we chocolate town … and we’re not fully leaning into any of them,” he said.
He said going through this process will help the council find something that fits and they could lean into it.
Coun. Brian Cornish pointed to a time when the motto was heavily debated by the council, saying the new areas that have joined the existing ones do support a new municipal identity.
The council did express its intention not to change the names of the individual areas, noting that many municipalities struggled with that issue and their geographical identity.
Coun. Marg Harding supported the proposal to be brought to the council, taking sharp aim at the current motto.
“I also agree that the middle of everywhere, whatever that was, that was the stupidest thing that we ever did,” she said.
Bohan proposal does include cost estimates:
- Phase 1: $5250, time: 6-8 weeks.
- Phase 2: $4500, time: about one month, subject to certain approvals.
- Phase 3: $5000, time: 6 weeks, subject to certain approvals.
Total: $14,750.
She did add an additional $1000 for support and training, and a surcharge for travel.
Bohan has worked with several major brands, including Nova Scotia’s Alexander Keiths, and Swiss Chalet, as well as several high-profile alcohol brands.
Coun. David Hyslop said the communication around the rebranding must be done well, given the animosity that existed when it first tried to land on something for the town.
It is expected the agreement to move forward with the branding could come within the next few council meetings.
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