Toronto residents urged to move to Saint John

The mayor of Saint John, N.B., is getting a flood of responses after issuing a social media plea for people tired of long Toronto and Vancouver commutes to move east. Don Darling posted his message after Statistics Canada released data showing New Brunswick commute times are much shorter than in most big cities. Almost 1,000 people had commented on his post on Reddit by Thursday afternoon. Some of the comments came from people interested in a more relaxed lifestyle and lower housing costs, while others said they’ve looked at Saint John but couldn’t find jobs. Realtor Jason Stephen says he has had many clients who have left big cities to give their families a better lifestyle in Saint John, where housing prices are less volatile than those in major centres. David Duplisea, CEO of the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce, says he’s pleased with the positive response to the mayor’s message and the chance to showcase the city’s world class IT and fibre-op infrastructure.