Mayor Craig Scott: Growth, shifting demographics, working with neighbours

Torbay is a mid-sized municipality in Newfoundland and Labrador with around 8,000 people living in a community that is, according to Mayor Craig Scott at least, “a unique mix” of rural and urban amenities right on the doorstep of the City of St. John’s.

That successful mix, along with the town’s close relationship with St. John’s, were just a few topics of conversation when Scott sat down with Municipal World CEO Susan Gardner at the 2019 Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference, in Quebec City.

Facing the Challenges of Successful Growth

“It’s a pretty exciting time. We are kind of kicking the trend in Newfoundland and Labrador … a lot of the issues facing many municipalities is declining population, the ageing population,” Scott said. “They are choosing to come live in our town, which is good, so we need to have the services available that people want to use.”

Successful growth turned out to be one of the biggest challenges Scott said Torbay faced, particularly in the early 2000s when the town’s population was booming. With some 150 new housing starts a year at the peak, Scott said Torbay simply outgrew the existing infrastructure.

This led to several community improvement projects, including a new community centre – set to open by the end of summer – and a town hall that is currently under renovation. Over the past six years, Scott explained, Torbay has built a lot of recreation infrastructure, including a new trail system.

St. John’s Proximity Lifts Torbay Excitement

The excitement in Torbay, Scott said, led to the creation of a YouTube video called Torbay Attractions. The video wasn’t so much about the sights in Torbay, but rather what people can do in the town throughout the year and how people can enjoy the best of rural living and big city amenities.

That, he added, is where the relationship with St. John’s comes into play.

“It is close enough to St. John’s, which has all the major amenities … but literally five minutes away you can build a house on a one-acre lot,” Scott said. “They want to be able to live in a rural atmosphere, with a nice big lot, your neighbour isn’t right on top of you. It is kind of a unique lifestyle. We have a great relationship with the City of St. John’s. In my opinion, what is good for St. John’s, is good for our town.”  MW

✯ Municipal World Insider and Executive Members: You might also be interested in the article: A strategic approach to small-town service delivery. Note that you can now access the complete collection of past articles (and more) from your membership dashboard.

Related resource materials:

Listen now on Apple Podcasts