ere merged by the federal government into the newly formed Canadian National Railways (CNR) system. The ICR shops would become CNR's major locomotive repair facility for the Maritimes and Moncton became the headquarters for CNR's Maritime division. The T. Eaton Company's catalogue warehouse moved to the city in the early 1920s, employing over seven hundred people. Transportation and distribution became increasingly important to the Moncton economy throughout the middle part of the 20th century. The Moncton Airport opened in 1929 and quickly became an important fixture in the community. During the Second World War the Canadian Army built a large military supply base in the city to service the Maritime military establishment. The CNR continued to dominate the economy of the city with railway employment in Moncton peaked at nearly six thousand workers in the 1950s before beginning a slow decline.
Moncton was placed on the Trans-Canada Highway network in the early 1960s after Route 2 was built along the northern perimeter of the city. Subsequent development saw Route 15 built between the city and Shediac. At the same time, the Petitcodiac River Causeway was constructed. The University de Moncton was founded in 1963. This institution became an important resource in the development of Acadian culture in the area.
The late 1970s and the 1980s again saw a period of economic hardship hit the city as several major employers closed or restructured. The Eaton catalogue division, CNR's locomotive shops facility andCFB Moncton were all closed during this time throwing thousands of citizens out of work.
Diversification in the early 1990s saw the rise of information technology, led by call centres which made use of the city's bilingual workforce. By the late 1990s, retail, manufacturing and service expansion began to occur in all sectors and within a decade of the closure of the CNR locomotive shops Moncton had more than made up for its employment losses
