Sackville

The Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre was announced on March 14 as New Brunswick’s entry in the 20th annual Kraft Hockeyville.

New to the program this year, a community in each province and territory received $50,000 for arena upgrades, with an additional $10,000 provided for hockey equipment, thanks to a donation from the NHLPA Goals & Dreams and the NHL/NHLPA Industry Growth Fund.

Megan Mitton, Green Party Tantramar MLA, learned of the news during a live reveal on Hockey Night in Canada.

She says the news is exciting for the community, “The application was put in by the Municipality of Tantramar, but other people in the community also submitted nominations and offered their support,” said Mitton. “We already had a partial win in being chosen for New Brunswick, and hopefully we’ll go all the way.”

The top two finalists from the 13 provincial and territorial winners will be announced on Saturday, March 21. The selected communities have the opportunity to compete for the grand prize of $250,000 in rink upgrades, as well as the honour of hosting an NHL pre-season game. The runner-up community receives $100,000 for rink upgrades.

“One of the key things that is a priority in these improvements is increasing accessibility for the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre because it’s a community space that is used in a lot of different ways,” said the Tantramar MLA.

Mitton says the centre needs an elevator and other accessibility features to serve everyone in the community. The municipal council had already been considering the upgrades to the centre, as local advocates have been pushing for the implementation.

The community is proud of its strong sports and recreation culture, particularly hockey, according to Mitton. She said the municipality has already been fundraising to improve seating and other quality-of-life amenities in the centre, so community input would be included if the community becomes a Top two finalist.

“Community input would be able to direct the funds to make it the most comfortable and accessible place for our community and any visitors who are coming to the Tantramar area,” said Mitton.

Canadians will choose the Kraft Hockeyville 2026 champion through public voting to be held April 3-4, 2026.

If chosen, the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre would be the third arena in New Brunswick to become Kraft Hockeyville champion, following Renous in 2019 and Elsipogtog First Nation in 2021.