Moncton is a Canadian city located in Westmorland County, New Brunswick. The city is situated in southeastern New Brunswick, within the Petitcodiac River Valley, and lies at the geographic centre of the Maritime Provinces. The community has gained the nickname "Hub City" because of its central location and also because Moncton has historically been the railway and land transportation hub for the Maritime Provinces. Moncton, with a 2006 metropolitan population of 126,424, is the most populous census metropolitan area (CMA) in New Brunswick. It is the second largest CMA in the Maritime Provinces, after Halifax, and the third largest in the Atlantic Provinces following Halifax and St. John's.