Physical Literacy Community Champion: Memramcook
September 18, 2026
We’re changing things up for this month’s Physical Literacy spotlight by showcasing a Community Champion: the Village of Memramcook!
Through two community initiatives, Active Mornings and Toujours en forme, Memramcook is demonstrating how physical literacy can have an impact across the lifespan.
Read on to learn more about these programs, their impact, and the women who lead them.
A special thank you to Pascale Dupuis, Director of Community Life for the Village of Memramcook, for sharing this story.
About the Program
Tell us about your organization, community, or initiative.
In the Village of Memramcook, we aim to create accessible opportunities for people to get active, connect with others, and participate in community life.
Two initiatives are great examples of this approach: Active Mornings (Matinées actives), a family initiative offered by the Village with sessions proposed and led by Monique LeBlanc, and Toujours en forme, led by Lisa LeBlanc for adults aged 50 and over.
What program, project, or activity are you most excited to share?
We wanted to highlight these two initiatives because they show two very different ways of making physical activity accessible in our community.
With Active Mornings, families have free access to the gymnasium for six weeks. The mornings are divided by age group, and Monique LeBlanc is there to welcome families, prepare equipment, and suggest simple activities adapted to the children’s ages and the interests of the group. Parents stay on site and can move and play alongside their children.
Toujours en forme, led by Lisa LeBlanc, brings together adults aged 50 and over twice a week. The group stays active through walking, strength training with weights, balance exercises, stretching, and other adapted exercises.
Who is your program for, and what impact has it had on participants?
The two initiatives reach different groups, and each provides an accessible way to move and stay active.
How does your initiative help girls and women develop their confidence, skills, motivation, or enjoyment through movement and physical activity?
What we like about these two initiatives is that they make movement feel natural.
With Monique, families can participate at their own pace and try different activities without everything being structured around performance. With Lisa, we see women continuing to challenge themselves, work on their strength and balance, and stay active together.
Both initiatives show that there are many different ways to enjoy being active at different stages of life.
What has been your greatest success or proudest achievement?
One of the things we are proud of is being able to count on women from our community to bring these activities to life.A
Monique proposes and leads the Active Mornings sessions, adapting them to different age groups and to what works best for the families who attend. Lisa leads Toujours en forme and has created a dynamic group that comes back to be active together twice a week.
These are two different styles of activities, led by two women who are making a meaningful contribution to keeping their community active.
Women in Leadership
What does being a woman leader in this sector mean to you?
To me, leadership also means recognizing the strengths of the people around us and giving them the space to put those strengths to use.
The Village can create an initiative or provide an opportunity, but it is people like Monique and Lisa who bring it to life in the community. They know the people, know how to make them feel comfortable, and each brings her own approach.
Why is it important for girls and women to see women in leadership positions in sport and recreation?
Because leadership can take many different forms.
Monique welcoming families and introducing activities to children, or Lisa leading a group of adults aged 50 and over twice a week, are both examples of leadership within a community.
Seeing local women step into these roles can encourage others to participate and may also inspire them to eventually bring forward their own ideas and get involved.
Perspectives
Is there anything else you would like people in New Brunswick to know about your work?
In a small community like Memramcook, you do not always need to start with something big to make an impact.
Sometimes, it is as simple as opening a gymnasium to families on a Saturday morning and having someone like Monique there to welcome them and suggest activities. Other times, it is a group like Toujours en forme, where Lisa brings people together twice a week to walk, work hard, do strength training, balance exercises, and stretching.
For us, an important part of community life is creating these opportunities and working with local people who can bring them to life.