One of the key challenges facing Greater Moncton over the next decade and beyond will be the supply of labour for the growing labour market. Urban unemployment in the community is already one of the lowest in Canada and without…
Continue ReadingLet’s cross our fingers for Saint John
I have always been puzzled by this perceived rivalry between Saint John and Moncton. Who is bigger? Who is better? Which economy is the largest in New Brunswick? Has Moncton finally eclipsed Saint John? If you have been reading the…
Continue ReadingWould you like fries with that?
No, you haven’t accidentally clicked on the Health and Wellness blog. This is the It’s the Economy, Stupid blog. However, given recently published statistics on our health in Greater Moncton, I thought it would be a good time to show…
Continue ReadingRural health care advocates missing the point
“There is hope, but not for us” -Kafka Coalitions to stop the closure of hospitals, demonstrations to protest bed closures, heated rhetoric from all sides. This has been the outcome of the provincial health plan launched earlier this year. Every…
Continue ReadingThree cheers for Saskatchewan
At a time when our Premier has spent a lot of time in Ottawa lobbying for more Equalization money, the Province of Saskatchewan has joined the elite group of “have” provinces that don’t rely on federal equalization payments (Ontario and…
Continue ReadingThe need to redistribute the tax base
I am finding it increasingly strange that the federal government can be reaping windfall budget surpluses while the two other levels of government across this country are, for the most part, finding it harder and harder to balance the books.…
Continue ReadingWatch out for manufacturing
Another warning sign about the New Brunswick economy was published yesterday but, as usual, the local paper was too busy crowing about the positive growth in Moncton to notice. Statistics Canada published their monthly survey of manufacturing shipments. This is…
Continue ReadingIt’s time for a new plan
I have been watching with great interest all the new talk about the need for more economic development in Atlantic Canada. First it was the Premier’s Prosperity Plan, then the Federal Liberal’s Rising Tide and now everyone has a plan…
Continue ReadingIncreasing housing prices = economic growth
This week Statistics Canada released their monthly New Housing Price Indexes for 21 urban areas in Canada. Because the three southern cities in New Brunswick are small, they lump them into one area for the purposes of this survey. The…
Continue ReadingTime. & Transcript rant about negativity
Now I know why the Times and Transcript newspaper hardly ever says a critical word about the provincial government and their economic development approach. They state in a recent We Say segment that the ‘real danger’ is “that unthinking and…
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