New Brunswick’s annual deficit is now expected to be $500 million – although the cerebral NDP leader pointed out that this was wrong given that NB Power’s latest financials included less cash for the provincial government. As I have said…
Continue ReadingThe one mega-trend no one in NB is really talking about
I’ve been talking about this trend for almost a decade but when you read about New Brunswick’s economic ‘troubles’, this rarely shows up on anyone else’s radar. It should. In 2003, New Brunswick had 25,000 people employed in the administrative…
Continue ReadingWhat is your community’s economic raison d’être?
From a recent TJ column: Columnist Kurt Peacock recently wrote an inspiring piece about how the community of Sussex has combined its natural attributes with strong local leadership to foster a solid economic base in the community. He cites Sussex…
Continue ReadingLapierre and the zealots
A colleague of mine had a conversation with Louis Lapierre a few months ago – right after he did what he thought was a thorough and thoughtful review of the shale gas sector and came out with recommendations on how…
Continue ReadingNova Scotia election: Looking for clarity on economic development
A couple of people asked me to weigh in on the Nova Scotia election. As long time readers will know I have a horrendous track record of choosing winners in political races – I think I have been wrong most…
Continue ReadingHere’s a tip: It’s not about the bank
The Premier’s new chief of staff is talking economic development as his number one priority so I’ll give him the same tip I gave the PCs when they came into office and the same tip I gave the Liberals and…
Continue ReadingLearning from the Scots
From a recent column in the TJ: There was an excellent article in the Economist magazine this week discussing Scotland’s efforts to attract business investment and create jobs by luring multinational firms. While most inward investment into the United Kingdom…
Continue ReadingProfits, markets and a thoughtful vacation
Greed twists eternal in the human breast But the market has no brain It doesn’t love it’s not God All it knows is the price of lunch -Bruce Cockburn, You’ve Never Seen Everything (2003) Somewhat unintentionally, my visit to Brazil…
Continue ReadingSometimes a kiss is just a kiss, a profit is just a profit
I received a couple of interesting emails about my column last Saturday where I made the case that New Brunswick should be a place where companies can make a profit and that we should take it seriously when whole industries…
Continue ReadingPositive unintended consequences of scrapping the Enterprise agencies
You will recall my main concern when the province and the feds cut funding for regional economic development agencies. I wasn’t particularly worried about small business access to government financing programs. The Dept. of Economic development put new offices around…
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