Paul Wells is probably my favourite political journalist. I have been reading Inkless Wells and his columns for years but I think he made a tiny error in his otherwise important analysis of the new federal/provincial relationship that is emerging…
Continue ReadingGame changer: Over 70 percent of the population – of the voters – lives in have-not provinces
Lots of chatter over the federal government plan to move health transfer payment increases to the rate of overall growth. Most of the pundits – looking back at history – are saying the provinces are looking a gift horse in…
Continue ReadingHealth care math: NB edition
“…New Brunswick has nearly 50 per cent more elderly people in its population compared to Alberta and there will be no accounting for this fact in federal health transfers.” Someone sent me an email questioning my math so here is…
Continue ReadingHewers of minerals and drawers of oil and gas
As 2011 winds down, I took a look at some of the changes occurring in the national economy. We are through the latest recession and into a growth curve – albeit a tenuous one. Exports are up, employment is up, government revenue…
Continue ReadingThere will be relatively less cash from the feds: Flaherty (paraphrase)
We have discussed this at great length on this blog. I am talking, of course, about how the federal transfers system works. The naive camp suggests that we don’t really have to worry about economic development in New Brunswick because we have…
Continue ReadingJohn Herron and his ‘a-ha’ moments
In the last couple of years I have gotten to know former MP John Herron (current head of the Atlantica Centre for Energy) quite well. He’s an interesting cat having served as a young federal politician and then – after…
Continue ReadingProtester: Time Person of the Year
I see that Time has named the protester as their Person of the Year. I get that, however; I would separate the protests in the Middle East from Tea Parties, Occupy Movements or “Get the Frack out of my…
Continue ReadingNB GDP growth to be worst in Canada through 2013: RBC Economics
The new RBC Economics provincial forecasts are out and the outlook for NB is cloudy. The firm is estimating NB’s economy grew by only 0.5% this year – the only province in Canada to have a less than 1 percent…
Continue ReadingThe role of Enterprise Fundy attracting investment in Millstream potash
I know the Executive Director of Enterprise Fundy, Frank Tenhave, quite well as our friendship goes back to the early 1990s at the provincial government Department of Economic Development and Tourism. He is a guy who understands that regional economic…
Continue ReadingTurning the migration tide
The following table shows the net migration from Atlantic Canada to the rest of Canada over the past 40 years. We are interested in the net numbers (out vs. in) because that is the net loss/gain from migration. There were…
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