I know some people are annoyed about this and think that the developers are just going to pocket the money. Here’s the bottom line. New Brunswick brought in 6,000 immigrants last year. I am convinced we will push through 10,000…
Continue ReadingWhen it comes to population growth, Dieppe and Shediac still duking it out
I was unaware until today that Statistics Canada publishes estimates of population by year between Census periods for municipalities – large and small. I thought the agency only published population estimates for CMAs, CAs and for Census Divisions. Yet, up…
Continue ReadingWatch out, Quebec. New Brunswick is coming (blueberries too)
There was an interesting story recently in the media about which province can claim to be the maple syrup capital of Canada. I would say the battle rages for the title of blueberry capital, too. I was re watching The…
Continue ReadingWhat does the UPS closing tell us about the Moncton economy and labour market?
I was on the team that attracted UPS to New Brunswick 25 years ago. I wrote the proposal/business case arguing there would be significant cost and technology benefits from consolidating 13 operations into one customer service/back office operations. The VP…
Continue ReadingAre we on the cusp of a new era of prosperity in New Brunswick?
When I started writing It’s the Economy, Stupid! back in 2004 (the name was suggested by David Jonah and was taken from Bill Clinton aide James Carville who concluded if the economy was going strong it would cover many political…
Continue ReadingNB has second fastest international student population growth in 2019
Another good stat for New Brunswick was published by IRCC recently. The number of international students, those with a study permit, rose by 17% in 2019 over 2018. Only Quebec saw a faster growth rate. Now, adjusted for population size…
Continue ReadingIf they come, you will (have to) build it
After World War 2, Canada was settling some 1.5 million European refugees and the Prime Minister at the time asked the Premier how many did New Brunswick want? An article I read a few years ago said the Premier told…
Continue ReadingNewcomers helping to arrest the decline in New Brunswick’s workforce
Several people asked me to comment on the good jobs report out of Statistics Canada this week. New Brunswick added 5,300 jobs (the workforce expanded by 3,100) in January 2020 compared to January 2019. As I always say these numbers…
Continue ReadingThree cheers for the forest products industry in New Brunswick
Australia announced a few weeks ago they would be planting billions of new trees to aid in the fight against climate change. Greta tells us to plant trees to help fight climate change. Don’t pretend you don’t know who I…
Continue ReadingIf we are expecting mediocrity, surprise! We just might get mediocrity.
Maybe I’m just paranoid but I am starting to think New Brunswick’s lost decade could be emerging as our destiny. A few weeks ago the national organization that forecasts agricultural demand came out with its forecast for the next decade…
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