It's The Economy, Stupid

I had a chat yesterday with one of my left-leaning friends and he starting going on about the exciting election of Barack Obama and how it means a whole new day for Canada-U.S. relations.  He said he could see a…

Gov. Bob Riley and other state officials are spending four days in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, trying to sell industrial site consultants on Alabama. Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development Office, said 25 site consultants are attending the Alabama International…

For old timers to this blog, you can skip this one because it is essentially a repeat but I was asked yesterday to explain why this blog exists.  Here is a novel explanation. Most people ask this question:  What do…

I like Norway.  I don’t know why we don’t spend more time investment prospecting there.  It is a small market and there is limited potential but it could be a niche market.  New Brunswick doesn’t need piles of investment every…

I see in this article that the City of Toronto is relaunching its economic development agency (formerly known as the Toronto Economic Development Corp.) as Invest Toronto.  Invest Toronto’s mission is to market and promote the city in new and…

We have talked about Richard Florida here on several occasions but I really think that Florida’s approach is now going well beyond just creativity.  Now we read a new Federal Reserve report that cities with “the things that make a…

The mystique.  They mystery.  A ‘lobbyist’ now working for the government.  Ooooooh.  The Opposition is some angry that Doug Tyler, former McKenna Minister has gone from lobbyist to senior government position.  As if that hasn’t happened before.  New Brunswick is…

Some folks, notably the Times & Transcript (surprise surprise) believe that any attempt to have a more rational approach to municipal government in this province is an attack on rural New Brunswick.  That’s hogwash.  The Finn report was a sensible…

I want you to have a look at all of these deals – the winner, second and third place and all the honourable mentions.  This is the kind of blockbuster economic development project that can help transform an economy.  I…

Sometimes it is interesting to read foreign media and their coverage of Federal government ‘largesse’.  This is a story in Scandinavian Oil-Gas magazine about the federal and provincial government money being poured into a Norwegian owned company in Quebec.  The…