I have been studying economic development agencies and their effectiveness for well over a decade and I can tell you there is one very important role that is mostly ignored or at least glossed over. Unless the economy is booming,…
Continue ReadingWhen it comes to economic and demographic data, speak clearly
Economic and demographic data is hard enough for most of us to understand. When we add in hard to understand or misleading comparisons it can completely lead people to misunderstand the point that is being made. One of my biggest…
Continue ReadingYou love getting your government cheques, come on, admit it
Some one asked me one time to give them some Canadiana. What is interesting about this place? I rattled off Tim Horton’s, moose, lobster, canola, the Rockies, etc. but I also said getting cheques from government. I had just read…
Continue ReadingIt’s all about the product: Putting the ‘development’ back in economic development
I was in a meeting this week where we were having a good conversation about how to revive a local economy. We need more people. Check. We need to better promote ourselves. Check. We need to support startup companies. Check.…
Continue ReadingStart with good data: You are not as average (or median) as you think you are
One of the most misunderstood statistics out there is the average or median income stats. People will look at that data and scratch their heads. How can the median income only be $31,000 and the average income only $39,141 in…
Continue ReadingSuper Mario’s world: From entrepreneurial risk to reward
In his soul, Mario Thériault is an artist. He started out as a poet but that doesn’t pay the bills. In another time he might have been a revolutionary but instead he turned his creativity to the marketing and communications…
Continue ReadingDo you have the most livable city? You will thrive.
I know, king of statistics and all that jazz. But this one matters. A lot. We need to attract more people to New Brunswick but the best data source on who is coming and staying, the Census, doesn’t paint a…
Continue ReadingIt’s time for a charm offensive. Calling Terry O’Reilly, Part 2
It’s not like we haven’t had disagreement on public policy in New Brunswick over the past 150+ years. In Richard Wilbur’s annual review of the New Brunswick between 1960 and 2006, he uses the word ‘protest’ 115 times or an…
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