I have received a little bit of negative feedback on my post recently that suggested New Brunswick is spending $75 million less today on economic development than it was 20 years ago as a share of total provincial government spending. …
Continue ReadingCongratulations on your victory, Premier Higgs. Now a few thoughts on economic development.
The good news when a party wins a second mandate – particularly after the first one was truncated – is continuity in government. The last Premier to win and complete two full mandates was Frank McKenna – and he left…
Continue ReadingMy lament for the translation sector in New Brunswick (Part 71)
I recently got my hands on the latest business counts data from Statistics Canada (June 2020). The business counts provide a count of all the firms in each of several hundred industries (NAICS) and their employment level. The data includes…
Continue ReadingAdvice to the politicians: Double down on cybersecurity
I get real nervous when politicians ‘politicize’ economic development. This is not to say they shouldn’t critique each others’ economic development programs. They absolutely should – this is a democracy and we want political parties to be very clear about…
Continue ReadingA little advice for those starting out in their careers
In the past few months I have had a larger number than usual of people reaching out to seek my advice or to ask about job opportunities at Jupia Consultants. Many hope I can refer them to someone that has…
Continue ReadingA kind of Hippocratic Oath for economic development
There is a lot of debate about what the role of government should be to support economic development. Some prefer a highly interventionist state while others would like government with a light touch. Maybe we should have a kind of…
Continue ReadingEconomic development and the New Brunswick election
I used to gently poke fun at New Brunswickers about their voting preferences. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s they would consistently tell pollsters their top concerns were jobs and the economy (and, typically, health care) and, yet, when it…
Continue ReadingOn Saint John the Exporter: Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss
As Sam croons in Casablanca, sometimes a kiss is just a kiss, a smile is just a smile. Sometimes a data point is just a data point. We can certainly unpack it, analyze it, set it in context, look at…
Continue ReadingBusiness closings as a result of Covid-19: First available data
Statistics Canada has come out with “experimental estimates for business openings and closures for Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas, seasonally adjusted”. The data is through April 2020 so we are starting to see how Covid-19 is impacting the…
Continue ReadingThank you for calling New Brunswick. How can I help you today?
A couple of years ago, international man of mystery, David Hawkins, conducted a series of focus groups with young people about what they thought of the ‘call centre’ industry as a career in New Brunswick. Most of the feedback he received…
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