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…
Continue ReadingFrom an ambitious vision to tangible action: Thoughts on the SOTP
I was delighted to hear the Premier roll out some ambitious targets at the State of the Province address last night. While I have never talked with him one-on-one a number who have had suggested to me his view was…
Continue ReadingSaint-Quentin: An interesting outlier – small, rural, remote and growing
I was in Saint-Quentin this weekend talking to the maple syrup folks about workforce issues. I was impressed. The village looks like a going concern. At a superficial level, Saint-Quentin doesn’t have a lot of fundamentals working in its favour. …
Continue ReadingBring on the Thunder: Can we build it? Yes, we can!
It’s been a long time since I uttered the phrase Bob, The Builder made famous “Can we build it? Yes, we can!”. If you have children in the 18-25 range you will likely remember that determined construction worker. I was…
Continue ReadingRumours of glory: New Brunswick edition
Could it be that New Brunswick is turning a corner? Could we be on the cusp of economic renewal in one of North America’s worst performing economies for over a decade (among provinces and states)? See for yourself. The population…
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