Category Archives: Uncategorized

The debate about capitalism has been continuous since the days of Adam Smith but every few decades it comes to a head.  In the late 19th Century, capitalists like Carnegie argued they needed protection from British companies to create home … Continue reading →

There is an excellent article in the Economist this week about the forestry industry in Finland.  It includes interesting stories about the use of technology in the sector (driverless harvesting machines managed by mobile-phone apps), sustainability (they plant 20% more … Continue reading →

One of my main preoccupations these days is the need for communities and governments to ‘think small’ when it comes to economic development planning.  From proactively attracting tourism operators to developing language industries, I think we could have several hundred … Continue reading →

After we presented the new immigration strategy to Moncton Council earlier this week I received several messages and emails from folks around the region and beyond.  Their questions revolved basically around three issues: 1) Why do we need more immigrants … Continue reading →

In 2012 I took a course at Harvard University called Innovation and Economic Development.  A professor from Babson College named Daniel Isenberg came in and did a talk on what he was calling “scale-ups”.  He ended up found a bit of … Continue reading →

If you were to ask other Canadians what were the defining characteristics of New Brunswick they would probably say things like maple syrup, salmon, lots of trees, maybe lobsters.  One of the most unique attributes of New Brunswick, however – … Continue reading →

The negative health effects arising from asbestos started to become known in the 1920s.  By the 1970s the dangers were widely known and its use was phased out – it was banned just about everywhere by the 1990s. And yet, … Continue reading →

For my presentation to EDAC next week I put together a few slides on the state of urban centres in Canada.  There are 150 or so across the country so it can be a little hard to distill the data … Continue reading →

Someone told me today that a People’s Party of Canada candidate in New Brunswick is talking about  Radical Islam overrunning our nation. I was on a consulting team that surveyed places of worship in Greater Moncton a few months ago. … Continue reading →

There have been over a million net new jobs created since the Liberals came to power. But the Tweets and advertisements do not tell the whole story.  Only 20% of that employment growth was from people born in Canada.  The rest … Continue reading →