Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opened the inaugural Atlantic Economic Forum, hosted by StFX’s Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, on June 19, encouraging delegates to seize opportunities for economic growth with unrelenting ambition in helping build an economy that works for all Canadians.
Mr. Trudeau, introduced by the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, 18th Prime Minister of Canada and StFX alumnus, kicked off the three-day forum focused on Atlantic economic development, addressing the opening night dinner at the Charles V. Keating Centre.
‘We’re here to look at how we can unlock economic growth,” Mr. Trudeau said. “This is a very consequential moment we find ourselves in.”
“We need to meet the challenges of today with strength and opportunity,” he told over 300 delegates at StFX for the forum, which runs until June 21.
Along with two prime ministers, the event has brought together business, government and policy leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the region and to look at ways to help Atlantic communities grow and succeed.
While we have to be fiscally responsible, we also have to be unrelentingly ambitious to seize every opportunity for our workers and our communities, Mr. Trudeau said.
In this moment, it’s critical we recognize that economic growth is also connected to security policy, to climate policy and to social policy. “Everything is connected.”
Mr. Trudeau spoke about the need to move to clean electricity, and the ever-increasing impacts of climate change, as witnessed recently in Hurricane Fiona and the recent wildfires.
The East Coast, he said, should and could be a clean energy powerhouse and the federal government will be there to help make that happen.
He also spoke about how important it is to work together to make sure Atlantic Canada has every competitive advantage possible. It’s about creating opportunity for people and giving them a future to invest in so they in turn invest in and build community.
Social programs like the $10 childcare and the upcoming dental program are not just social programs. They’re economic program that keep us competitive, he said. Canada’s great competitive advantage is Canadians themselves—an educated population, optimistic in its future, who enjoy a strong social safety net. “People want to come and build and gown here.”
Mr. Trudeau said we’ve seen incredible renewal in this region with population growth, communities teeming with start-ups and entrepreneurs, and an area that has become more diverse and full of opportunity than ever before.
This is in part the legacy of Prime Minister Mulroney, Mr. Trudeau said, and we can be grateful for his vision and act of faith in the economic future of Atlantic Canada when over four decades ago, he helped create the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA.) “He was very good at seeing potential.”
IMPRESSIVE ROSTER
Several speakers took to the podium during the dinner. The Honourable Frank McKenna, Deputy Chairman, TD Bank & Former Premier of New Brunswick, introduced Mr. Mulroney, who in turn introduced Mr. Trudeau.
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston; the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency; and the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship and MP for Central Nova, all delivered remarks.
Cynthia Dorrington, President of Vale & Associates and StFX Board of Governors member, was the evening’s emcee, StFX Elder-in-Residence Kerry Prosper offered a blessing and high school student Ainslie Pictou performed the women’s fancy shawl jingle dance.
REMARKABLE CONTRIBUTION
In introducing Mr. Mulroney, Mr. McKenna noted the former prime minister’s tremendous contributions to Atlantic Canada, calling him “the best prime minister Atlantic Canada ever had” and noted how Mr. Mulroney never forget the impact of his formative years in the region.
Mr. Mulroney, who received a standing ovation before and after his remarks, recalled the September 2019 opening of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government and how he said that everyone, regardless of political party, will find a home at the institution marked by fairness and scholarship of the highest order.
Wanting to do something even more to help mobilize in Atlantic Canada, Mr. Mulroney noted this thought in speaking with Mr. Fraser, who he said stepped in with the idea for the forum, initially paused by the pandemic. With Mr. Fraser’s appointment to cabinet, Mr. McKenna stepped in to help move the idea forward, with StFX President Dr. Andy Hakin and the StFX team bringing the idea to fruition.
ECONOMIC GROWTH
In her remarks, Ms. Petitpas Taylor told the audience how the region has become the economic leader in growth on a per capita basis, with Halifax and Moncton the fastest growing cities in Canada. “It’s unlike anything we have ever seen before.”
Large numbers of people are staying here, large numbers of people are coming back home, and newcomers are arriving too.
Mr. Houston said people are seeing what is happening in this province, and region, which are experiencing incredible growth.
“We have momentum. We have a lot of work to do for sure,” he said, noting that the growth is not without its challenges, including in housing and health care, areas he said the government will continue to focus on.
Keep going, keep expanding and setting up businesses, he encouraged in his remarks “You can do anything from this province.”
OPPORTUNITY TO DO BIG THINGS
Minister Fraser closed the evening with his remarks.
He reminded attendees that we’ve had real challenges in the region in the past, challenges that have had dire consequences, including outmigration, business and school closures and reductions in health care services.
We have to do everything we can to create opportunities, he said.
As we move forward, he said it’s important to remember it takes people coming up with bright ideas, and we need to include everyone in the economic growth and success.
“The success we’re experiencing in Atlantic Canada is like nothing I could have imagined,” he said. “It didn’t happen by accident and it’s not going to continue without effort.”
“We have opportunity to do big things.”
ATLANTIC ECONOMIC FORUM CONTINUES
An impressive list of speakers, panelists and leaders will attend the forum over the next two days including: Ken Langone, CEO, Invemed, and co-founder of The Home Depot; Annette Verschuren, Chair and CEO of NRStor Inc. and former President, Home Depot Canada; Karen Oldfield, CEO of Nova Scotia Health; Chief Terry Paul, Membertou First Nation; Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, Dalhousie University; Jennifer Wagner, a Breakthrough Energy Fellow based on PEI; Michelle Simms, CEO of Genesis in Newfoundland and Labrador; Dr. Herb Emery, Vaughan Chair in Regional Economics, University of New Brunswick; Andrew Parkin, CEO, Environics; and Kelley Lendsay, CEO, Indigenous Works, among others.
