{"id":909795,"date":"2026-09-26T01:56:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T01:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909795\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T01:56:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T01:56:15","slug":"atlantic-business-leaders-call-for-regional-policies-and-more-natural-resource-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/909795\/","title":{"rendered":"Atlantic business leaders call for regional policies and more natural resource development"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

The four Atlantic provinces need to work more closely together, increase investment, and shift toward exploiting the region\u2019s natural resources if they want to reach their full economic potential. <\/p>\n

That was the message Friday from the Atlantic Economic Panel, a group of seven CEOs and regional leaders asked to find ways to boost the regional economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Panel chair Don Mills laid out the group\u2019s plan in Riverview to a who\u2019s who of business and political leaders from the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the seven main recommendations in the panel\u2019s report is the creation of a $1 billion Atlantic prosperity fund, which Mills said is needed to help companies grow while remaining based in Atlantic Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have problems growing companies to scale,\u201d Mills said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"twoAtlantic Economic Council chair Don Mills, alongside panel member Chief Terry Richardson. (Erica Butler\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Companies looking \u201cto get to the next level\u201d with investments in the range of $2 million to $10 million \u201ccan\u2019t get it here,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that leads them to sometimes go elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean Fraser, the federal minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the instigator of the Atlantic Economic Panel, said ACOA investment programs tend to focus on smaller scale initiatives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The fund program has drawn attention to \u201ca shortcoming with the suite of [ACOA] programs that I’ve become painfully aware of in dealing with businesses,\u201d Fraser said.<\/p>\n

\u201cParticularly those facing enormous uncertainty as a result of the changed trade posture with the United States, at a time they’re seeking to scale their business and reach into new markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan also calls for greater regional integration, including the creation of an independent electricity system operator that would serve all four provinces.<\/p>\n

This past summer, the three Maritime premiers signed a memorandum of understanding<\/a> to create a regional transmission plan and consider creating a single operator to manage power delivery in the Maritimes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already got the first three,\u201d Mills said, \u201clet’s make it four.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mills said an integrated electricity supply was “foundational.”<\/p>\n

“Every other opportunity in this report depends on getting electricity right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mills also named regional co-operation on immigration, the elimination of all interprovincial trade barriers, and the streamlining of regulatory processes for major projects as areas the four provincial governments need to co-operate on.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"aSean Fraser, the federal minister responsible for ACOA, commissioned the Atlantic Economic Panel 10 months ago. (CBC)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is in the self-interest of each Atlantic Canadian province to collaborate and position themselves as part of the Atlantic Canadian region,\u201d said Fraser.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re not asking them to give up sovereignty, to give up freedom, to give up autonomy. We’re asking them to realize the enormity of the opportunity that will come \u2026 if they work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another key plank in the plan is to fully develop the region\u2019s natural resources \u2014 to grow the size of the sector by 50 per cent.<\/p>\n

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reminded the crowd that his province recently lifted bans on fracking and uranium mining.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve approved five mines in the past year: two gold, two gypsum, one zinc,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ll continue to see that momentum in mining.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt did not mention fracking but said her province\u2019s focus on natural resources \u201cmeans minerals, and it means food and fish and forestry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holt said the recent Canada Investment Summit \u201csaw New Brunswick walk away with $400 million of investment in just two projects alone, and many more\u201d in the negotiation phase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"aNew Brunswick Premier Susan Holt addressed business leaders Friday and said New Brunswick was working to develop its natural resources. (CBC)<\/p>\n

Holt drew chuckles from the crowd as she ended her remarks with a reference to the shift in focus of Canada\u2019s exports away from the United States.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

After she gave a heartfelt pitch for what might happen if the provinces \u201ctighten our bonds to each other,\u201d Holt shifted to a nautical analogy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wrap those sailors’ knots more tightly, and we face the wind,\u201d Holt said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we sail off towards \u2026 Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":909796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[45,49,48,46],"class_list":["post-909795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}