{"id":911271,"date":"2026-09-27T06:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T06:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/911271\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T06:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T06:12:17","slug":"one-atlantic-region-economy-needed-to-save-burning-platform-ex-n-b-premier-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/911271\/","title":{"rendered":"One Atlantic region economy needed to save ‘burning platform,’ ex-N. B. premier says"},"content":{"rendered":"

A former New Brunswick premier says a newly proposed single economy for Atlantic Canada is needed to save a region he described as a \u201cburning platform.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank McKenna, who served as Liberal premier from 1987 to 1997, made the comment as a panel of business leaders said the four Atlantic provinces should work together on economic transformation. <\/p>\n

The Atlantic Economic Panel in a detailed report released Friday said it could become one of the country\u2019s most prosperous regions if it leverages its workforce and resources as one economy.<\/p>\n

The seven panellists warned, however, that the report would be worthless unless the provincial governments, businesses and residents of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island take action. <\/p>\n

McKenna, who is also a former ambassador to the United States, said the premiers should indeed be motivated for change due to ongoing provincial budget deficits and damage from the Canada-U.S. trade war.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a burning platform that will ensure there\u2019s broad-based public support for really ambitious initiatives,\u201d McKenna told The Canadian Press on the sidelines of the economic report\u2019s release in Riverview, N.B.<\/p>\n

The panel\u2019s report says the region\u2019s economy is now suffering from low productivity, labour shortages and complex regulations and trade barriers that prevent businesses from being nimble. <\/p>\n

As a result, the Atlantic region is not growing as quickly as other parts of the Canada, and it has the country\u2019s most rapidly aging workforce.<\/p>\n

David Dingwall, president of Cape Breton University, said that population growth is the single most important issue facing the region amid labour shortages.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an aging population, more deaths than births, and nearly twice as many seniors as children,\u201d Dingwall, also the vice-chancellor, said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Dingwall criticized the federal government\u2019s move to limit the number of international students let into Canada over the past two years, saying they\u2019re needed if the economy is to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey become health care professionals, educators, entrepreneurs, engineers, and technology leaders who strengthen our communities and help meet critical workforce needs,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they choose to build their lives here after graduation, our communities become stronger, our workforce grows, and our economy benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the many recommendations listed in a 181-page report, the Atlantic Economic Panel says the goal is to bring the provinces together to function as one economy for its 2.7 million residents, while maintaining their own governments.<\/p>\n

Each Atlantic province would be required to remove all trade and labour mobility barriers, a process that has already started, and present every major investment opportunity through a single, regional investment platform.<\/p>\n

The panel\u2019s one-economy strategy calls for delivering at least half of all major infrastructure projects through regional partnerships, and a workforce strategy is needed to ensure workers\u2019 credentials are recognized across the region, the report says. <\/p>\n

It also recommends creating a regional independent operator to run an integrated electricity system, doubling the number of businesses exporting to global markets, and doubling exports to Europe \u2014 among others. <\/p>\n

McKenna said it\u2019s \u201cdoable\u201d but also urgent \u2014 adding that he\u2019ll be pushing for political and business leaders to see the recommendations through. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got a bit of a gift here, and it\u2019s up to them to accept the baton that\u2019s been passed to them and finish the race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean Fraser, the federal minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency who commissioned the report in November 2025, agrees the time is now for the change the panellists call for.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ambition can\u2019t be limited by our provincial borders. We have an opportunity to transform our enormous potential \u2014 at a time when the world is changing \u2014 into prosperity,\u201d Fraser, a Nova Scotia member of Parliament, told reporters Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a choice to make: Do we want to try to cling to some version of the past that perhaps we remember more fondly than it existed at the time, or do we want to recognize that it\u2019s not up to us as to whether or not the world changes?\u201d<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2026.<\/p>\n

Eli Ridder, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

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