Cover Page
Deep End of the
Labor Pool
The Capital Conundrum
A Support Structure Takes Shape
The Regional View
Complex Work,
Simple Lifestyle
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ATLANTIC CANADA SPOTLIGHT
A Capital Challenge
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tlantic Canada's economic future hinges on three key sectors, say business location experts. Energy (particularly offshore energy development and production), information and communications technology (ICT) and life sciences. With virtually every other region in developed Canada and the rest of North America vying for the attention of these industries, the Maritimes -- Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island -- have their work cut out for them.
The provinces' biggest challenge is to attract venture capital, particularly in the biotechnology and life sciences arena. Canada's biotechnology industry grew 183 percent between 1997 and 2001, according to Beyond Borders: The Canadian Biotechnology Report 2002, a report issued by Ernst & Young that was released at the BIO2002 conference in Toronto in June. More than 400 biotech companies operated in Canada in 2001, about three quarters of which are based in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. While Atlantic Canada is home to a variety of life science companies, establishing clusters of specific industry niches is proving to be a challenge.
"There are pockets of prosperity throughout the region, but it is very rural in nature, and that 'ruralness' has always been a challenge," says Jim Scott, senior consultant at Grant Thornton LLP, in Moncton, New Brunswick. A Canadian site selection expert, Scott has a background in provincial economic development. "But people have tremendous loyalty. People who work for a reasonable wage are yours for life, and that has to do with opportunity. Unemployment in the area is double-digit and has been for a long time. It's difficult to do manufacturing here because of distance to markets, but they do other things very well, such as customer contact centers. Thousands and thousands of jobs have been created in that area."
A related field in growth mode in the region is IT outsourcing and software application support services, which is OAO Technology Solutions' business. The Greenbelt, Md.-based company operates two application solution centers in Canada -- one in Toronto and a larger one in Moncton. More than 400 people work in the New Brunswick location; the company opened the center in 1999 with just 35 employees.
The provinces' biggest challenge is to attract venture capital, particularly in the biotechnology and life sciences arena. Canada's biotechnology industry grew 183 percent between 1997 and 2001, according to Beyond Borders: The Canadian Biotechnology Report 2002, a report issued by Ernst & Young that was released at the BIO2002 conference in Toronto in June. More than 400 biotech companies operated in Canada in 2001, about three quarters of which are based in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. While Atlantic Canada is home to a variety of life science companies, establishing clusters of specific industry niches is proving to be a challenge.
"There are pockets of prosperity throughout the region, but it is very rural in nature, and that 'ruralness' has always been a challenge," says Jim Scott, senior consultant at Grant Thornton LLP, in Moncton, New Brunswick. A Canadian site selection expert, Scott has a background in provincial economic development. "But people have tremendous loyalty. People who work for a reasonable wage are yours for life, and that has to do with opportunity. Unemployment in the area is double-digit and has been for a long time. It's difficult to do manufacturing here because of distance to markets, but they do other things very well, such as customer contact centers. Thousands and thousands of jobs have been created in that area."
A related field in growth mode in the region is IT outsourcing and software application support services, which is OAO Technology Solutions' business. The Greenbelt, Md.-based company operates two application solution centers in Canada -- one in Toronto and a larger one in Moncton. More than 400 people work in the New Brunswick location; the company opened the center in 1999 with just 35 employees.