The Halifax Regional Municipality's population climbed to over 359,000 in 2001 -- a 4.7 percent increase since 1996. The area is home to 40 percent of Nova Scotians.

The Capital Conundrum

Like their sister provinces to the west, the Maritimes have caught the biotech bug. But despite a plethora of federal and provincial programs designed to boost new industries, the region's life sciences sector is still embryonic.
        "There is no real biotech industry here, though there are a few companies here, and the sector is growing," says Algis Rauba, general manager of a division of Sepracor in Windsor, Nova Scotia, that purifies existing drugs to increase their effectiveness. "People graduate with their Ph.D.'s, and they tend to migrate west or south," he states. "Having said that, the labor pool here is good, and people are well trained." Wages on average are lower than in Canada's more populated areas, but the cost of living is also lower. "People go where the money is," says Rauba, whose facility employs about 40 people. But they soon realize that their cost of living is higher, too, and many do return to the province, he explains.
        "The region has a lot of the key ingredients, but the major one that is missing is risk capital," says John Goudey, a partner in Ernst & Young's life sciences practice and lead partner on the Beyond Borders report. Most of the venture capital goes to larger metropolitan areas with established science and technology resources, so business and provincial leaders are working to develop industries that will create new opportunities.
        "The provinces need to figure out what their strengths are and where their core competencies lie," says Goudey. "What differentiates one biotech cluster from another? What can an area specialize in that makes sense for the local economy?" he poses. "It's a lot easier to build an industry around what you can bring to the table."
        Fisheries, for instance, are transitioning from centers of catching and processing fish to processing fish oils, Goudey illustrates, which have medicinal and nutritional value. Cold water research is well established in Newfoundland, primarily at the Ocean Sciences Center operated by Memorial University in St. John's. Other examples abound in the region, some of which are supported by the federal government's Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, which administers, among other things, the Atlantic Innovation Fund. This fund finances the research and development of technology-based products and services.
        Seven Prince Edward Island projects will receive a total of $25.5 million (Canadian) from the fund to boost the province's competitiveness. The projects, valued at close to C$63 million, will contribute to such new and emerging industries on the island as aerospace, nutraceutical products and aquatic health sciences.
        Among the entities receiving funds are Atlantic Turbines International, which will receive C$4 million to launch an R&D initiative known as the Centre of Repair Excellence, specializing in state-of-the-art engine repair techniques; the Atlantic Canada Network on Bioactive Compounds, which will receive C$2.7 million for research on bioactive compounds extracted from roses and blueberries; and FTC Enterprises Ltd., which will receive C$2.1 million to launch the Atlantic Natural Products Development Initiative, focusing on R&D surrounding environmentally friendly extraction technologies.