B

efore the first Europeans arrived, Prince Edward Island -- then called Epekwitk ("resting on the waves") -- was cu lturally, politically and economically tied with regions of Québec and Maine as part of the MicMac nation. Other Atlantic Canadian territories had Scottish, French and Acadian connections with their U.S.-side counterparts. Today, all those old connections are coming round again, as the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador power their economies with regional ties that in turn connect them to the entire world.
      It may surprise some to learn that China's imports from Atlantic Canada have increased tenfold over the past decade, and threaten to surpass Japan's for second place behind the U.S. Or that the region's information and communications technology (ICT) sector output grew by nearly 80 percent between 1997 and 2002.
      One un-surprising fact: energy still accounted for 82 percent of merchandise export growth from Atlantic Canada during that same period. That primarily reflects refined petroleum and crude exports, as well as the fast-growing natural gas marketplace, including liquefied natural gas (LNG).