orthern New England's reach into a land mass shared by two Canadian provinces poses an economic development challenge — and opportunity — to business and political entities throughout the region, including Atlantic Canada. The challenge stems from two sovereign nations sharing the same geography: Specifically, the peninsula formed by the St. Lawrence River, the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean. Maine's proximity to Québec and the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Newfoundland make the region bi-national in name only.
      A similar blending of geographic attributes can be found all along the St. Lawrence River from New Hampshire, Vermont and northern New York in the U.S. to Canada's Québec and southern Ontario. But the region, known as "Atlantica: The International Northeast Economic Region," is at a competitive disadvantage with respect to economic development and world trade despite having attributes that should endear it to those seeking access to key North American population centers. Much can be said — and has been — about why this is the case. Historical, political and commercial forces all have played a role in molding the region's current economic prospects. (For more on that, visit www.atlantica.org.) But the tide is changing.