FREDERICTON — New Brunswick business leaders were presented with stark differences in political parties’ economic plans Tuesday as they heard from three leaders ahead of next week’s provincial election.
Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers says the province needs a growth agenda, not what he called “the path of cuts and austerity” promoted by Premier Blaine Higgs.
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Vickers told a business audience Tuesday via video conferencing he would put the province’s economic development agency — Opportunity New Brunswick — “on steroids.”
“We have to be much more aggressive and robust in identifying companies around the world to come to New Brunswick,” Vickers said.
He said if his party forms government after the Sept. 14 provincial election, he’ll work to expand the economy and the provincial population.
“My path is investment and growth, aggressive identification of companies and bringing them here to New Brunswick,” Vickers said from Miramichi.
He was the first of five leaders to speak to business groups from Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John. The leaders were unable to speak in person because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Speaking later to the same forum, Higgs said the budget his government tabled in the spring is paying off and he’s not inventing anything new during the campaign.
“I have never seen a time when our civil service has been more engaged,” Higgs said. “I have never seen a time when we’ve had as much positivity in our province … about how we feel, about how we perform. We did all that together. I’m looking for the opportunity to keep that ball rolling.”
The Tory leader added that the province needs to find new ways to provide health services as the demand for doctors increases.
He said while some other parties are quick to throw money at projects for short-term gain, that’s not his approach.
“I’m interested in the long-term viability for regions throughout our province. Regions that develop on their own merit with programs that work. And it’s not just setting up competitions between one region and another,” Higgs said.
Both Higgs and Vickers support the development of small modular nuclear reactors in the province, but Green Leader David Coon, who also presented to the group Tuesday, called them “very risky business.” He said at this point they are only a concept, and they could require a lot of public funding.
Coon said a Green government would help small business startups that run up against barriers and are seen as “too small to warrant interest” by government. “We’ve got to change that,” he said.
All three leaders stressed the need to increase the provincial population in an effort to address an estimated 120,000 jobs expected to become available over the next decade.
Coon said he wants a new deal with the federal government on immigration.
“I would seek to sign an accord with Ottawa, much like Quebec has, to give us greater autonomy over immigration and integration of newcomers into New Brunswick,” he said.
The business groups will hear from New Democrat Leader Mackenzie Thomason and People’s Alliance Leader Kris Austin Wednesday.
On Tuesday in Riverview, N.B., Austin said his party is continuing to work on behalf of this province’s paramedics to ensure they are reclassified as medical professionals.
Austin also pledged to help fund training for volunteer fire departments.
Tuesday was the final day of advance polls, and turnout was reported to be high. On Saturday 63,000 people cast ballots — an increase of about 20,000 voters, or 45 per cent, over the first day of advance voting in 2018.
Elections New Brunswick has been running a campaign urging people to vote early to avoid heavy traffic at polling stations on election day.
The Tories and Liberals each dropped a candidate Monday as a result of past posts on social media about the LGBTQ community. But the president and executive of the Victoria-La-Vallee Progressive Conservative Association said Tuesday they still support ousted candidate Roland Michaud to run as an independent Progressive Conservative in the riding.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 8, 2020.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
