April 1 marked the beginning of Opportunities NB’s (ONB) fifth year of operation. I remain extremely proud of the team we’ve assembled, the work they do every day, and the difference we are making for all New Brunswickers.
As the province’s lead economic development agency, we see every day the great things happening in New Brunswick. One of the challenges we still face, however, is making sure the rest of the world sees those things too. That’s why we New Brunswickers need to be unapologetic in celebrating our wins, touting our many strengths, and letting the world know that our province is the right place to invest.
We also need to continue to focus on better leveraging our partner networks and relationships to move the province forward. Collaboration and innovation are the keys to addressing every obstacle in our way.
Like every region in Canada, we have other challenges — deficits, taxes, skills gaps, the impact of AI & robotics, and immigration and population growth. We have many reasons to remain optimistic, however. Our population grew over the past few years at its fastest pace in decades. We continue to make great strides in sectors like cybersecurity and smart grid. TD Bank has brought hundreds of new high-skill finance jobs to Greater Moncton. Homegrown companies like Introhive continue to attract attention and investment. Meanwhile, international firms like HCL Technologies continue to choose New Brunswick for workforce expansion.
More good news can be found in ONB’s recently-released Fiscal 2018-19 Annual Report. We are incredibly proud of these results, results that demonstrate our ongoing commitment to bringing new money and new jobs to the province.
We also recognize that ONB’s success is not possible without the dedication and enthusiasm of our many partners and stakeholders. On behalf of everyone at ONB, I wish to thank those people for their continued support.
It is an exciting time for ONB as we tackle new priorities and areas of focus heading into 2020. Our mandate is simple: energize the private sector. To do that effectively it’s imperative that our partners and stakeholders within the New Brunswick business community work in tandem to advance the economic agenda of the Province.
In short, we need everyone’s help. With that in mind, we will be reaching out to some of you in the coming months. We are looking for you to participate, share information on specific projects related to this priority including but not limited to: boosting our exports, increasing investments, ensuring competitive regulations, helping our companies scale up, and removing barriers to accessing skilled labour. We look forward to your insight as we continue to move forward.
We have great momentum and I am confident that, as we begin to execute on new priorities, we will see a continued return on investment and exceptional results again come this time next year.
As always, our door is open.
Phone: +1 (506) 453-5471
Email: info@onbcanada.ca
Follow me on Twitter at @StephenLundCEO.
Written by Stephen Lund, CEO, Opportunities NB