Atlantic Canada boasts a very strong, stable and diversified economy.
Our economy continues to grow year after year, with goods traded and services provided inter-provincially within Canada, and exported to countries around the world.
Boosted by value-added products and services, and supported by a solid infrastructure and a commitment to innovation, Atlantic Canada’s resource-based industries (e.g. fishing, agriculture, mining and forestry) continue to grow the regional economy.
Thanks to the region’s deep pool of skilled graduates and superior telecommunications infrastructure, the information technology industry has flourished in recent years. Companies like Bell Aliant are widely acknowledged as international leaders within this industry.
Atlantic Canada is also a prime nearshore destination and a growing powerhouse in the industry. It has all of the benefits that led one of the world’s leading outsourcing consulting firms to name Canada as the top location for nearshore information technology and business process outsourcing activities.
Propelled by offshore oil and gas projects such as Sable Offshore Energy, Hibernia and Terra Nova, Atlantic Canada’s energy industry has emerged as a major generator of GDP, particularly in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Building on its research capacity as well as its proximity to and historic relationship with the sea, Atlantic Canada now hosts roughly half of the country’s ocean technology industry. Canadian expertise ranges from ocean mapping, to the identification and processing of sea-based nutraceuticals, to the creation and production of revolutionary new marine survival equipment.
Healthy Regional Budgets
Each of Atlantic Canada’s four provinces boasts a long history of fiscal responsibility, and the budgets of all four provincial governments of Atlantic Canada are balanced. In fact, two of the top investment ranking firms in the world, Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investment Services, have continually given the provinces positive credit ratings. In terms of taxes, provincial rates are stable or on the decline.