With just eight months to go until New Brunswickers head back to the polls for a provincial election, Premier Brian Gallant delivered his State of the Province address last night.
Promises included 20 million dollars in investments in things like education, tourism, and job creation.
“We are going to foster renovation, increase our investments in research and development. We’re going to increase our investments in helping start-ups. We’ll help small businesses that are export oriented, be able to make some of the capital investments that they are able to make to be more productive and be able to compete,” Premier Brian Gallant told a crowd of around one thousand people at the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce.
Premier @BrianGallantNB talks about focus areas of business support and strategic investing. #SOTP2018 pic.twitter.com/nzlC1Ow6Gs
— Krista Ross (@KRossChamber) January 26, 2018
Premier Gallant also talked about the challenges the province is facing, including an aging population, “If we don’t do anything, and we stay the course, projections tell us that by 2030, approximately, just under 30 per cent of New Brunswickers will be 65 years or older. So to put in context, it is almost one third of New Brunswickers would be seniors.”
Gallant says they plan to invest in helping to keep seniors in their homes, and also keeping them more active, which will keep them in the workforce longer.
He also pointed out that for 33 consecutive years, we have seen more young New Brunswickers leaving the province, than coming in.
Plans also include investments to help ensure there are more work opportunities for youth.
“We want to continue to invest more in education. We want to continue to give our youth the chance at the best start in life. We want to continue to help families be able to upgrade their skills and further their education. We are very proud of what we have accomplished so far, but there is still much work to do,” says Gallant.
“We want to make sure our youth understand what jobs are waiting for them here in New Brunswick, so they can make informed decisions on where they want to work and what they may want to study. We want to make sure we provide youth employment opportunities so people can get the experiential experience they need. We want to make sure they get the hands on experience so they can go seamlessly into the work force.”
He also reinforced his government’s successes of bringing in a free tuition program and free child care.
Premier Gallant ended his speech by saying, “I ask all of you to continue to do whatever you can over the next few months and years to ensure we continue the momentum we have created together. My favourite quote, Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. All of you have the ability to work with us to make a difference.”
The Liberal government will deliver their last budget in their four year term on January 30th
Great time at State of the Province last evening. #SOTP2018 pic.twitter.com/Rihjwvoohr
— NB Health Research (@NBHRF) January 26, 2018
Another terrific year at the New Brunswick State of the Province! Thank you New Brunswick, Premier @BrianGallantNB, Gaetan Thomas @NB_Power #SOTP2018 @faisal_a_kazi pic.twitter.com/n4NACp1Tj8
— Siemens Canada (@SiemensCanada) January 26, 2018
Attentive crowd of nearly 1000 at #SOTP2018 hearing Premier @BrianGallantNB talk about his plans and vision. pic.twitter.com/WC3BGU86Hn
— Krista Ross (@KRossChamber) January 26, 2018
Very #NBProud to hear so many references to #nb #export #growth @BrianGallantNB #sotp2018 pic.twitter.com/J13B7fqW9C
— Joel Richardson (@JoelHRichardson) January 26, 2018
Other points:
As a part of the multi-year economic plan, the provincial government will invest to help researchers, entrepreneurs and businesses compete on the local, national and international level. Initiatives include:
- Increasing New Brunswick’s innovation capacity with additional funding for research and development, and business-driven innovation through support for start-ups, commercialization, and business scaling.
- Enhancing the capital investment assistance program to support small businesses geared toward exports in upgrading their facilities to improve productivity and in getting their products to market.
- Capitalizing upon opportunities to increase energy exports in the province.
- Supporting the fish and seafood sectors by investing in, and leveraging, the Atlantic Fisheries Fund. This fund is designed to help producers take advantage of market opportunities created by the growing global demand for seafood.
- Working with the forestry industry and the federal government to increase efforts to combat the threat of spruce budworm to the province’s forests.
- Increasing tourism to New Brunswick by extending the tourism season and working with industry to implement the multi-year Tourism Growth Strategy, with the goal of increasing visitor spending to $2 billion by 2025.
