Derek Oland, a long time friend and supporter of AIMS, recently spoke to the Empire Club in Toronto about the lost opportunities of regional trans-national trade initiatives.
Speaking about the beleagured economy in Atlantic Canada, Oland was quick to point out that it wasn’t always this way. In the mid-to late 1800s, the Maritime Provinces boasted an economy – and the wealth that went with it — that rivaled New England’s. And it was with New England that Maritime Canada shared the majority of its trade. These strong ties slowly faded after confederation when the new Canadian politics forced trading patterns to shift to an east-west pattern.
Oland concludes it is these north-south opportunities that offer the potential to empower Atlantic Canadian entrepreneurs and return our economy to its once robust state. Read his full speech to see why Oland feels “ the regional realignments taking root in Canada must be encouraged and must succeed. Instead of obsessing about congestion at the Windsor/Detroit border, Ottawa should be concerning itself with helping Canada’s regional economies find their own way into rich American markets. Funding for economic partnerships, infrastructure improvements, and trade deals that will make Canada’s arteries as strong as its heart, need to be implemented now.”
