MOVING TO THE 4FRONT:
Initiative seeks to generate success for Atlantic region in new global economy

It was the most fitting of locations — Pier 21 in Halifax, a gateway of opportunity for generations of immigrants entering the country. There, beneath a United Nations array of flags dangling from the rafters, the region’s economic and business leaders gathered in October to discuss how Atlantic Canada can move to the forefront of success in the new global economy.

The Canadian ambassadors to India, Russia, Brazil and the United Nations (who was formerly posted in Mexico) discussed global opportunities. Governor General David Johnston touched on regional success stories such as the College of the North Atlantic campus in Qatar and Provincial Aerospace Limited’s operations in the Caribbean and the Middle East.

“Despite the challenges posed by demographics and the shifting global economy, Atlantic Canada can compete with any region in the world,” Johnston noted.

“Innovation often happens at the intersections between communities, universities and businesses, and all three exist in abundance in Atlantic Canada. The quality is very high. Come together and good things will happen.”

The 4Front Atlantic Conference was the first in a planned series of three such events, with the last set for 2013. The organizers believe economic and political power is shifting to emerging nations like China, India and Brazil, away from traditional powers like the United States. The conference’s raison d’être is to recognize and seize the opportunities presented by this changing world order.

Conference co-chair John Risley, president and CEO of Clearwater Fine Foods Inc., said the region is at an “important juncture in our history,” and thanked the attendees for their interest. “We’re here to mobilize for change,” Risley said.

Kevin Lynch, the vice-chair of BMO Financial Group and Canada’s top civil servant before his retirement from the federal government in 2009, was one of the speakers. Lynch was born in Cape Breton and educated at Mount Allison, and maintains family links to the Atlantic region.

It’s vital, he said in an interview, to figure out how to leverage Atlantic Canada’s human resources and other advantages “not to sell goods into Philadelphia, but to sell them into Sao Paulo or Rio.”

That’s especially important when you look at the numbers — nominal GDP growth is expected to tick in at four per cent in the U.S. and Europe, but 14 per cent in dynamic markets. “If you want to grow your business, do you want to put all your eggs in the four per cent market, or do you want to start to diversify?” Lynch noted. “And if you want to start to diversify, it doesn’t happen overnight. You’ve got to build the relationships and you’ve got to look five, 10, 15 years out.”

He stressed that the issues being discussed at 4Front are not just important to business leaders in the region, but also the average Jack or Dianne in Truro or Gander. “Because I think that if we’re successful in expanding our markets, there’s a heck of a lot better chance their job is going to be prospects are going to be much better.”

By Rob Antle