Eastern Canada business leaders call for ‘single economy’ between Atlantic provinces

Atlantic Canada could become one of the country’s most prosperous regions if it leverages its abundant talent and resources as a “single economy,”  a group of business leaders say.

The Atlantic Economic Panel — made up of seven well-known executives and entrepreneurs  — released a report Friday that they say could serve as a guide for the economic transformation of the four provinces by 2035.

The panel says the region’s economy is suffering from low productivity, labour shortages and complex regulations and trade barriers that prevent businesses from being nimble. As a result, Atlantic Canada is not growing as quickly as other parts of Canada, and it has the country’s most rapidly aging workforce.

To address those challenges, the report puts forward seven recommendations, the first of which advocates for the creation of a “One Atlantic Canada” agenda. The goal is to bring the provinces together to function as one economy for its 2.7 million residents, while maintaining their own governments.

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There is no talk of a political union of any sort.

2:34 Maritime premiers to explore a more coordinated approach to power in the region.

Each province — Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador — would be required to remove all trade and labour mobility barriers, and present every major investment opportunity through a single, regional investment platform.

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As well, the one-economy strategy calls for delivering at least half of all major infrastructure projects through regional partnerships. And a workforce strategy is needed to ensure workers’ credentials are recognized across the region, the report says.

Another key recommendation aimed at closer collaboration calls for the creation of an integrated electricity system that would be managed by a region-wide independent system operator. Making that idea a reality would require a whopping $25 billion in infrastructure investment, the report says.

Panel chairman Don Mills, president of the investment firm Crane Cove Holdings Ltd., said the report serves as a call to action.

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“Atlantic Canada stands at the edge of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring prosperity to every part of the region, rural and urban alike,” Mills wrote in a letter included in an abbreviated “highlights report” released to the media earlier this week.

“There are no guarantees. But we can be certain of one thing – if we do nothing, the future we all want will not arrive on its own.”

On another front, the report recommends growing the region’s population to more than three million people, doubling the number of businesses exporting to global markets, and doubling exports to Europe to more than $30 billion.

The panel’s report recognizes that its recommendations come with a huge price tag. That’s why there’s a suggestion to create a $1-billion Atlantic Prosperity Fund.

There is also an emphasis on speeding up approvals for major projects and increasing the value of Atlantic Canada’s natural resource economy by at least 50 per cent by mobilizing $100 billion in new investment.

Many of the targets in the report are ambitious. The word “double” appears nine times in the document.

Other key recommendations include:

–  Maintaining annual population growth at 1.8 per cent through immigration and attracting Canadians from across the country

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— Transforming Atlantic Canada into the leading region for aerospace, defence and shipbuilding

– Exceeding the national average in the adoption of artificial intelligence

— Increasing  international student enrolment

The economies of Atlantic Canada are historically supported by natural resource industries, including fishing, forestry, agriculture, mining and energy. While those sectors remain key economic drivers, sectors such as aerospace and shipbuilding have the potential to grow, according to the report.

In recent years, however, the provinces have struggled with record-breaking deficits. And the Canada-U.S. trade war has caused some damage.

The panel was appointed in November 2025 by Sean Fraser, the federal minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and a member of Parliament from Nova Scotia. During  the past year, the panel consulted with almost 100 chief executives, listened to more than two dozen presentations from experts and received more than 50 written submissions.