Monday, February 14th wasn’t a typical Valentine’s Day for those gathered at the Delta Chelsea hotel in Toronto. New Brunswick Premier David Alward, on his first out-of-province tour after being elected to office, was in the city to speak with East Coast Connected members about the challenges facing New Brunswick, and the opportunities in the face of those challenges. The Premier covered a lot of ground in his far-ranging morning address, and during the Q&A following, but his messages all had a common theme: engage citizens in the process of government, and be strategic in your vision for the province.

Deputy Minister Paul Robichaud introduced the Premier by emphasizing his leader’s belief that “politics is about people.” He spoke of Alward’s rural upbringing, his business experience, and how these in combination had helped fuel the Premier’s rise through the provincial political ranks. In particular, Robichaud noted how well these characteristics would serve the province during times of crisis. The Deputy Premier quoted a Moncton Times and Transcript editorial on the Premier, which declared “We are grateful to have [a Premier] with a farming background in the driver’s seat. Farmers don’t sacrifice a field for a one-time cash crop. They plant prudently, for the long term. That’s exactly what the province needs.”

Alward’s prudence was evident over the course of his address. Never exaggerating, and with clear-headed description, the Premier laid out the significant fiscal and demographic realities of the province. Speaking of the $800 million deficit, he noted that “it will take some time to get back to balanced budgets. That means being smarter in our expenditures, smarter in how we use the taxpayer’s dollars, but also in terms of revenue – being competitive, and allowing businesses to prosper.” Ultimately, he said, “we believe we need to bring New Brunswickers through some change.”

Those fiscal realities did, however, leave the Premier open to discuss the opportunities for new visions and reform. Often-mentioned was his observation that citizens need to play a bigger role in the process of government. “We aim to give more voice and input from New Brunswickers into the budget process,” he cited as an example. “Last year we had about 130 emails from New Brunswickers about what we could do differently as a province, when it comes to the budget. This year, literally, there’s close to 10,000. That tells you how interested New Brunswickers are, and the willingness for change in the province.”

Another side of citizen engagement in Alward’s plan was an exercise on the future of learning in New Brunswick. “There’s a skills gap, and we need to be able to reduce that,” he argued. “One of the big challenges in our province is that 60% of both Anglophones and Francophones of adult age are at a below-functioning literacy rate. That is unacceptable as a province, and we want to look at how we can change that. That work is not being directed by the government. It’s being directed by the Premier’s Roundtable, called 2026. They will be engaging New Brunswickers.” 

A strategic vision for investment and development was also on Alward’s mind. Noting that New Brunswick had “fallen behind” on research and development and on investments in the defence industry, he reiterated his commitment to engage “both levels of government” on these issues, and that he would be speaking with federal ministers and the Prime Minister on these matters. 

The energy sector formed a significant part of the Premier’s speech. Referring to the NB Power sale debacle of 2010, Alward asserted the need for establishing “a regime where people know and understand what to expect,” as well as the need to cooperate with Atlantic Canadian provinces and the New England states in the development of the sector. He hopes to reach this awareness, and direct energy policy, through an energy commission, “which is at work now,” and which will “provide a roadmap for the next 10 years. There has not been a road map for energy in New Brunswick for over a decade. The commission will be bringing recommendations this spring. We’re going to be stressing our location – we’re an energy hub, and we believe there’s good opportunity here.” 

Alward’s speech was never overly serious. At many points he spoke warmly and with humour about his tiny community of Riceville, which he claimed “was in the suburbs of Meductic” (the smallest incorporated village in New Brunswick, at just over 100 people). His passion for rural areas and for community action was also evident, and he noted the encouraging rise of citizen-led leadership organizations like 21inc, Synergies, and FUSION.

Responding to questions from the audience, the Premier gave the impression that tough choices needed to be made. On the topic of tourism, Alward called attention to the heavy promotion of the Bay of Fundy as a candidate for one of the “Natural Wonders of the World,” but admitted that “we need to be strategic with our scarce dollars.” On the issue of student outmigration, Alward seemed frustrated by the challenges of “closing the skills gap.” “In the ICT sector, we have jobs, but not the skills to fill them,” he said. “So there are vacancies in our province in that sector. We’ve got to do a better job of identifying career opportunities, for the long term. They’ll only stay in our province if the jobs are there.” 

Perhaps most pertinent to the Q&A period was a change in attitude that Alward hoped to encourage. Responding to a question about strategic marketing of provincial trades and assets, Alward quoted his Tourism Minister, Trevor Holder: “The only people you hear talking about ‘the Drive-Through Province’ are New Brunswickers themselves. The reality is that once people come to our province, they see the wonderful resources we have at our disposal. We need to be focused, and strategic in our decisions in marketing ourselves, moving forward.”