TORONTO - In the Fleck Atrium of the Rotman School of Management, Alyson Queen's spirited opening remarks set the tone for the first panel of speakers at the 2008 East Coast Connected Atlantic Business Summit. She reflected that "where you live should not define your success," and that in order to promote Atlantic Canadian prosperity, "we need to remove physical borders and perceived boundaries." Indeed, the "perception" of Atlantic Canada was a key focus of the panellists who followed. Moderator Neville Gilfoy was kept on his toes directing a lively conversation about "Making Atlantic Canada the Work Destination of Choice for Talented People."

"Open for Business"

Bernd Christmas initiated the discussion by humorously remarking that "it isn't the wild west, out East." Christmas emphasized the stability and hard-working nature of Atlantic Canadian Aboriginal peoples. He pointed out the many contributions of his own Mi'kmaq people to a wide variety of economic sectors, including tourism, retail, fisheries, and research and development. Key to the success of Christmas' claims for the stable contribution of Aboriginal people to the Atlantic region was the presence of a young, emerging workforce and the importance of "strong relationship building."

"A Very Good Model"

Rose Patten self-deprecatingly pointed out her "small Newfoundland accent" in her warm talk, which focused on "models of talent management and movement" and the strengths of the Atlantic Canadian workforce. Summarizing the profile of the Atlantic employees of her own organization, Patten noted that force's high level of university education and lower than average turnover rates, which contribute to high customer loyalty in the region. "Brain circulation," a demographic reality facing the Atlantic Canadian workforce, was praised by Patten as an alternative vision for staffing on a national scale, and between Canada and the US.

"A War for Talent"

"How many would entertain the idea of moving to Atlantic Canada if you had the right job opportunity?" Steve Lund's question challenged the audience's view of the regional brand. Proudly asserting that "we are the strongest economy that we've ever had," Lund nonetheless pointed out the major crisis facing the region's professional development is "a perception problem." Citing the importance of job creation as the key to attracting talent, "what keeps me up at night is how do we get the people?" Lund emphasized the provinces' need to rebrand themselves as specialized entities for attracting investment.

"The Future is Yours"

A multi-platform strategy formed the basis of Richard Florida's insightful analysis of Atlantic Canadian economic prosperity. In addition to fostering a strong business climate Florida stressed the importance of fostering "brain circulation" on a national and global stage and attracting immigrants. To Florida this is the single most important thing Atlantic Canada can do to foster long-term prosperity. Florida also emphasized the need to focus on entrepreneurship-fostering policies. Florida's concluded that Atlantic Canada should specialize its industrial and commercial assets in order to facilitate its global advantage. He cited of Nashville, Montreal and Noosa, Australia as examples successful re-branding the Atlantic region should consider emulating.

The panel concluded that a rebranding strategy is needed for the Atlantic region and each province individually. Questions centered on the issues of negative self-perception and outside unawareness of the region spurring a strong desire to refocus communication and development strategies. Provinces in Atlantic Canada must capitalize on the region's strengths, capitalizing on currently available assets to provide newcomers and ex-patriots alike with new opportunities for success.

Speaking on this panel were: Bernd Christmas, SVP and National Aboriginal Practice Leader at Hill & Knowlton; Rose Patten, Senior EVP, Head of Human Resources and Senior Leadership Advisor at BMO; Stephen Lund, President and CEO of Nova Scotia Business Inc.; and Professor Richard Florida, Director of the Martin Prosperity Institute at the Rotman School of Management. The moderator was Neville Gilfoy, publisher of Progress Magazine, and the panel was introduced by Alyson Queen, Public Affairs Manager at Aliant.

- Alexander J. Willis