Tim Coates, executive director of 21 Inc., addresses this question in a recent Telegraph-Journal column, People Climate or Business Climate? In his column, he furthers the conversation made possible at East Coast Connected's Atlantic Business Summit in a panel entitled "Making Atlantic Canada the work destination of choice for talented people":

"The debate on economic growth in New Brunswick and elsewhere has traditionally centered on how to improve the business climate. This is no longer enough. We need to pay heed to the other half of the economic debate.

"Reasons for paying attention to the people climate are grounded in some interesting research. In his remarks at the Summit, Florida stated that less than 20 per cent of the reason why people move is for work. Among recent university graduates, those most likely to move for work-related reasons, this figure increases to just 25 per cent."

Coates goes on to point out that traditional "high-growth regions" such as Boston and New York have succeeded because they were able to attract highly skilled people as well as offer a variety of interesting careers and industries.