Feds announce Atlantic Economic Panel made up of Canadian business leaders, innovators

The federal government has announced a new initiative taking advantage of what it calls economic “momentum” in Atlantic Canada. 

Justice minister and attorney general Sean Fraser, who is also responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, announced during a livestream in Halifax on Tuesday the Atlantic Economic Panel, which will offer recommendations on “unlocking our region’s full potential.” 

According to a government press release, members of the panel will seek to secure a stronger economic position for Atlantic Canada, from clean energy, defence, tourism, and other “areas of opportunity.” All seven appointed members are Atlantic Canadian private business leaders. The panel has been dubbed the Atlantic Economic Panel, created in response to shifts in global trade—no doubt influenced by the ongoing trade war with the United States.

Included in its membership are the following:

• Don Mills, the president of Crane Cove Holdings, co-founder of Narrative Research, former CEO of Corporate Research Associates and the co-author of Toward Prosperity. Mills will chair the 
• Cathy Bennett, the co-founder of Sandpiper Ventures and former CEO of Bennett Group. She is also recognized by ACOA as a “leader in energy, tech, and public policy.” 
• Joyce Carter, the president and CEO of Halifax International Airport Authority, who ACOA recognizes as “driving economic growth and aviation leadership.”
• Mike Cassidy, CEO of the Cassidy Group, owners of Coach Atlantic and Maritime Bus. He’s considered a leader in transportation, tourism, agriculture and real estate.
• J. Scott McCain, the chairman of McCain Foods and president of JSM Capital. He was a former senior executive at Maple Leaf Foods.
• Chief Terry Richardson, the chief of Pabineau First Nation and a former Canadian Armed Forces member. He’s advocated for mining programs and community health.
• Anne Whelan, the CEO and principal shareholder of Seafair Capital, as well as lead director of the Bank of Canada and corporate director of the CSA Group and Nova Leap Health. She is also the vice-chair of The Gathering Place.

ACOA says this panel will meet with businesses across Atlantic Canada over the next year to get a sense of what’s working and what isn’t, while identifying barriers (“structural, regulatory and cultural”) that it says could be limiting economic development. They are mandated to provide a report by the end of Summer 2026 on their findings.

Fraser spoke with Mills in a livestreamed conversation on Monday about economic growth in Atlantic Canada and previous work that has been done in the region. He referred to the Atlantic Growth Strategy, a similar initiative launched in 2016 that saw the Atlantic provinces partner up to accelerate growth in the region. He called the new panel, and everything it entails, “an evolution” of the federal government’s economic policy for Atlantic Canada.

“It’s pretty clear to me that the extent to which we capitalize on those opportunities is not going to be driven by conversations that happen behind closed doors on Parliament Hill,” says Fraser during the livestream. “It’s going to be taken by people who are actually running businesses in their own communities, who are willing to risk their own money for the chance at having economic success and creating opportunity for others.”

Fraser continues to say that the government can go “hands off”, unless otherwise asked to intervene, in letting the private sector determine its own future. 

“We are pretty clearly, as a federal government, moving in a direction that’s focused on economic growth and the empowerment of the private sector,” Fraser continues. “I just see this extraordinary opportunity to pivot the Atlantic region away from a history of reliance on government, to be a contributor to our communities and to the federation.”

Concerns

One of the greatest concerns that came out of this announcement is the focus on energy development. While it may be true, as Fraser says, that investors are retreating from U.S.-based energy manufacturers and are looking for other investments in the sector, there have been several growing movements across Nova Scotia against the development of energy projects—specifically, those run by international businesses that will sell clean energy off to other countries rather than use it to improve Nova Scotia’s grid. You only need to Google “Nova Scotia Power” to see how important it may be for other means of energy to be capitalized on in our own province, though the issue then becomes the environmental impacts of further energy development, which are also heavily protested against throughout the province.

The wording around “regulatory barriers” is also problematic. Much could be said about red tape—the idea that certain developments, practices, and projects are slow to get going because of logistics mandated by government institutions. While on the surface it seems like regulations would make business a little trickier, it is often that way for several reasons: safety (physical, financial and environmental), integrity, sustainability, and to ensure the law is being followed every step of the way. It may be appropriate to identify what the red tape is for Atlantic Canadian businesses, but the question remains if it will be at the behest of people who utilize the services those businesses provide.

Lastly, the government’s “hands off” approach may sound like a win to any businessperson, but it’s reminiscent of trickle-down economics. Let private business do what it needs to do, let the GDP inflate, and say that some of that will “trickle down” to common folks when, in reality, whatever money is made after regulations are removed isn’t going anywhere besides the pockets of large business owners. This isn’t to say small business owners don’t deserve more money for what they do, but despite what’s being said, this will more than likely impact big business owners rather than your local mom-and-pop shop. They have more to gain from cutting regulations.

Think about real estate: will the small landlord who owns a second home that they rent out really gain much from development codes being stripped back, or will it be the real estate investor who constantly has money on new developments that benefits? If this is paired with government action, say, tax increases to the wealthy that can be used to build more housing, that’s one thing, but how likely is that when a common talking point in political discourse is that if taxes are too high, large businesses will vacate the country and go elsewhere?

Time can only tell what impact this economic panel has on Nova Scotians. After all, the panel’s only job is to report its findings to the federal government, and the people they have selected are no doubt competent when it comes to business. It could always be positive, and the feds are certainly right in saying Atlantic Canada has economic potential that hasn’t always been capitalized on. It’s just equally important to ensure that we are capitalizing on said potential for the right reasons.