I just heard another large multinational firm is closing its NB office and consolidating the good paying IT jobs in another Canadian community. This on the heels of ExxonMobil stealthily closing its Moncton operations - at one point they had something like 1,200 employees in New Brunswick. UPS, SunLife, there is a long list of national or international firms that have set up here - operated for a decade or more and then closed shop.
The issue is that we need firms not based here to invest here. They can be head-officed in Toronto or Chicago or Mumbai but my 30+ years of studying economic development tells me it is really hard for a community to thrive without ‘foreign’ investment.
Yes, normally if I had to choose between two investment projects that were the same but one had owners or senior management based here I would almost always choose the one based here. But small jurisdictions like Moncton or Fredericton or Halifax don’t have that option. They need at least some companies based elsewhere to set up operations -manufacturing, distribution, IT, business services, mining, R&D, whatever - even at the risk of some suck up mid-management executive in Mississauga recommending ‘consolidation’ of operations into their ‘centres of excellence’ and out of New Brunswick.
There are a lot of good reasons to attract firms here that serve national or international markets from here (I’m not as interested in attracting firms that compete for local markets but having robust competition locally is also important).
So how do we keep them here? For your edification, here are a few tips for communities looking to keep their ‘foreign’ companies (HQed in Toronto or NYC) in the community for the long term.
First, get to know the local boss. The local operation will have a boss based here. Establish a really good rapport and let her know that you are there to help them should HQ start talking about consolidation or some other cutting that involves axing their NB operation. You should maintain this relation ongoing - and build it again as the local boss changes. This is key. I have seen it work before - a community actually helped a local manager fend off cuts by making a strong case.
Second, get to know someone senior in ‘Toronto’ or wherever the head office is - bring in the big guns - your mayor or even Premier if your province is small enough. Ideally, the CEO. Could be a board member or other senior executive. Send Christmas cards, visit the head office once a year, make them know how much you love them. In my experience, mayors tend to be very willing to help sell their community and make those calls.
Third, make it clear you take the ‘sector’ they are in seriously. From post-secondary education to R&D, to other inducements - make them feel special.
Fourth, if they are renting space find out when their lease is up and connect with them at least 12-18 months out to see if you can help in any way as they transition into a new long term lease or other alternative. I can tell you from experience that normally the decision to close a regional office happens months and even a year or more in advance of telling local employees. The lease renewal can be a key trigger.
If you do all of these things, and some mid-level suck up decides to recommend consolidation into ‘centres of excellence’, the CEO, local manager, board member, etc. will ask how come New Brunswick isn’t a centre of excellence?
And that is what they call in the trade - business retention.
I'd add that the province, the municipalities, should further invest in the arts. Especially the Province. Big boss, or mid manager wants to be locally entertained. They won't stay if there's no culture. Yet I feel that most of the business community tends to ignore that reality.
Reading David Campbell's comments of businesses leaving New Brunswick is disturbing but no as disturbing as the call received from a provincial official last evening. As some may know, the Canadian Stimulus Group (CSG) was approached in November 2022 by government officials and local businesses to consider investing in the province of New Brunswick. As dialog progressed, it was determined that the ask would be $800 million per year in support of local businesses, infrastructure and housing. This was not the first time CSG was approached by the Province but the second. In January 2019 and January 2023, CSG received letters from Premier Higgs in support of CSG investment but in both times the process was hampered by ONB as they deemed CSG as competition. By making slanderous statements about CSG to government officials and refusing any dialog to educate themselves on the facts and benefits of CSG investment to the province, its businesses and citizens.
Last evening's call from the Premier’s office was clear that investment via CSG to the province would not proceed and that Minister Greg Turner was not interested in the detail or processes of the legitimate proposed investment after having had apparently further dialog with ONB. In the end, ONB and officials have pushed away more than $2.8 billion of investment from CSG and more than 2 dozen international businesses that would have provided thousands of sustainable jobs.
With attempted calls to Premier Higgs, Minister Greg Turner and Minister Jill Green to discuss the matters of concerns reported by builders and local business owners being ignored, is New Brunswick under it's current government truly open for business and wanting the best for its citizens?