Our hill. Our beans. Miramichi edition

As the axe fell on immigration last week, I was surprised that the government decided on a substantial cut to the annual permanent residents numbers. Almost all of the increased flow of people into Canada in recent years was due to international students and their families and other temporary residents. The PR numbers had been increasing but in a fairly orderly fashion.

Now the annual PR rate relative to population size is slated to drop back to the 2016 level.

I suspect that the Miramichi didn’t come up in the deliberations. Why would it? It’s a tiny place in a small province thousands of KMs from Ottawa - geographically and influentially.

But the recent expansion in immigration provided an opportunity for places like the ‘Chi to attract newcomers. Look at the chart. Northumberland County was on pace to welcome well over 300 PRs this year. The population is growing again. The workforce situation is improving.

And the Trudeau government slammed the door. The federal Tories have been posturing that they would cut even further.

What happens to Miramichi? It may not matter to bureaucrats and Cabinet ministers in Ottawa but it matters a lot to the people in Chatham, Newcastle, Blackville and Renous.

I am convinced that talent will be the most important driver of prosperity in Canada over the next 20-30 years. The communities that have the strongest talent pipelines will be the ones that thrive.

If I was the boss, I would make this the #1 priority for regional economic development. I would require regional workforce development plans built around post-secondary education assets. For regions with limited PSE, I would look at adding satellite campuses, remote work placements, etc. I would heavily rely on PSE as a conduit for international talent. Spending 1-4 years test driving the community is an ideal way for newcomers to get to know the place and it gives the local population 1-4 years to make the case the newcomers should stay.

You can’t develop new industries, new economic opportunities, etc. without the human capital. An available workforce is not the only condition for growth but it is a necessary one.

As Frank Drebin said in The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!:

It's a topsy-turvy world, and maybe the problems of two people don't amount to a hill of beans. But this is our hill. And these are our beans!

For folks in the ‘Chi, that little spot of land in central New Brunswick is their hill and their beans. Let’s do what we can to ensure they have the economic development tools to succeed.