Will Hugh John's prediction finally come true?
I missed my calling. I should have been a historian. I love prowling through the archives looking for golden nuggets.
Like this one in the Daily Gleaner on June 12, 1956:
Apparently, Premier Higgs isn’t the only Premier to target one million residents. Problem is that Hugh John was promising a million by 1976 but only if PC economic development policies were carried out! “A large-scale increase in population is New Brunswick’s greatest need.” Wow. Talk about deja vu.
Then there were these nuggets in the same article:
Imagine. Talking about the home market for agricultural products.
Hugh John went to Ottawa pressing for more cash to give to NB municipalities for education and “other municipal services”. Education? A municipal service? That’s right, folks.
And then the pièce de résistance. He wants fed cash for hydro-electric power to fuel economic development and if Alberta can get fed cash for oil pipelines and Ontario for the St. Lawrence Seaway - we should be able to get support for hydro-electricity.
Now 66 years later - substitute a few things - SMRs for hydro, the billions to green Ontario’s auto sector - the names have changed - the story is the same.
Let’s hope Premier Higgs is more successful than his ambitious predecessor. We needed that million in 1976. We need it now.