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MessagesExecutive SummaryMethodology & ContextVisionStrategic ObjectivesCritical Success Factors

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4 Leading the Way: Greater Monctons Economic Development Strategy (2011-2016)

Greater Moncton continues to be at its best when the communityunites to work toward a common vision. The strategy outlined inthe pages that follow is a clear example of what our community canproduce when challenged to make itself stronger.

Leading the Way: Greater Monctons Economic Development Strategy (2011-2016) is a collaboration of input from our regions municipalleaders, business leaders, academics, and experts in economicdevelopment. It re ects a desire to build on our diverse economy bystrengthening our commitment to existing industries with renewedfocus.

Quite simply, for our region to continue to lead the way as ourprovinces economic engine we need ve things. We need morepeople and more businesses, we need to be more competitive andmore innovative, and we need to be more focused.

I would like to thank the team at Enterprise Greater Moncton fortheir continued e orts to make our community stronger by helpingnew and existing entrepreneurs reach their goals.

Also deserving praise are our economic development partners at theCity of Dieppe, City of Moncton and Town of Riverview, in additionto our provincial and federal partners at Business New Brunswick,Invest NB, Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour, andthe Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. These groups areunwavering in their commitment to see Greater Moncton succeed.

In closing I would like to remind you that completing and releasingthis strategy is only the rst step toward achieving our vision, butit is a step that we must all take together as we continue to build amore prosperous community.

Edmond KochChair

Note from Enterprise Greater MonctonFor many years, Greater Moncton has had the enviable reputation of being one of the best places to live and do business.

The City of Dieppe is proud to play a key role in this success thanks toremarkable growth on both the demographic and economic fronts.In 2012, our population will hit 23,000 residents, an increase of nearly54 per cent in 10 years. This continuous growth has translated intoa major increase in the amount of new residential and commercialconstruction.

In order to stimulate the economy, several major investments havebeen made throughout the years to improve and develop our roadinfrastructure in order to provide access to new land for commercialand residential activity.

The strength of our three communities relies on our common e orts.Greater Monctons Economic Development Strategy (2011-2016)will give the entire area a common global vision to follow, as well asgoals to achieve over the next ve years.

We are pleased to be partners in this initiative to advance our area asan excellent place in which to do business an area that encouragesthe development of local businesses, that supports attracting skilledlabour and that is committed to regional co-operation.

Although Greater Monctons economic performance is the envyof many, we must never take it for granted. We must continue toreinvent ourselves and to actively collaborate on and adjust to the economic challenges on our doorstep in order to ensure that wecontinue to prosper.

Jean LeBlancMayor

Note from the City of Dieppe


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The City of Moncton is pleased to have played a role in thedevelopment of this regional strategy and we are con dent that itcharts the right course for Greater Moncton. Working in partnershipwith Enterprise Greater Moncton, our community will continue tobuild on its strong economy and its position as the economic engineof New Brunswick. While our economic growth remains solid, we must not becomecomplacent or rest on our laurels. This strategy allows us to continueto look toward the future and to evolve along with our growingpopulation and infrastructure. We must continue to work together in order to remain globallycompetitive. We need to remember that an investment in any of ourthree communities is an investment in all. That is why we are fortunate to have all three communities workingtogether towards continued regional economic developmentsuccess. The strategy laid out by Enterprise Greater Moncton willensure that we remain focused on this goal. Over the past few years, Greater Moncton has proven when we setour mind to something, we can accomplish anything. Let us continueto dream bigwith our can-do attitude, the sky is the limit.

George LeBlancMayor

Note from the City of MonctonOver the years, Greater Moncton has continuously proven that it is aleader in economic development, thanks in large part to the sharedcommitment and vision found throughout the tri-community area.

Our resiliency, tenacity and positive outlook have continuouslypushed us to compete not just with other communities in AtlanticCanada, but throughout the world.

This new community economic development strategy l ays out avision that builds on our regions past success while ensuring thatwe have an eye squarely on the future. It addresses how we willovercome the signi cant demographic challenges facing our regionand how we can continue to be recognized as one of the best placesto do business in North America. But perhaps most importantly, ithighlights how we will measure the success of each objective. Thisis important, as we need to ensure that we maintain our edge as agreat place to live, work and do business. The Town of Riverview is committed to working collaboratively withits neighboring communities in Moncton and Dieppe, as well as withEnterprise Greater Moncton, as we implement this strategy to ensurethat our region remains the economic engine of New Brunswick andone of the fastest growing regions in Atlantic Canada.

Leading the Way: Greater Monctons Economic Development Strategy (2011-2016) is a plan focused on addressing the new challengesthat face our region, and I am con dent that with the leadership of Enterprise Greater Moncton, we can achieve it.

Clarence SweetlandMayor

Note from the Town of Riverview


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For over 20 years, Enterprise Greater Moncton has been the lead economic developmentorganization for the Greater Moncton region. Though its mandate and activities have evolved inrecent years, Enterprise Greater Monctons focus on promoting Greater Moncton as an excellentlocation to do business has remained a constant theme. In addition, Enterprise Greater Monctonhas continued to play a key role fostering local business expansions and working on e orts tostrengthen the value proposition for investing in the Greater Moncton region.

Over the two decades, the structure of the economy in Greater Moncton has undergonesigni cant changes. Arguably, there are few urban centres across Canada who have witnessedsuch a transformation. The economic growth has been fostered by a good mix of externalinvestment attraction into customer contact centres, information, transportation and logisticsas well as higher end manufacturing. It has also been fostered by local entrepreneurs exploiting

expanding market opportunities here and outside New Brunswick. The workforce has expandedto meet the needs of industry through a mix of local, provincial, national and internationalsources.

Now we are at a crossroads. Demographic trends are catching up to the region which will requiremost of the new population growth in the future to come from outside the borders of NewBrunswick. We will need a more dynamic education and training sector to meet the demands of industry and to support the integration of immigrant workers.

At the same time, many of the industries that led economic growth over the past 10-20 years arenot likely to lead the way going forward.

It is incumbent upon Enterprise Greater Moncton and its partners to understand these trends

and re ect them in their activities. Leading the Way: Greater Monctons Economic Development Strategy (2011-2016) re ects this changing competitive landscape. It sets an ambitious visionfor the regional economy and then lays out in detail how Enterprise Greater Moncton and itspartners will impact and in uence the vision. The strategic plan a rms Greater Monctonsevolving role as an urban hub for New Brunswick and the Maritime provinces.

Leading the Way: Greater Monctons Economic Development Strategy (2011-2016) has veobjectives with an increasing focus on aligning labour market and industry needs. Having adynamic, growing and trained workforce will be the most critical success factor for any jurisdictionin the future. The plan places a strong focus on targeted sectors. Generic value propositionelements such as low costs or loyal workers are less relevant today than they might have beenin the past. Now, companies are looking for a clear value proposition for their industry.

There are eight critical success factors in the plan. Building even more local market knowledgeand strengthening regional and organizational partnerships are two of the most importantsuccess factors. Creating even more robust tools for measuring economic progress and successis another critical success factor.

Finally, the plan places a priority on measurement and accountability. The board of directors,key stakeholders and funding partners want to know they are making a good investment of their time and resources into Enterprise Greater Moncton. The organization will strive to deliveron clear measurements and ensure that its e orts are providing real value for the citizens of Greater Moncton.

Executive Summary


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VisionFor Greater Moncton to lead New Brunswick in bothpopulation and economic growth over the nextve years.

Ensure Greater Moncton has the labourcapacity to support continued economic growth.

Continue to champion and supportorganic growth in our regional economy.

Ensure Greater Moncton remains oneof the best places to do business in North America.

Focus on developing key sectors of our regionaleconomy that will promote greater prosperity.

Increase our regions competitiveness bystimulating productivity improvement and innovation.

Objectives


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Critical Success FactorsIncrease our knowledge of the localeconomy by gathering and analyzing relevant data.

Improve regional facilitation andcollaboration of economic development partners.

Engage community stakeholdersin business retention and expansion.

Focus foreign direct investment e orts on higherpaying jobs that are complementary to our local strengths.

Identify and develop economicmetrics to measure performance results.

Develop innovative solutions to facilitate accessto capital for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Ensure education and industry arealigned so that we are training the right skills.

Attract the required talentto meet labour force needs.


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Measurement and AccountabilityTrack employment growth - from directe orts in uenced by Enterprise Greater Moncton.

Attract and grow national andinternational rms in our targeted sectors.

Measure newentrepreneurial start-ups.

Implement the INNOVATIVE50SME productivity challenge.

Measure the attraction of immigrants and skilled workers.

Implement the EnterpriseGreater Moncton corporate scorecard.


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The process of developing this new strategic plan began with a literature review of past economicdevelopment strategies for the Greater Moncton area, for other regions in the province, andfor other similar-sized communities in Canada and parts of the United States. The objective of this process was to identify trends and best practices in strategic plan preparation related toeconomic development. In addition, a comprehensive review of the objectives and outcomesof the previous strategic plan was undertaken.

The 2007-2010 Strategic PlanReleased in 2007, Urban Growth Engine for New Brunswick laid out six key objectives to supportthe vision of being a leading urban centre for New Brunswick and the Maritime Provinces. Theobjectives were to:

Generate 7,000 net new jobs from 2007-2010;1. Grow the population adequate to supply the labour force;2.Signi cantly increase the educational attainment of the workforce;3.Raise the average income level through the fostering of higher-end employment;4.Renew the focus on quality of life; and5.Innovative economic development.6.

Considering the global recession that hit after the release of the 2007 strategy, the communityseconomy has shown considerable resilience. While there were employment declines in severalsectors (notably tourism-related and customer contact centres), the majority of main industrygroups saw increases in total employment over the period. The table starting on page 11summarizes the six objectives and the outcomes over the 2007-2010 period.

Setting the Stage for 2011-2016Following the literature review, Enterprise Greater Moncton organized a series of consultationswith municipal, community and business leaders throughout the region to gather theirinput on the future direction of economic development in the Greater Moncton region. Thisincluded multiple meetings with; municipal councils in Dieppe, Moncton and Riverview andtheir respective economic development o ces, members of the business community at large,academics, experts in economic development, and with other key stakeholders including theBoard of Directors of Enterprise Greater Moncton and its Strategic Partners.

Following these consultations, all of the input was consolidated and reviewed by an internalcommittee at Enterprise Greater Moncton and a number of priority objectives were developedfor continued review and discussion. Multiple sessions were held to bring greater focus andclarity to the new objectives and to develop a new set of critical success factors that wouldguide the work to be undertaken by Enterprise Greater Moncton and its stakeholders to supportthe implementation of the new strategy.

Following this phase, presentations were again made to the key funding partners of EnterpriseGreater Moncton, namely the Cities of Dieppe and Moncton and the Town of Riverview. Thepurpose of these sessions was to ensure support of the direction of the new strategy and provideanother venue for input from municipal leaders.

The nal draft of this strategy was presented and approved by the Board of Directors of EnterpriseGreater Moncton and the results are found in this document.

The Economic, Demographic and Political Context The global recession, and the continued stagnant growth in the United States, poses a challengefor the Greater Moncton region. Several small to medium-sized manufacturers have closedtheir doors and the customer contact centre industry witnessed some reduction in overallemployment. Many of New Brunswicks large exporting industries are struggling and that hasripple e ects on the Greater Moncton economy. Tourism continues to be an important industryfor Greater Moncton but it has witnessed employment declines in recent years. At the sametime the nance and insurance industry is growing in Greater Moncton, as is the professionalservices industry.

Many of the growth drivers of the past will not lead the way in the 2011-2016 period. It is unlikelythat health care employment (up 31 per cent over the past decade) or public administrationemployment (up only modestly over the decade) will be a major source of employmentgrowth. In fact, it is unlikely the entire public sector will expand employment in the near termas governments, both provincial and federal, act to bring down budget de cits. The customercontact centre sector is not likely to be a large growth area, although there should continue tobe niche opportunities particularly in the nance and insurance industry, such as INGs July 2011announcement establishing major operations in the community.

Methodology & Contex


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But the Greater Moncton economy has shown itself to be resilient and a diversi ed mix of industries should bu er the region from additional economic turmoil. There are industries withgrowth potential and they are summarized beginning on page 23.

On the demographic front, Greater Moncton is facing a considerable challenge as older workersretire and as new jobs emerge requiring di erent skill sets. The population over the age of 50 isgrowing much faster than younger groups. As illustrated in the chart below, there is a wave of population between the ages of 50 and 64 heading towards retirement and no growth in the35-49 age group.

However, the community is responding well as a recent in ux of immigrants and inter-provincialmigrants are bolstering the labour market. This dynamism in the workforce will be critical to theeconomy moving forward.

On the political front, the provincial government is determined to realign and reorganize itsapproach to economic development which should bode well for Greater Moncton. The newInvest New Brunswick mandated to promote the province to national and multinational rms will have a powerful ally in Greater Moncton.

Urban Growth Engine for New Brunswick (2007-2010)

Generate 7,000 net new jobs from 2007-2010

From 2007-2010, Greater Moncton was understandably impacted by the

global recession and subsequent challenges in th e US market. Despite

this turmoil, Enterprise Greater Moncton can point to 8,658 new jobs

created that were in uenced by the e orts of the organization. These jobs

fall into the following four categories:

Business Counselling 4,655;New Startups - 416;

Pro-active Site Visits 1,017;

Total Net New Jobs Created - 8,658.

Grow the populationadequate to supply thelabour force

The population of Greater Moncton grew by a strong ve per cent over

the 2007-2010 period. This was ninth best among the 35 CMA regions

across Canada and the fastest growing population east of Ontario

(Source: Statistics Canada Table 051-0046). Greater Monctons immigrant

population grew by 1,838 over the same period.

Signi cantly increase theeducational attainmentof the workforce

This is harder to measure because there is no source between Census

periods that tracks educational attainment 1. However, there was strong

growth over the period in occupations that require higher levels of

educational attainment such as professional occupations in business and

nance (up 24 per cent), professional occupations in health (up 23 per

cent), natural sciences occupations (up 17 per cent) and management

occupations (up six per cent). Source: Statistics Canada Table 282-0114.

1 Other than those that extrapolate based on previous trends.


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ContdUrban Growth Engine for New Brunswick (2007-2010)

Raise the average incomelevels through thefostering of higher endemployment

The latest data available on income levels shows the medial household

in Greater Moncton saw a 6.9 per cent rise in total income between

2006 and 2009 (Source: Statistics Canada Table 111-0008). Another

source, FP Markets estimates just un der 13 per cent growth rate in

household incomes between 2007-2011.

Renew the focus onquality of life

Enterprise Greater Moncton led the development and implementation

of Quality of Life benchmarks for the region. These benchmarks include:

Community health;

Community safety;

A ordable housing;

Natural environment;

Community participation;

Employment and sustainable income;

Population resource;

Leisure and cultural vibrancy.

Innovative economicdevelopment

Enterprise Greater Moncton implemented a number of innovative tools

to support economic development in the region over the 2007-2010

timeframe. These include:

Development of an interactive business planner;

Development and measurement of key economic indicators;

KPMG rankings;

Innovative marketing collateral;

Enhanced website and social media development;

Enterprise Greater Moncton community breakfast.


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13VisionFor Greater Moncton to lead New Brunswickin both population and economic growth over the nextve years.


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Morepeople


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Greater Moncton has seen its population grow strongly over the past 10 years. According toStatistics Canada, from 2000 to 2010 the population of the Greater Moncton CMA grew by 13per cent. This was the fastest population growth rate of any metropolitan area east of Ontario. The population of the urban area is now over 138,000 people.

The economic impacts of this change have been substantial. Record housing starts, majorinfrastructure enhancements, low unemployment, and signi cantly higher tax revenues forthe province and municipalities. Clearly growth is good, but if we are going to ensure that thisgrowth is sustainable, it is more important to understand where that growth is occurring.

Greater Moncton is getting older. In fact, the number of employed persons aged 55 and oldergrew by 124 per cent from 2000 to 2010 while there was a slight decline in employment among

those aged 25-44. Even the young generation 15 to 24 only saw limited employment growthover the decade. The repercussion of not reversing this trend is clear we will not have enoughpeople available to ll the labour force gaps caused by people exiting the workforce throughretirement.

Greater Monctons business and community leaders have expressed their concerns about howwe can sustain the economic growth and prosperity we have achieved in recent years withoutaddressing this oncoming labour shortage. They note, correctly, that it is not just as simple asgetting more workers, but expanding our base of skilled workers that can help us meet thegrowing challenges of competing in the 21 st century economy. This includes those skilled in thetrades, but also those skilled in information technology and health services, among others.

It is for this reason that we need to ensure that we have the labour capacity and skills to

support continued economic growth in our region .

We will work to achieve this objective by:

Focusing on growing our population and workforce through immigration, repatriationand retention. This must be a collaborative e ort between municipal o cials, economicdevelopment o ces, provincial and federal o cials, as well as community and businessleaders.

Bring education and industry together to identify speci c labour gaps and develop plansto ensure we produce quali ed workers in the right disciplines.

Increase the total number of graduates of post-secondary education in our workforce.

Increase the overall employment rate by better integration of those who are havingdi culty entering and staying in the workforce.

How will we measure success?

Compare our population growth to the n ational average, as well as to comparablebenchmark communities (Saint John, Halifax, Kingston, Peterborough, Regina,Sherbrooke and Red Deer), using December 2010 as a baseline.

Track the graduate levels of our post-secondary education institutions.

Compare the Moncton CMA post-secondary educational attainment level to the nationalaverage and our benchmark communities, using th e 2006 Census as a baseline.

Measure changes in the employment rate (62.6 per cent at the end of 2010).

Ensure Greater Moncton has the labourcapacity to support continued economic growth.


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Morebusinesses


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It is often said that small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our provincialeconomy, and nowhere is this truer than in Greater Moncton. According to Statistics CanadasCanadian Business Patterns report for 2010, 48 per cent of business establishments in GreaterMoncton have less than ve employees and a full 95 per cent have fewer than 50 employees.Compared to other urban centres of a similar size, Greater Moncton has a higher percentage of its economy reliant on small business.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are key to growing our local economy for a number of reasons. First, they create local jobs; in fact the average small business in Greater Monctonemploys 10 or fewer people. Second, pro ts tend to get reinvested in the company, whichmeans greater investment in the local economy, as opposed to pro ts being transferred to anorganizations head o ce out of the region. Third, taxes are paid here, which increases revenues

for both provincial and municipal governments, which helps contribute to further economicdevelopment activity. Fourth, as local businesses grow and develop new expertise, theydevelop an opportunity to create synergies with other local companies. This allows our regionto enhance our o ering within di erent commercial sectors.

Small and medium-sized businesses also ensure a healthy, dynamic and competitive market forgoods and services in the Greater Moncton region. For example, there are over 100 law o ces,56 accounting rms, 52 engineering rms, 52 dentist o ces and more than 70 beauty salonsin the tri-community area 2. This broad mix of rms ensures competitive prices, a mix of serviceo erings and career moves for people working in those industries.

For our region to continue our prosperous economic growth, we need to ensure we remainfocused on helping grow our local small and medium-sized businesses . This growth needs to

come from both new startups and through helping our existing businesses expand and improvetheir product and service o erings while remaining here in Greater Moncton.


Continuing to o er key supports for business startups including business counselling,education seminars, and in applicable cases, nancial supports.

Enhancing our focus on business retention and expansion activities including moreoutreach initiatives and improve our strategic intelligence gathering on key targetsectors.

Implement the INNOVATIVE 50 SME productivity challenge (see page 21).

Increase the number of small and medium-sized enterprises in Greater Moncton.

Increase employment through local expansions.

Increase the survival rate of small and medium-sized enterprises.


Increase the growth in small business startups (track startup density levels per 1,000population). This data is easily measured using the Statistics Canada publicationCanadian Business Patterns which is released t wice a year and includes detailedinformation on business establishments to the six-digit NAICS level. The gure shows thegrowth/decline of business establishments by employment level in the Greater Monctonregion over the 2003-2010 period.

Increase the size of small business through expansions. We will track the growth of business establishments by industry group by employment level over time. The lastseven-year period led to signi cant growth in micro-businesses but a decline in theoverall number of businesses in the 20 to 99 employee level.

Continue to champion and supportorganic growth in our regional economy.

2 Source: Canadian Business Patterns June 2010 (Statistics Canada).


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Morecompetitive


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Over the past decade, Greater Moncton has had its share of recognition. Global consulting giantKPMG has ranked Greater Moncton as the number one place to do business in Atlantic Canadaand the New England States in three consecutive studies 3. MoneySense magazine recognizedGreater Moncton as the fth best place to live in Canada 4. The Canadian Real Estate Associationidenti ed Greater Moncton as one of the top ve real estate safe-havens in Canada 5. TheIntelligent Community Forum listed Moncton as one of the worlds Top Seven IntelligentCommunities in 2009 6.

Of course these are just a few of the honours bestowed on our community, and while it is niceto tout these designations it is more important to understand the reasons why we are beingsingled out and nd ways to ensure that we stay on top.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says that an entrepreneurial city is one wherethere is a high concentration of entrepreneurs and a high business start-up rate, where there isa high level of optimism, and where public policy supports a positive business environment 7.Greater Moncton consistently demonstrates strong performance in all of these areas.

As discussed in previous sections, our regional organic business growth is strong, howeverit remains an area where our community needs to push further. Much of this has to do withgrowing our overall base of entrepreneurs.

Resiliency is a word often used to describe Greater Moncton and its residents. This resiliencyhas contributed to a very strong, optimistic outlook on the regions economic prospects. Manybusiness leaders continuously cite their plans to grow and expand their operations, which,invariably has led to increases in our net employment.

A low rate of taxation, both provincially and municipally make the overall cost of doing businessin Greater Moncton very attractive, but when this is coupled with attractive labour costsand a ordable real estate, it helps weave a compelling business case for investing in GreaterMoncton. Of course complementing the nancial business case is the excellent quality of lifethat our region has to o er.

Success breeds success, but the key to remaining successful can be found in maintaining ourposition as being one of the best places to do business in North America .


Working to improve our KPMG Index Rating of 91.3, thereby maintaining our costadvantage over other North American locations.

Increasing employment growth through entrepreneurial development as well as nationaland foreign direct investment.

Strengthening our advantage by advocating for improving on our low-tax environmentand improving regulatory policies.


Monitoring and reporting on third party measures such as the KPMG CompetitiveAlternatives Index.

Tracking investment and employment growth through national and foreign directinvestment.

Increasing our Policy Component ranking on the Canadian Federation of IndependentBusinesss Entrepreneurship Index from 66 in 2010 to 75 by 2015.

Ensure Greater Moncton remains oneof the best places to do business in North America.

3 Competitive Alternatives: KPMGs Guide to International Business Location, 2010 Edition, 2008 Edition, 2006 edition.4 http://www.moneysense.ca/2010/04/30/best-places-to-live-20105 Cochrane, Alan. Metro a real estate safe haven.Times & Transcript. 21 November 2008: A3

6 http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/index.php?src=news&refno=284&category=Partner+News&prid=2847 Communities in Boom: Canadas Top Entrepreneurial Cities. Canadian Federation of Independent Business. October 2011


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Moreinnovative


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The biggest threat to continued growth in our regional economy is complacency. Manycompanies that were founded in our region have enjoyed di ering levels of success as theydiscovered a formula that has worked for them. These formulas have contributed to a loyalworkforce that in many ways is capable of executing the organizations long-standing practicesand processes with little risk of error, but in many ways they are not taking advantage of newtechnologies and e ciencies.

Many of the top threats to economic growth in the Greater Moncton region can be mitigatedthrough a new focus on productivity improvement and a renewed focus on innovation. Forexample, migrating our customer contact centre industry from telephone-based customerinteraction to social media and online interaction will push our industry up the value chain.It may lead ultimately to fewer overall jobs but will still position Greater Moncton as a leading

centre for North American customer contact centre activity. The same thinking applies to Moncton-based exporting rms. To counter the e ects of a highvalue Canadian dollar and increased competition, rms need to become even more productiveand use innovative thinking to build products and services that are in high demand in theirtarget markets.

The productivity and innovation challenge is not unique to Greater Moncton industries, butis a serious issue for the entire country. Canadas labour force productivity has been laggingbehind other countries for decades. The impact of this is that we are not as competitive as othercountries, which puts us at a serious disadvantage. To be clear, productivity improvement is notabout working longer and harder, but more about working smarter - taking advantage of newtechnologies and process improvements to make operations more e cient - in essence, to be

able to produce more with less.

While some companies have moved to put an emphasis on productivity improvement, we arestill behind other parts of the country. We need to become more competitive by stimulatingproductivity and innovation in our regional economy.


Implementing the INNOVATIVE 50 SME productivity challenge (see below).

Diligently promoting the importance of this issue directly with our client base andthrough partner organizations. Case studies and examples will be used to make it clear toother SMEs in the region.

Working with our partners to promote productivity e orts among our SMEs.

Identifying and promoting areas for productivity and innovation among our targetedindustry sectors.

The INNOVATIVE 50 SME productivity challengeEnterprise Greater Moncton will be rolling out a new program called the INNOVATIVE 50 . The program will identify 50 SMEs in the Greater Moncton region and work with themto support their productivity and innovation e orts over the ve year strategic plan.Enterprise Greater Moncton will gather baseline data on the rms such as overall sales,employment, export sales, spending on research and development, spending ontraining, etc. and then monitor the changes in rm productivity and innovation over time.Enterprise Greater Moncton will report on the progress of the INNOVATIVE 50 .


Monitor baseline and progress data from the INNOVATIVE 50 SME productivity challenge.

Track the overall number of rms Enterprise Greater Moncton and its partners support intheir productivity and innovation e orts.

Increase the application of innovation by improving regional connectivity andcollaboration.

Increase the number of referrals to various support programs to stimulate productivityand innovation.

Increase our regions competitiveness bystimulating productivity improvement and innovation.


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Morefocused


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Having learned from our mistake of being single-industry dependent in the past, one of thekey strengths of our regions more recent economic development strategies has been a focuson industrial diversi cation. Evidence of the success of this strategic objective can be found inthe fallout from the most recent global recession that impacted much of Canada and the world.As a region, the e ects of this economic downturn were not as signi cant as other parts of theprovince, and country, in fact, for much of the early stages of the recession, our region actuallyadded jobs, and many employers were forecasting growth in the near term.

Over the past 20 years, Greater Moncton has built a strong, diversi ed economy, with somereports claiming that no single industry accounts for more than 15 per cent of the local market. This strategy of diversi cation has helped attract new people to the region bringing with themkey expertise that was absent from our labour force make-up and new ideas that have helped

contribute to a more vibrant community.

With this strong base of support, we are now able to begin looking at building enhancedcapacity within key industrial sectors that will lead to increased prosperity for the region . These key sectors include: health and life sciences, transportation and logistics, informationtechnology, retail, manufacturing and the nancial, insurance and real estate sectors.

Health and Life Sciences The health and life sciences industry has been one of the fastest growing sectors of the Canadianeconomy for well over a decade, and that growth has been mirrored in Greater Moncton. From2000 to 2010, the health care sector grew total employment by almost 31 per cent.

As was noted in the Greater Moncton Health and Life Sciences Industry Development Roadmap

(2010), Greater Moncton has the highest concentration of health care workers and biomedicalresearch in the province. A sector development strategy is currently being drafted which willhelp with not only sector growth, but with recruitment of much-needed medical professionalsto our rapidly growing community. Because of government budget de cits, there will likely beslower growth in the publicly-funded component of the health care industry. However, thereremains considerable potential for Greater Moncton to grow health business services andbiosciences activity serving broader markets across Canada and beyond.

Transportation and LogisticsGeography is one asset that remains uniquely ours when comparing Greater Moncton toevery other location in the Maritimes. Being at the geographic centre of our region has madeus the logical choice for the many transportation and logistics companies that call GreaterMoncton home. When coupled with new infrastructure investments at the Greater MonctonInternational Airport and in surrounding industrial parks, there is a compelling case to be madethat the transportation and logistics sector is poised for continued growth and o ers many newpossibilities for entrepreneurs in our region.

Information Technology The information technology sector took o in Greater Moncton and in other parts of NewBrunswick after some major infrastructure upgrades were made by NBTel in the 1990s. Over

the past 15-20 years the IT sector has evolved to include contact centres, software developers,gaming technology, manufacturing, and many back-o ce administrative support centres.NBTel has evolved into Bell Aliant which recently extended its bre optic network to every homein Greater Moncton. Key segments of the industry have developed their own networking andadvocacy groups to foster continued development of the sector including, Propel ICT, ContactCentre Partnership, and Tech South East among others.

RetailGreater Moncton is head and shoulders above every other urban centre in the Maritimes when itcomes to retail. With a catchment area of 1.3 million people within 2.5 hours, and an excellent mixof stores, it is clear that our community remains Atlantic Canadas Premiere Shopping Destination .Retail sales in the Moncton CMA are close to 17 per cent above the national average, whichcontributes to a compelling business case for retailers looking to expand into Atlantic Canada.

The advantages of this sector are clear from a tourism sector and from the increases new storesbring to the municipal tax base.

Focus on developing key sectors of ourregional economy that will promote greater prosperity.


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Working with partner organizations to build a strong value proposition for investing inour targeted sectors.

Addressing, with partner organizations, any gaps in the value proposition within ourtargeted sectors.

Creating a compelling business case for investing in our targeted sectors.

Working with partners such as Invest NB to promote the region outside our borders.

Working with partners such as ACOA and Business New Brunswick to grow from within.

On a sector-speci c basis we will:

Play a lead role in catalyzing the health & life sciences cluster in th e Greater Moncton area.

Foster more investment in our transportation and logistics sector by working to attractregional warehouses, promoting our air cargo capacity and working to ensure there is asupply of workers for this valuable industry.

Grow the information technology cluster by fostering new IT startups, promoting the

growth of our existing rms and attracting strategic players to the cluster.

Solidify the regions status as a retail hub by continuing to promote Greater Moncton as Atlantic Canadas Premiere Shopping Destination and attracting new rst to market retailersto the region.

Look for speci c opportunities in the nancial, insurance and real estate sectors.

Helping local entrepreneurs in targeted sectors nd new export markets for theirproducts.


Tracking direct investment and job creation in our targeted sectors.

Tracking the number of new startups in targeted sectors.

Growing the number of information technology companies in the region by 5 per cent. In2010, there were 100 IT rms in the Greater Moncton region.

Tracking the increase of annual total retail sales in the Moncton CMA.

Increasing air cargo volume by 15 per cent using December 2010 as a baseline.

Manufacturing The manufacturing/processing sector in Greater Moncton has shown impressive growth overthe last decade and continues to grow today. The companies in this industry are varied andinclude high technology, doors and windows, metalworking, paper products, glass containermoldings, and brewing. While export growth to the United States has been slowed due to therising value of the Canadian dollar, our local companies have shown resiliency by looking toother export markets to sell their products.

Financial, Insurance & Real EstateWhile it is not often talked about, Greater Moncton has a strong base from which to build in the

nancial, insurance and real estate sector. Medavie Blue Cross, Assomption Vie and RBC RoyalBank are just a few of the many corporations from this sector that have large operations here,with a number of other companies o ering signi cant employment in the region. With this baseof rms, combined with our good track record with back o ce administration and a bilingualworkforce, there is room to grow this sector within Greater Moncton. This growth potentialis bolstered by the recent announcement by ING to establish a 200 person customer contactcentre in the community.


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CriticalSuccessfactors


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areas across the country. In 2010, the number of days lost for the average worker in the MonctonCMA was below all the other communities in the benchmark group. The monthly labour forcesurvey is also more robust now that Moncton is a CMA.

In addition to Statistics Canada, there are many other data sources including governmentdepartments and agencies as well as private sector companies such as FP Markets, ERI GeographicReference Report. In addition to these, many organizations publish reports on recurring or ad hocbasis that include Greater Moncton. Notable in this area is the KMPG Competitive AlternativesReport which is published every two years and is the most comprehensive assessment of operating cost and tax environment data available. Industry associations and trade groups alsopublish valuable information.

Further, Enterprise Greater Moncton itself is a collector of local market intelligence from itsBusiness Retention and Expansion survey process. The information gathered from the BusinessRetention & Expansion survey can provide insight into hard to access data such as research anddevelopment trends, productivity, exports, succession planning, etc.

Starting in the rst year of the strategic plan, Enterprise Greater Moncton will enhance itscapacity to gather local market intelligence and nd new ways to interpret and publish reportson the state of the economy and other trends such as infrastructure and demographics.

Being the organization with the most insight into the economic and demographic characteristicsof the Greater Moncton economy is a crucial role for Enterprise Greater Moncton. No otherorganization has such an in-depth view of the economy and that knowledge informs thestrategy and tactics of Enterprise Greater Moncton and its partner organizations. Despite anexisting capacity in this area, there is more that Enterprise Greater Moncton can do to enhanceits understanding of the local economy and the communication of trends and challenges to itspartners and to the public at large.

There are a wide variety of organizations that publish data on the Greater Moncton economy.Now that the Moncton urban region is a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) the amount andfrequency of data collected by Statistics Canada has been considerably expanded. For example,Statistics Canada publishes detailed data annually on employment by industry and occupation;a breakdown of family income by source; and detailed information on migration patterns.A good example of this is found in the chart shown above. As a CMA, Statistics Canada nowpublishes annual data on absenteeism in Greater Moncton compared to other metropolitan

1. Increase our knowledge of the local economyby gathering and analysing relevant data.

Speci c activities will include:

Benchmarking Greater Moncton against a number of similarly sized economies acrossCanada.

Publishing annual reviews on the state of the economy.

Providing timely and detailed insight to partner organizations.

Providing investment lead support to Invest NB (expansion potential of national andinternational rms with a local presence).

Providing company and industry intelligence to Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency,Business New Brunswick and other partners.

Tailoring Business Retention & Expansion surveys to provide insight into speci c gapssuch as R&D, productivity and workforce training.


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At its core, e ective economic development is about relationships and networks. There aredozens of public sector organizations, industry associations, infrastructure providers and otherstakeholders that in uence the economic trajectory of the Greater Moncton region. EnterpriseGreater Moncton is a networked organization. Realizing its importance, the 2011-2016strategy places a direct focus on improving regional facilitation and collaboration of economicdevelopment partners.

2. Improve regional facilitation andcollaboration of economic development partners.


A greater sharing of information between organizations - further stronger relationships.

Better alignment of Enterprise Greater Moncton strategy and work plans with otherpartner organizations locally (Dieppe, Moncton and Riverview), provincially (Invest NB,Business New Brunswick, Post-Secondary Education Training & Labour, etc.) and federally(Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, National Research Council, etc.).

A focus on these collaborations in our publications.


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However, Enterprise Greater Moncton needs to leverage other community stakeholders tofoster a stronger climate for expansion and to address speci c challenges or opportunities inspeci c industries.

According to a recent report published by the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, communitiesin Atlantic Canada will have many more opportunities to generate company expansions fromwithin than attracting rms from outside the region . Fostering expansions among the GreaterMoncton business community with a particular focus on those rms exporting products orservices is a key priority for Enterprise Greater Moncton. These expansions bring new economicactivity into the region and grow the size of the economic pie to the bene t of all.

3. Engage community stakeholdersin business retention and expansion.


Working with business groups and leaders to nd opportunities up and down keyindustry supply chains.

Working more closely with our universities to foster more entrepreneurial start-ups out of the academic setting.

Companies visitedbetween 2008-2011:

350 +Retention and expansioninitiatives launched: 60 +


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With its ability to attract national and international business investment, Greater Moncton hasbeen an example that other communities have tried to emulate. The contact centre industry,information technology, nance and insurance, manufacturing and transportation sectors,among others, have all bene tted from a signi cant in ux of national and international businessinvestment over the past two decades.

4. Focus investment attraction e orts onhigher paying jobs that are complementary to our local strengths.


Focusing on higher value, higher wage sectors su ch as health and life sciences,transportation and logistics, information technology and, nance, insurance and realestate.

E orts to attract manufacturing will focus more on capital intensive, high-wage sectorsrather than low wage, labour intensive activities.

However, the economic and demographic dynamics of the local and regional economy arechanging. As pointed out in Critical Success Factor 8, Greater Monctons population growth isincreasingly coming from outside New Brunswick from immigrants and people living in otherCanadian provinces. In order to attract and retain talent from outside our borders, we will needto o er rewarding and well-paying career opportunities.

Over the last decade, Greater Moncton has witnessed employment growth in a number of above average wage industries such as professional services, education and nance/insurance. The largest growth sector has been business and other support services driven by customercontact centre activity.


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As covered in Critical Success Factor 1, Enterprise Greater Moncton will dedicate signi cant timeand resources to understanding the dynamics of the local economy. This data collection willhelp us develop better economic metrics to measure the performance of Enterprise GreaterMoncton against speci c tasks and the economic progress of the community as a whole.

These detailed metrics will allow the board of directors, funding partners and other stakeholdersto clearly evaluate the success or failure of Enterprise Greater Moncton. It will also allow us tobetter understand what is working and what isnt working across our portfolio of services.

There is good data available to help assess thevalue of business investment and job creationon the local and provincial economies. Statistics

Canadas Input-Output tables provide a detailedlook at the direct and indirect e ects of newoutput in speci c industries in New Brunswick.As the table shows, for every direct job created inthe insurance sector, for example, another 3.3 arecreated elsewhere in the economy (up and downthe supply chain from insurance brokerages toautomobile repair). Software publishers have arelatively strong gross domestic product (GDP)e ect. For every direct job created in that sector,there is nearly $160,000 worth of GDP across theprovincial economy.

5. Identify and develop economicmetrics to measure performance results.


Publishing detailed data comparing Greater Moncton against its benchmark communities.

Publishing data on the economic impacts (direct and indirect) of Enterprise GreaterMoncton activities including GDP, taxation and consumer spending e ects.

Developing metrics to evaluate the performance of Enterprise Greater Moncton task areas such as business expansions, start-ups, etc.

Enterprise Greater Moncton

Benchmark Communities

Halifax, NSSaint John, NBSherbrooke, QCPeterborough, ONKingston, ONRegina, SK Red Deer, AB


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Access to growth capital continues to be a major impediment for many of Greater Monctonssmall to medium-sized businesses. There are a number of government and nancial institutionprograms for this segment of the economy but the risk tolerance tends to be very low particularly among traditional nancial institutions. Enterprise Greater Moncton will work withits partners to develop innovative solutions. We have worked in recent years to develop tailoredprograms for young entrepreneurs, immigrants and other targeted groups and will continue todo so during the 2011-2016 strategic plan period.

6. Develop innovative solutions to facilitateaccess to capital for small and medium-sized enterprises.


Growth capital - nding e ective sources of capital that support growth without puttingtoo great a debt burden and imperiling cash ow.

Research and development funding - increasingly Greater Monctons SMEs will needto focus on innovation and productivity as key di erentiators in the marketplace. Thisrequires external funding sources.

Equity nancing - relatively few Greater Moncton SMEs take on external equity. Manywould rather grow more slowly or not at all rather than give away equity. However,equity nancing is an important part of the story for successful growth economies acrossNorth America. Enterprise Greater Moncton will work to foster a greater awareness of

this funding channel and will work to nd new ways to match local SMEs with potentialequity partners.

Partnerships - increasingly rms are looking for more than just nancing. They arelooking for nancing, expertise, market development and other business attributes thatwill help them grow. Forging partnerships between SMEs and larger rms or SMEs withother rms that have speci c attributes is an important activity in a maturing economy. These partnerships can be between local rms or from collaboration among local rmsand national or international rms.

ResearchGrowth

D

e v e

l o p m e n

t

Capital F u n d i n g

Financing P a r t n e r s

h i p s

Equity


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As discussed above, the Greater Moncton economy has been undergoing rapid changes in recentyears. There has been substantial growth in occupational areas such as business and nance,health care, applied sciences, management and construction. At the same time, wholesale tradeoccupations, retail sales and lower wage assembly/manufacturing jobs are in decline.

In addition, the sources of new business investment in the 2011-2016 period will be evolvingaway from the growth industries of the past. As an example, there will likely be less investmentin customer contact centre activity and more in life sciences and information technology.

7. Ensure education and industryare aligned so we are training the right skills.


Bringing together business groups and educational/training institutions.

Helping to target training towards groups such as older workers, youth and those lookingto re-enter the workforce after an extended absence.

New immigrant training.

Essential workplace skills.

Over the 2011-2016 period this dynamic will continue and intensify as the boomer generationretires and the workforce is increasingly lled with new immigrants and people moving herefrom the rest of Canada. Greater Moncton needs a exible and dynamic education system that isturning out graduates with the necessary skills to compete in ever more technical and complexoccupations.

In addition to professional and technical occupations, it is important for the labour force to beincreasing its essential workplace skills. These are skills that are applicable to most jobs in theeconomy such as literacy and numeracy. Many employers are struggling to nd workers formany jobs that require these essential skills.

Enterprise Greater Moncton will work closely with our partners in education including:

The regions ve universities (Universit de Moncton, Mount Allison, Crandall and theMoncton campuses of UNB and Sherbrooke); The NBCC and CCNB; The more than two dozen private sector training colleges/institutes;Industry groups o ering training; andGovernment departments/agencies involved in training.


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Bucking the trend in Atlantic Canada, Greater Monctons population has been growingstrongly over the past two decades. However, just in the past three years, the dynamics of this growth are changing in a fundamental way. Until recently, Greater Monctons populationgrowth was primarily fuelled by intra-provincial migration people moving from other partsof New Brunswick. However, from 2008 to 2010 there has been a strong rise in the numberof immigrants and interprovincial migrants (from other provinces). In 2002, there were threepeople moving to Moncton from other areas of New Brunswick for every one person movinghere from outside New Brunswick. Now there are more people moving into Greater Monctonfrom outside the province than from within it. The future workforce will increasingly come fromoutside the province as the supply of workers available for intra-provincial mobility has declinedsharply in recent years.

8. Attract the required talentto meet our labour force needs.


Working with employers to ensure that government agencies working on peopleattraction have a clear understanding of market needs.

Attending people attraction related trade shows.

Coordinating immigrant in-missions.

Developing promotional materials focused on attracting talent to the region.

Working with partners to ensure those who are moving to the region can integrate easily(spousal employment, child care, etc.).

Enterprise Greater Moncton has been actively involved with e orts to attract people to theregion and will continue to make this a key focus area for 2011-2016.


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egm strategy 2011-2016 leading the way

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