Conference Board Report Good News for Nova Scotia

PREMIER'S OFFICE--Conference Board Report Good News for Nova Scotia

The latest Conference Board of Canada report on Nova Scotia's economy is good news, Premier John Hamm said today, June 6.

In a speech this morning to delegates attending the Financial Executives International 2002 conference, Premier Hamm reviewed some of the findings of the report, titled Economic Impact Analysis of Offshore Development on Nova Scotia. The report was released publicly on June 5.

"The results confirm that oil and gas developments can make a significant and positive difference for Nova Scotia," said the premier. "This industry can turn around our economic future, help us keep our children at home and attract new people to the province."

Among the highlights of the report's long-term, conservative forecasts for Nova Scotia's economy by 2020 are:

• employment levels are expected to rise and unemployment rates
  will likely drop;
• natural gas production is expected to rise;
• gross domestic product is expected to increase;
• moderate population growth is expected;
• stronger utilities sector; and
• other economic sectors, such as construction, are expected to
  show gains.

The premier noted the report's support of Seizing the Opportunity, the province's energy strategy released in December 2001.

"The report confirms that our energy strategy is on the right track," said the premier. "Nova Scotia's oil and gas industry is the single most important economic event in the past 150 years. We have to look forward and plan wisely."

The report was commissioned by the Greater Halifax Partnership, with financial support from several private and public sector partners, including the Office of Economic Development. It's the latest in a series of recent positive reports on Nova Scotia's economy.

Earlier this year, KPMG released its Competitiveness Alternatives study on business costs. The KPMG report ranked three Nova Scotia communities -- Halifax, Sydney and Truro -- in the top 20 for positive business climates out of more than 120 centres surveyed in nine industrial countries in Europe, Japan and North America. In April, Statistics Canada released its annual report on gross domestic product rates. The federal report showed that in 2001, Nova Scotia had the second-highest rate of GDP growth of any Canadian province, second only to Alberta and twice the national rate.