New Brunswick On The Right Path To Close the ‘Prosperity Gap’
New Brunswick had a stronger recovery than most provinces in 2021, setting it on the right path to close the prosperity gap with the rest of the country in one generation – a goal it set for itself in 2020.
ONB is leading and facilitating a pro-growth agenda to get the job done and doing so by maintaining close relationships with every player in the economic ecosystem, including provincial and federal government partners, as well as those in academia, economic development agencies, and the private sector.
Serving as the primary connector of all these essential partners and stakeholders will help ONB eliminate silos – collaboration is critical to their continued success.
The provincial Crown corporation, established in 2015, will continue to promote the province on a national and global stage, act as a catalyst and champion for private sector investment, support the talent pipeline, help more companies embrace innovation, and support B2B clients as they tap new export markets.
It has now set the course for the future with a clear focus on a fresh new vision.
What The Next Five Years Look Like
Building on the success of efforts under the Closing the Gap strategy, ONB’s new 5-year strategic plan, called Connect, Grow, Prosper, will be the catalyst for business investment, growth, and prosperity well into the future.
Connecting that vision to initiatives and actions are three strategic priorities:
- Accelerate Investment & Growth
- Attract & Retain Skilled Newcomers
- Drive a High-Performance Ecosystem
To achieve its objectives, ONB has embraced three strategic filters — competitiveness, sustainability, and partnerships — that will help prioritize work, and best leverage finite resources.
Building on New Brunswick’s Momentum
On many fronts, the province of New Brunswick has led the nation in both its response to and recovery from the pandemic. With an economic contraction of 3.1 per cent in 2020, New Brunswick had the third shallowest decline among provinces, exceeded only by P.E.I. and Nova Scotia.
In 2021, a growth of 2.9 per cent was projected for New Brunswick, meaning the economy almost completely reversed the decline of 2020. New Brunswick is one of only five provinces that experienced this level of recovery.
The province must not only sustain that growth but build on this positive economic momentum and ensure the province does not miss out on this once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Closing the Gap outlined an ambitious plan to aggressively grow our population, exports, and GDP over the next 20 years. The province must increase its population by more than 60,000, exports by $1 billion, and provincial GDP by $3 billion over the next five years.
See The Plan For Yourself
The ONB Strategic Plan (and fiscal 2022-2023 Annual Plan) can now be found on its Transparency page.
The full strategy plan document includes an in-depth look at the strategic filters, five-year corporate targets, strategic priority areas (including preferred outcomes), and a strategy map.
Be sure to keep an eye on the progress made by following ONB on all its social media channels: Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn – YouTube – Instagram