insight & evidence
Posts by the Policy Wonks primarily about the economy.
By Peter NicholsonA Presentation to the Nova Scotia Offshore Wind R&D Forum; Halifax; September 24, 2025 Good afternoon, and thanks to our organizers, Net-Zero Atlantic, for the opportunity to outline why I believe, passionately but logically, in the nation-building power of Atlantic offshore wind energy. In the two years since publication of a paper for the Public Policy Forum in which I...
Canada’s provincial electricity systems are impressive but to make the country an energy superpower, they must be linked together. By Peter Nicholson and Rick Smith for The Hill Times, July 2, 2025 Faced with unpredictable and disruptive American trade aggression, nation-building projects are urgently needed to strengthen Canada’s economy and turn crisis into opportunity. The federal government’s...
by Peter Nicholson In terms of growth of GDP per capita, Canada’s Maritimes ranks at the bottom among US States and Canadian Provinces. But the story less often told is how much the Maritime Provinces have converged toward the all-Canada average over the long run. The chart below shows that PEI has gone from 46% of the Canadian average GDP per capita in 1960 to 75% in 2016, and likely higher...
by Peter Nicholson Summary: The objective of the paper is to make the case for Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a “General Purpose Technology”—analogous in potential economic impact to revolutionary technologies of the past such as the steam engine, electricity, and the microchip which spawned the industrial revolutions that created the modern world. The theme is the potential of AI to reignite...
by Bernie Miller In May of 1994, Peter Drucker wrote a broad-ranging article for the Atlantic Monthly which he called The Age of Social Transformation weaving together observations which, 26 years later, seem remarkably prescient. One passage is worthy of special note: “The twenty-first century will surely be one of continuing social, economic and political turmoil and challenge, at least in its...
By Peter Nicholson Canada’s economy has a growth problem, and the country is finally starting to notice. As Andrew Coyne recently pointed out, Canada is no longer one of the richest countries on earth. Emphasis was added by the Bank of Canada’s senior deputy governor, Carolyn Rogers, who stated in a March 26th speech that Canada’s continuing stagnant productivity growth has become an...
How Atlantic Canada Can Become an Energy Superpower By Peter Nicholson for public policy forum INTRODUCTION Less than 200 kilometres off the coast of Nova Scotia lies the fabled Sable Island, known to generations of seafarers as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, a testament to the countless ships that foundered on its shallow, sandy reefs. Famous for its unique herd of feral horses that have...
Lessons for Canada from Nova Scotia’s Experience by Bernie Miller Introduction: Volkswagen and Canada’s Ambition for Leadership in the Green Economy Imagine it is late 2027 and the Volkswagen plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, funded with a $16B federal subsidy, is ready to go into production. There is a grand ceremony. Dr. Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG addresses...
By Bernie Miller Economics and public policy have lacked a unifying, people focused objective. Committing to an overriding objective of promoting opportunities for the well-being of all citizens could be our best economic development policy. This paper is intended to assimilate and generate knowledge about new ways of approaching the question of how to achieve inclusive economic growth and...
Place Based Economic Policy By Bernie Miller Developing economic policy for a region has traditionally tended to follow political, jurisdictional boundaries. Therefore, there was always a Nova Scotia economic development policy – one size fits all. If positive GDP growth were achieved overall, it would be deemed a success. More frequently, if it resulted in low overall growth, a failure. To the...
insight & evidence