All three Maritime premiers were in Toronto this week for the Canada Investment Summit convened by Prime Minister Mark Carney. It included investors from more than 30 countries, and representatives say it was a success. “Many of our projects were well received, and we look forward to working with investors and project proponents to grow the Nova Scotia economy,” said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston’s press secretary Catherine Klimek in an emailed statement. Prior to the summit, Houston posted on Facebook he was promoting 20 projects, including offshore wind, mining and a spaceport. “I’m going to Toronto to make the case for Nova Scotia, and to make sure investors around the world understand just how much is happening here,” he said in the post. New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt attended the summit to showcase projects including the Sisson Mine, nuclear development and the Belledune Port expansion. Denis Caron, the Port of Belledune president and CEO, was on the trip and said he was able to get 40 per cent of the funding for one project. “In our case, I think it was very successful,” he said. “There’s a real opportunity here to shift to look at new markets and new partners.” But not everyone is as optimistic. Rick Doucett, president of New Brunswick Federation of Woodlot owners, said he supports increased investment, but it has to be done right. “We do have a long history of making some pretty bad deals in the short term, almost maybe a slightly desperate situation like we’re in now,” he said. He pointed to several times foreign investment in sawmills ultimately ended in mills closing. Although he supports increased investment, he’s cautioning the province to not make any rash decisions. “The team that’s negotiating for New Brunswick is on Team New Brunswick, but the team they’re negotiating with is not Team New Brunswick,” he said. “They’re team stakeholder. And you’ve got to make sure you understand the difference.”
