Gallant pledges $20M for business support in state of the province speech

The provincial government will invest $20 million this year to improve the competitiveness of New Brunswick businesses, Premier Brian Gallant announced Thursday night during the 2018 state of the province address.

The investment was one of the few new details shared by the premier in his final yearly speech before the provincial election in September.

Gallant ditched apodium and walked freely on stage while sharing personal stories and touching on highlights from the Liberals' three years in power.

Gallant also identified various challenges facing the province, including the growing protectionism in American economic policy and the impact that has on New Brunswick's economy.

He said New Brunswick is the most export-oriented economy of all the Canadian provinces, with 90 per cent of exports sent to the United States.

"I want to be clear,any economy in the world would be happy to have the economic relationship that we have with the U.S., so we should be proud of it," Gallant said during the speech at the Fredericton Convention Centre.

"But we should also realize there's a vulnerability in being as dependent."

Research and development

The premier teased a $20-million investment into various business sectors that will be part ofthe upcoming provincial budget. The money will split across several areas, though no specifics were given.

• Fostering innovation by increasing investments in research and development
• Increase investments in start-ups and help them scale up
• The rollout of a program to help small businesses that are export-oriented make capital investments to be more productive and competitive
• Partners with the federal government into boost investment in the Atlantic Fisheries Fund. Gallant said: "It's a great example of a traditional industry that we're going to help ensure can be as innovative and productive as possible."
• A multi-year tourism strategy the provincehopes "will bring us to $2 billionin revenue in a few years."

Thetourism strategy was announced in November.

"We understand that we have to help businesses be able to compete and be as innovative as possible in today's climate, where we see the protectionism we see in the U.S.," Gallant said.