At a glance
Atlantic Canada’s economy has undergone dramatic changes in the past few years, from an
economy based on natural resources to one increasingly driven by knowledge. The rapid
development of information and communication technologies, in the latter half of the 1990s,
spawned a multitude of new economy companies in such emerging sectors as information technology
and telecommunications, geomatics, biotechnology and environmental technology. At the same time,
traditional resource-based firms in forestry, fishing, mining and agriculture have had to modernize —
to adopt new technologies, value-added processes and innovative management strategies — in order
to compete in the global environment.
The definition of competitive advantage has changed.
As a recent report by the Moncton-based Canadian Institute for Research on Regional Development
notes: “Healthy management, technological competence and innovation — these, more than a ready
supply of natural resources, now constitute the necessary conditions for competitiveness.”¹
Small and medium-sized enterprises drive the economy in Atlantic Canada. They are significant
generators of jobs and economic growth. In the past decade, SMEs in the region have become more
productive, more export-oriented, and more global.
What’s driving successful SMEs is the power of innovation.
In this brochure, you will meet some highly innovative Atlantic Canadian firms, small and mediumsized
companies that, despite their size are, nonetheless, players in the global economy. People
working in aggressive, innovative companies in manufacturing, services, tourism and resource-based
industries are “going off the beaten path,” adopting new and innovative technologies, inventing,
producing and successfully exporting new products in both goods and services.
As you read these nine company profiles, you will realize that these firms have a number of things in
common. All have realized that innovation depends on investing in people; that, in fact, innovation
requires creating an “innovation culture” within the firm, where ongoing skill development is
essential, and where employees are rewarded on an individual basis for adding value to the company.
All nine companies have been successful, not only at developing unique and innovative products, but
also getting those products into the global marketplace. They also realize that innovation is a complex
and ongoing process, that you can’t be innovative one day and then “ride it to retirement,” as one
company owner says.
We also present an interview with Dr. Alan Cornford. He recently carried out a major study for the
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) on innovation in Atlantic Canada, and has some ideas
about what needs to be done to build the innovation economy in the region.
And finally, we present some information on ACOA’s innovation programs.
