SmartCity Blog

A New Vision for the Halifax Gateway

Imagine it. 

It’s the year 2030 and the Halifax Gateway stands proudly as the preferred eastern gateway for the international movement of goods and people to and from North America.

As a result of transportation efficiency improvements and the introduction of supportive government policies, the Halifax Gateway is competitive and recognized as a valuable national asset, driving economic growth in Atlantic Canada and Canada as a whole.

This is the ultimate vision for the Halifax Gateway.

This week, the Halifax Gateway Council (HGC) released its new 2010—2015: Strategic Plan: Building the Halifax Gateway articulating this new vision and outlining the strategic issues and goals they need to achieve to make it a reality.               

Every day, Halifax Gateway businesses and organizations welcome the world to our doorstep – by air, sea, road and rail.  The HGC’s new plan highlights the Gateway’s role as a key transportation hub and as an essential ingredient in growing Canada’s economy.  It will guide our work over the next five years as we implement initiatives to improve the way we move both cargo and people to and from the east coast of North America and the world.  

To realize our vision, the HGC will focus on achieving five strategic goals:

1.       Ensuring the Halifax Gateway offers efficient transportation networks to meet shipping and travel needs;

2.       Improving Halifax Gateway infrastructure to capitalize on gateway related business opportunities;

3.       Ensuring government policy supports gateway development and that barriers to trade and travel are minimized;

4.       Establishing the Halifax Gateway brand nationally and internationally; and

5.       Coordinating with the myriad of gateway councils and organizations in Atlantic Canada and supporting the Atlantic Gateway Strategy.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Halifax Gateway Council, it was established in 2004 to provide a forum for transportation providers and stakeholders in the Halifax region to work together to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the Halifax Gateway.  Since 2008, the HGC has been managed on a day-to-day basis by the Greater Halifax Partnership.  As the catalyst for economic growth and confidence in Greater Halifax, the Partnership recognizes the significant economic and social impact the Gateway produces for Halifax, Atlantic Canada and Canada as a whole. The Gateway has a total economic impact of over $3 billion a year and employs over 23,500 people in Nova Scotia. Supporting the Halifax Gateway and helping the HGC achieve its goals and objectives is a priority initiative for the Partnership as we work to grow the economy in Greater Halifax, the economic hub of Atlantic Canada.

As the HGC looks ahead to 2015 and beyond, we look forward to working in partnership with Gateway members and transportation providers to realize our shared vision for the Halifax Gateway.

Nancy Phillips is the Director, Investment and Trade, for the Greater Halifax Partnership and Executive Director for the Halifax Gateway Council.

African Heritage Month: Leading Ladies, Lasting Legacies

February is African Heritage Month in Nova Scotia! Click here for full details, located on the African Nova Scotian Affairs website.. 

The theme on this year's poster is “Leading Ladies, Lasting Legacies,” which profiles six African Nova Scotians who have committed years of hard work to moving the African Nova Scotian community forward. As educators and community workers, they understood the meaning of involvement, dedication and commitment. They represent the history of working together for the longevity of  communities. 

The Ujamaa initiative represents the continuation of that legacy:

What is the definition of the word 'Ujamaa'? 

Ujamaa is the fourth of seven principles of Nguzo Saba that guide how we should relate to one another and how we should build our lives and shape our future.

The Ujamaa initiative is the development of a comprehensive and integrated approach that recognizes the importance of economic progress of the African Nova Scotian community. It is here where Nova Scotia’s most influential leaders from the African Nova Scotia (ANS) Community and the Greater Halifax Partnership work together to support the ANS community in reaching  its full potential.

Ujamaa’s Obectives:

• Positive change through and integrated and formative approach
• Capacity building, through leadership and organizational development
• Creating opportunities for high level engagement and conversations between community groups, institutions, and government
• Alignment and partnership through the mutual support and understanding of  between community leaders
• Outcomes measures, that allow the community to see its own progress, and determine its directions

Greater Halifax Partnership’s work in Community Economic Development recognizes the active participation of all members of the community in planning initiatives that impact community growth and prosperity. Ujamaa is an example of how the Partnership builds linkages and connections between communities and sectors, recognizing that issues cannot be addressed in isolation. 

Just like the six women in the provincial African Heritage poster, who collaborated with their communities to make great contributions to all African Nova Scotians, so does the Ujamaa initiative.

Carolann Wright-Parks is Manager of Community Economic Development at Greater Halifax Partnership.

A Sustainable, Greener Economy can Differentiate us in the Marketplace

As the planning gets underway for the renewal of the economic strategy for HRM I have heard talk that it may include a focus on development of a Green Economic Development Strategy. I think that this is important for the Greater Halifax Partnership and our business community. There are some pretty cool strategies out there, Toronto has one http://www.toronto.ca/business/green-economic-development.htm and so does Vancouver http://www.vancouvereconomic.com/page/green-economic-development and congratulations to both cities for moving these forward.  Halifax needs to show leadership as the economic hub of Atlantic Canada and set the pace in developing a focus on sustainability and green economic development.

In two weeks we will have the opportunity to build our knowledge in sustainable economic development through our work within the World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP) www.energycities.org. The WECP is an organization which Halifax has belonged to for almost a decade. The WECP is led by the Mayor’s of 15 of the world’s leading energy producing cities. On February 15, Stavanger Norway is hosting the first Academic Exchange between energy cities and their respective academic institutions.  The Greater Halifax Partnership will be attending along with the College of Sustainability at Dalhousie University – who better to have involved!

The WECP has been mainly a route to partnerships in petroleum-related activities. All the energy cities however are now meeting new challenges related to the environment, changes in the petroleum sector and the need to develop sustainable ways of producing and using energy.

We need to begin to think about a culture where we work to retain, grow and attract companies with green and sustainable philosophies. Being focused on green and sustainable strategies may be the differentiator that will set us apart from all the competition out in the marketplace. Many companies large and small want to do business with businesses and communities that are green and sustainable – the Walmart’s of the world have a lot of influence on suppliers to change their habits.

Halifax has a lot to offer and a unique offering – some of our companies are leading in the creation of renewable energies – such as Emera and Ocean Nutrition. As well, HRM is striving to be one of the greenest municipalities in Canada. 

As the economic development organization that connects all players together including business, government and education, we have a responsibility to ensure that we begin to build a plan now for a sustainable future economy. As the economic hub of Atlantic Canada we need to lead the way and be at the forefront of this challenge!

 

Nancy Phillips is the Director, Investment and Trade, for the Greater Halifax Partnership and Executive Director for the Halifax Gateway Council. 

Guest SmartCity Blog post: "And How Was Your Meal Tonight?"

Guest blog post:

As you finish your meal at most restaurants, the staff will ask you how your meal was. Standard operating procedure for them and it makes absolute sense...get feedback in case something went wrong and perhaps they might be able to fix it before you leave and spread the negative reviews. Additionally, not asking would be implying they didn’t care about the customer’s experience. Seems smart doesn’t it? Yet most business other than the hospitality industry forget to ask (or worse, forget to listen) “how they did and how they are doing”. By setting up a twitter search filter within their Twitter program and using Google Alerts, a business can take care of such issues. Not only does it give you a heads-up as to what your customers really think, but it shows that your company cares when you publicly and proactively take care of complaints.

Recently I rented a vehicle for a shoot. When we picked up the vehicle, they asked our plans and they upgraded the rental (at no additional charge) to a model that would better suit our needs. During the last part of the rental, however, the rear hatch failed and we had to do our loading and unloading through the passenger doors for a day- not a huge deal. Upon returning the vehicle, they asked how everything went and I explained it was great except for the hatch. They promptly gave us a day off our rental contract for the minor inconvenience. Fantastic! That afternoon, I tweeted about the experience and thanked the company using the "#" (also known as the hash tag) in front of the name. Within five minutes I had a direct tweet back from the company with a thank you.  Shocking!  I decided to do some research and discovered they were following their name in Twitter and actively responding to comments and complaint issues (and in the open!).  SMART!

A few days later, I received a call from my computer suppliers Customer Support.  Having dealt with their support before I was mildly curious as to why they were calling.  The conversation started by the rep asking me if I was happy with my system and if I had experienced any problems during the past year. Ah! Finally they were showing me they care (in the past dealing with them was like getting a root canal)! I went over the small issues I’ve had and the work-arounds (using posts from other users and not from the company's site) and expected to hear how they have some solution for me…To my dismay, the call quickly moved to a sales pitch for the extended warranty!  I emphatically told them I was not interested. We went back and forth and I explained how I didn’t need the $400 extended warranty at which point she went into full script mode for 3 minutes without letting me get a word in. I put the phone on hands free and went back to what I was doing before she called. Eventually she hung up. I twitted the experience expecting to get a response like I did from the rental company! Surely a computer company would be as or more advanced than a vehicle rental company! Nope. Nothing. Now what was supposed to increase this companies revenue has only succeeded in further frustrating a customer. FYI, a few days ago they called again…I explained they had already called me and I wasn’t interested….they hung up. Wow, not smart, but it appears that’s “standard operating procedure” for them!

Coincidently in the same week I sat down with friend for a beer. We started talking about my recent experiences with companies using Twitter as a customer support tool and he told me one of his experiences with his cellular supplier. He tweeted about being dissatisfied with a support call on his account….and know who contacted him back via Twitter offering help?  His cellular suppliers’ competition! Now that’s taking it to the next level.

It takes all of a few seconds to do a Twitter search and just a little longer to set up a Google Alert. Not following your brand and company on Twitter and via Google Alerts is the same as saying “I don’t care about what my customers experience with my company.” Why? You’re not listening to what they have to say about the experience! It would be the same as the waiter not asking how your meal was. So, on that note, how did you enjoy this blog today? Can I get you anything else?

SW

With over 25 years of award winning experience in television, film, video, marketing, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott Westerlaken has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications and film making from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.

Read PHI Group's blog.

PHI Group has been an Investor in the Partnership since 2001.

The views and opinions expressed in this entry are those of the author alone, and may not necessarily reflect those of the Greater Halifax Partnership and those affiliated.

See Green by Going Green

Lately, you’ve most likely noticed that “going green” seems to be at the top of every agenda - from news and politics right down to fashion and laundry detergent. It’s great to see how people across the globe are making the effort to help conserve our environment by implementing ‘green’ practices into their everyday lives.

It’s also a good business practice. 

Global business leaders see the value of going green. How about you?

Here are a few reasons why businesses are going green:

• To cut energy costs
• To gain a competitive advantage
• To attract and retain both customers and employees
• To improve reputation and brand value
• To save money on goods and reuse or sell by-products

If your organization has been thinking about going green, you should consider speaking to a member of the SmartBusiness Action Team. This team is designed to address needs, challenges and opportunities that are affecting your company. The Eco-Efficiency Centre at Dalhousie is one of more than 30 senior business and government leaders who use their resources and expertise to resolve business issues in a timely matter and drive economic growth. As going green becomes an increasingly important part of your business culture, they will be a great starting point to get your company on track towards becoming more environmentally-friendly.

The Partnership and the Dalhousie Eco-Efficiency Centre will be co-hosting a Resource Management and Synergy Workshop on Tues., Feb. 9 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Ramada Park Place Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre. Click here to register!

In two weeks, The Greater Halifax Partnership will be partnering with Dalhousie University’s College of Sustainability to attend the World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP). We will be attending the very first Academic Exchange between energy cities and their academic institutions!

By Wendy Donaldson

Wendy is an Account Executive with SmartBusiness, an award-winning program of Greater Halifax Partnership. Contact Wendy or fellow team members Sandra Wood and Robyn Webb to learn more about the results companies are seeing and how we can help your business.

The Economy is Alive and Kicking! (Part 2)

By Fred Morley

To see 'Part 1' of Fred's blog, click here.

Now, let’s discuss the Economic Strategy and the Chamber Scorecard.

This economic strategy was about doing things differently. It was about setting some pretty tough goals – goals that would stretch our efforts and goals that would push us harder. Every year, the Chamber reports on how the HRM, the Greater Halifax Partnership, the Federal and Provincial governments and others have done at implementing the strategy. This year, we got mixed results: we got an overall score of Red. We also received an overall score of Yellow on the things we worked on, which is down from a Green light last year.

I think this should be interpreted in two ways. First, we got whacked by measures such as unemployment rates and housing starts – those reflect slower economic growth everywhere. Second, the scorecard reflects persistent challenges in critical areas like attracting immigrants, university enrollment and our growing population.

Indeed, the Conference Board’s City Magnet report gives us more evidence that we have many things on the ‘people side’ that we need to work on. However, the most important measure of the economic strategy is whether or not we have fulfilled the promise made to grow our region.

Just over four years ago, I stood before the Regional Council and talked about my daughter, who was just starting university, and how I wanted the HRM to be the kind of place she could find opportunities. By endorsing the economic strategy, the Council made a promise for the future. A promise to improve the economy of the region, to increase the number and quality of jobs, to build our community, and to make the HRM the kind of place where our children, immigrants and expats could find good jobs and build a life.

Well, four years have passed, and what have we achieved?

Well, our population has increased by more than 15,000. More than 18,000 net new jobs have been created. The average income has jumped by more than $4,000 a year. Young professionals are engaged in their community, thanks to FUSION Halifax. Business confidence is at its highest level in four years.  We’ve got more projects on our table than we can count.

Have we reached our target? No. And, we never will, because when we reach our goals in this city, we set new ones.

 

Higher ones.

Harder ones.

The Economy is Alive and Kicking! (Part 1)

By Fred Morley

The world is just emerging from a pretty deep recession. The US and Britain have been hit fairly hard, along with some parts of Canada – particularly Ontario and Alberta. But generally, we didn’t feel the bit of the recession as hard in Canada. But what about Halifax? Well, early this month I was in Ottawa, meeting with the heads of economic development. Let me tell you…what I got most out of my discussion with them is that Halifax has performed better than almost every other city in this country over the past year. According to Statistics Canada, we had big gains in employment throughout August and we had 9,300 net new jobs over the previous 12 months. This is the highest level of job growth of any Canadian city – regardless of size. That’s never happened before.

Last month, the Bank of Commerce told us in their Metro Monitor that Halifax had the strongest economy in the country. That’s also never happened before!

Then, a couple of weeks ago, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business told us that Nova Scotia numbers (which are mostly from Halifax) showed the second highest level of Business Confidence in the country. Only British Columbia was better, and in a few weeks, they will be hosting the Canadian Winter Olympics.

All of the numbers are in. Compared to every other city in the country, we’re kicking butt!

Stay tuned next week for the second half of Fred's blog post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fred Morley is the Executive Vice President and Chief Economist for the Greater Halifax Partnership.

 

 

New Job has Familiar Themes

Starting any new job can be a whirlwind.  But in the exciting, hectic,  (and dare I say, fun)  early days at the Partnership, I have found a moment or two, here and there, to pause and reflect.  

 

This is an organization I have always held in high regard.  The Partnership has a team of talented people, many of whom  I have worked with before and now will have the chance to work with every day.  A team that I know firsthand is single-minded in its duty to promote growth in our city.  
 

And on reflection, I have realized that, for the better part of the last 15 years, in an informal way, I have been selling the region and working to position it positively in the eyes of others.  It has always come naturally to me.  From my involvement in community organizations to being a regional representative with national organizations, I have always been an unofficial, yet ardent, supporter of Greater Halifax.  
 

Now it’s my day job.  
 

In my first week, the Board affirmed the mission of our organization – keep and grow business; attract new investment; and, strengthen our community to create confidence, economic growth and prosperity for Greater Halifax.  
 

Since then, I have been meeting with representatives from business, the Chamber of Commerce, government and all of the groups and organizations that play a role in growing  our community.  It has validated in my mind the role the Partnership plays, how we partner, collaborate, and how we make connections - all to accelerate economic growth.   
 

And I can tell you there is tremendous passion for our region with everyone I meet.   It’s a deep and strong commitment to doing what is best, now and for the future.  
 

There’s an underlying, sometimes understated, confidence, too.  
 

And this is important as we progress because, like any diverse and growing region, there are complexities and challenges that need to be understood and addressed collaboratively if we are to succeed.
 

But we have the correct pieces in place.  We have a roadmap, the Halifax Region Economic Strategy, we have the passion and we have solid economic fundamentals.  
 

Collaboration is key.  It has a multiplier effect, but only when everyone is working as hard at creating  value for others  as they are for themselves.  
 

We must remain focused on our objective.  Growing our economy in a way that benefits all.  And, while our economy has been holding its own we cannot become complacent.  
 

As the economic hub of our Province and Atlantic Canada, we must continue to identify ways to accelerate growth and investment in Greater Halifax. This is our collective responsibility.  Because as Halifax grows, the rest of Nova Scotia – and indeed, our entire region, grows.   
 

I am honoured to have the opportunity to lead the organization that is the catalyst for growth in our region.  I will be guided by principles I hold dear: integrity, trust, respect and most importantly collaboration - as the only way we can continue to achieve success is by working together. 

This is my commitment to you and to the community I value so much.  

 

The Greater Halifax Partnership is the catalyst for economic growth and confidence in Greater Halifax, the economic hub of Atlantic Canada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Kent is the President and CEO of the Greater Halifax Partnership.

Halifax ended the year with an economic bang!

If you think the Halifax Economy is under-performing, it may be time to rethink.

Halifax ended the year with an economic bang.  First the labour force survey tells that we have done better than most other Canadian cities of any size in job creation.  Indeed this has been going on since the summer of 09 when Halifax posted net job gains of 9300 over the previous 12 month period. 

We’re number 1…. in employment creation

Then CIBC tells us that Halifax, helped along by big employment gains, is the top city in the country according to its metro monitor index.  In arriving at this CIBC looked at 9 economic variables ranging from population growth to non-residential building permits and all looked pretty good.  Population grew at a pace double the rate of the third quarter of 2007.  Employment grew by 3.1% in the third quarter, easily tops in the country.  The unemployment rate jumped, but in an environment of nation-leading job creation and fast population growth.   Business bankruptcies are in steady decline.  Other economic indicators were flat or negative, but compared to other cities we were still doing well. 

We’re number one…. In economic performance


And today, CFIB (Canadian Federation of Independent Business) released its December Business Barometer survey of small business across Canada.  Turns out Nova Scotia business are more confident than those in any other province in Canada except BC, who, by the way happen to be in pre-Olympic euphoria.  Indeed, the index shows that business confidence in Nova Scotia has been climbing steadily every month for the last year and is now at its highest point in more than 4 years.  

We’re number two…and still trying harder.

Halifax seems to be on a roll.  But even in these times nay-sayers are easy to unearth. Fact is though, we are coming out of recession with surging employment and growing business confidence.  No other City in Canada can claim this.  Few cities have our potential moving forward.  Few cities would pick this time to take a step back. 

2010 will be a telling year for Halifax and our economy.

Fred Morley is the Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at the Greater Halifax Partnership

Dodging the Meltdown: Finance and Insurance in Nova Scotia

Halifax’s 2005 economic strategy “Strategies for Success” predicted that the finance and insurance sector would be a key growth driver in the second half of the decade. This prediction has proven startlingly accurate. Good thing too, because this stable and vital sector has been a big factor in keeping us out of recession.

The Canadian finance and insurance sector is the best run in the world.  Canada was the only industrialized nation that didn’t have to prop up its banks with significant cash injections this year.  The well-managed Canadian insurance sector continues its successful drive to world prominence.  Finance and insurance companies created more than 13,000 jobs in the second quarter of 2009 in Canada compared to the same three month period last year.  This occurred even though national employment in all industries declined by 340,000.

This national strength is trickling down to Nova Scotia where many new high wage finance and insurance jobs have appeared in recent years.  This growth has come from a continued expansion of deep rooted Canadian firms and a sprinkling of new international investment; all taking advantage of high quality labour and nation leading increases in productivity.  The heavy concentration of this sector in Halifax has been a big factor in keeping our economy growing even as the rest of Canada slipped into recession. 

Halifax has always been a significant financial centre in Canada. Many of Canada’s biggest finance and insurance companies have roots here.  Even today we have the second highest concentration of big bank employment and the highest concentration of insurance jobs in Canada relative to our size.  Over 50% of all insurance firms with operations in the Maritime Provinces are located in Halifax and all but one of the region’s investment dealers are based in Halifax. At the time of the last census, in 2006, there were some 14,000 people employed in the finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) sector in Nova Scotia’s Hub city. Deep roots of firms like Scotiabank, Royal Bank, Manulife, and others serve us well in tough times.

This regional concentration makes Greater Halifax’s finance and insurance cluster one of the more impressive in Canada.  The same value proposition and high productivity that has kept domestic operations strong is now attracting a new wave of international investment in finance and insurance.

This new wave of investment began in 2005 with Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Limited, and this year
Flagstone expanded its commitment to Nova Scotia and is expected to add 80 new jobs in the next few years. United Kingdom based Admiral Insurance brought 400 jobs to Nova Scotia in last year.  New York based Citco is the largest new financial services player in Nova Scotia with over 600 jobs announced for its hedge fund and IT operations. 

While the world financial crisis has slowed the job ramp in Halifax for a few of the new players, Halifax is now on the international map and growth in inward investment seems secure.  The high productivity and competitive cost value proposition that drew them here has become even more important to these firms in tough economic times.  Some domestic firms continue to expand their footprint in Nova Scotia for the same reason.

The finance and insurance industry is as much a part of Halifax as the bedrock, and just as stable.  As Nova Scotia and Halifax look to renewal of their economic strategies, finance and insurance will likely have a prominent role.

Fred Morley is the Executive Vice President and Chief Economist at the Greater Halifax Partnership