We’ve all heard the old saying that “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”
Well, at AIRO we think that when life hands you lemons, you should make the deliciously unexpected Lemon Mango Kanafeh! We’re sure that just made you think, “What the heck?!”
Let us explain because either way, we want you to do something positive with your lemons...
Recently, APEC (Atlantic Provinces Economic Council) began releasing its Looking Ahead series of bulletins “...designed to assess what the future holds in terms of Atlantic Canada’s demographic, economic and fiscal outlook, and to stimulate informed discussion on how stakeholders can best respond.” The first bulletin, Overall Outlook, says that even though COVID-19 is causing an extreme economic (and social) disruption “...it has not fundamentally changed the region’s underlying economic drivers.” Atlantic Canada is in a major transition demographically and economically. So, we can take the demographic and economic lemons we’ve been handed and accept the lemonade of 1% moderate economic growth (below Canada’s projected growth of 1.8%), or we can get creative and step up to work toward greater growth numbers.
Like most advanced economies around the world, Atlantic Canada’s economic growth has been trending down over the last few decades. But we really should not beat ourselves up too badly – we have a slow regional economy in a slow global economy. That’s a fact, but far too often, people take negative projections and decide they’re the reality we’re going to get.
So, we’re asking you to think again. We’re asking you to change your attitude.
Our population would be shrinking (the lemons) if people were not choosing to move to Atlantic Canada (the mangos), and “...population growth in the Maritime provinces did accelerate between 2016 and 2019, prior to the pandemic, as net out-migration to other provinces slowed or even reversed...” (the pastry). That’s great news! Celebrate it as such!
We can choose to make Nova Scotia an immigration destination BUT we have to make our province an easy choice...a place people want to move to and invest in. Welcoming communities are important, but so are opportunities for education, work, and an overall satisfying life. Currently Prince Edward Island is projected to have the biggest increase in population over the next 20 years. According to APEC, this is largely due to immigration. Its latest bulletin says PEI has “led the Atlantic region in both population and economic growth in recent years, supported by increases in immigration.”
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So, what can we learn from PEI here in Nova Scotia? PEI doesn’t have better weather, more affordable real estate, or better overall infrastructure, but the province is doing something right. We need to pay more attention and determine what that is.
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We’ve also got to accept the demographics pointed out on APEC’s second bulletin, Aging Population. But, once again, you can choose to focus on an aging demographic as an issue, or you can choose to focus on it as an opportunity that creates jobs and helps build community assets! How about an increase in the need for more services that help people age in place? Think about simple business solutions like property management, handyperson work, garden maintenance, or in-home assistance to give employment to younger adults. How about capturing the wisdom of elders through opportunities for more volunteer hours, an accessible pool of wisdom, and more widely available mentorship in a variety of areas from agriculture to zoology and all things in between? Creating those opportunities for our citizens call for bold initiatives!
AIRO itself is a bold initiative – one that could be replicated in other communities, as we remind anyone who will listen! (Hit reply if you’d like to talk to us about how.) But AIRO is also involved in bold initiatives. You may have seen the recent article about the newly-formed ACERC Coalition. ACERC – Annapolis Climate & Ecological Research Centre – is a creative idea of repurposing existing resources into a world-class research opportunity that could have dramatic impact on our region and whose work could possibly be exported globally. This is taking the lemons of climate change, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and negative ecological impacts and creating something so much more than just lemonade.
So, the next time you’re handed lemons, don’t go for the basic lemonade! Muster all your resources and go for the deliciously unexpected Lemon Mango Kanafeh. We know which one we’ll be choosing!
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Know An Entrepreneur Who Is Ready To Dream Big...or step up for one of the opportunities our Local Logic report identifies?
If you have a business idea you want to get off the ground or know someone who does, forward this email to someone who could use our help or go to our website and choose the appropriate application form, submit it, and we’ll reply with the next steps.
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