Securing Our Future Together
The Renewal Strategy for Jobs and Growth

Our Vision

Beneath the sea bed lies the richness of offshore oil and natural gas C and the promise of a brighter future. We have established an industry and we are building on it.

We are mining the richness of the land. Iron ore, nickel, copper and gold are not just prospectors= dreams. We know the promise of the deeps.

The choices we make now will take initiative, boldness, courage and strength of character C qualities Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have in abundance. It is our sense of family and community upon which we must build our strengths and define our opportunities. Together, we will achieve prosperity.

Despite the difficult times and dire predictions, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians continued to persevere. We looked to new opportunities C in both traditional and emerging new industries. We used our boundless energy and creativity to carve out new approaches and niches. We built on a new vision for our province.

Throughout the early part of this decade, our economy was shrinking. We were losing jobs, while other provinces were creating them. Out-migration was increasing. Governments C federal, provincial and municipal C were running crippling deficits and incurring mounting debts that threatened their ability to meet the most basic needs of the people they served.

Economic Recovery

Over the past three years, the economy has grown, employment has gone up, unemployment has gone down, the out-migration trend has been reversed, and our financial house was put in order. In 1998, the provincial economy turned the corner and produced its best performance in a decade. Our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) C the value of all goods and services produced in the economy C rose by 4.4 per cent, the strongest growth rate of any province in the country. The Conference Board of Canada, a nationally recognized independent economic forecasting agency, is predicting that Newfoundland and Labrador will again lead the country in 1999 and 2000.

New Job Creation

Gains in economic activity have translated into more jobs for our people. We are now creating them at a level that leads the nation. More than 18,000 new jobs have been created in our economy since we recorded a 10-year low of 187,100 in May 1997.

Employment has grown consistently over the past several years, with year-over-year increases recorded in 27 of the last 32 months. In parts of this year, we have witnessed all-time highs for employment in our province=s history. These increases have come mainly in the form of full-time positions C the type of new jobs we need in our province. They have also taken hold in many rural areas of our province. In fact, parts of rural Newfoundland and Labrador is creating new jobs at a faster rate than St. John=s right now.

Already in the first eight months of 1999, employment has grown at a rate in excess of five per cent compared with the same period last year. By year end, employment is projected to be up 16,000 compared to 1997. This is a tremendous achievement over a relatively short period of time.

Declining Unemployment

While unemployment is still too high, we are making strong progress. The impressive rate of new job creation has led to a steady decline in the overall seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the province, from 20.3 per cent in February 1996 to 16.5 per cent in August 1999, the lowest figure in a decade.

Strong Investment

The international investment community has confidence in our economy. A recent Statistics Canada investment survey reports that Newfoundland and Labrador is expected to have the strongest capital investment growth in the country in 1999 at a rate of 29.2 per cent. This is quadruple the national average of 6.8 per cent and translates into $3.5 billion in new investment in our province this year.

Improved Consumer Confidence

Buoyed by employment gains and improved consumer confidence, retail trade has shown steady growth since 1996. In the first five months of this year, the value of retail sales increased by 6.3 per cent, outpacing the national performance of 3.8 per cent.

Growing Exports

The total value of exports from the province has grown significantly over the past several years. They reached an historic high of $5 billion in 1998 and are on track this year to reach $5.5 billion. In 1992, the total value of all exports was just half this level, at $2.8 billion. Our export growth marks a maturing of our economy and proves that we can compete in the global marketplace.

Out-migration Slowing

The groundfishery collapse exerted a high human toll. While our economy was adjusting, many of our people sought out new opportunities in other places. Now that our economy is recovering, more Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are finding their opportunities at home.

The rate of out-migration, steadily increasing until 1998, has been slowing down considerably. Significant reductions in out-migration have occurred over the past year. In the first quarter of 1999, out-migration was down over 50 per cent from the same period the year before and reached the lowest level for that quarter since 1995. The trend is moving in the right direction and we must work together to reverse it completely.

Stability on the Fiscal Front

Crippling budgetary deficits, which heightened the mountain of accumulating public debt, were undermining prospects for economic growth in the early part of the decade. Government=s ability to make strategic investments in the economy and other important areas was being eroded. The international investment community and local enterprises were hesitant to move forward and invest in such an uncertain environment.

The economic recovery we have witnessed has been strong. It has also been balanced. All regions of the province are sharing in the recovery C although not all at the same level yet. The recovery is not rooted in a single mega-project or a single sector of our economy. It has been rooted in the diverse range of new opportunities we have successfully explored and captured. The diversification of our economy has been the key to our recent achievements. Gains are being recorded across most sectors of our economy. The economy is firing on all cylinders.

• The commercial aquaculture industry is a relatively new industry in our province and is still in the developmental stages. Nonetheless, this sector employs more than 500 people today and has almost doubled in size over the past three years.

• There are now some 100 developing or commercial aquaculture operations throughout the province, generating almost $15 million in export sales. The primary species being cultivated include mussels, steelhead trout and salmon.

• Cod grow-out enterprises, where traditional fisheries methods are being merged with aquaculture technologies, are also providing significant new opportunities for rural communities in our province.

• Aquaculture has become a major food source worldwide. There is tremendous potential for expansion in our province.

• We are exporting to the world. We are building houses in Chile. Our bottled water quenched the thirst of athletes at the Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. Our soaps are scenting the baths of people in Japan. Our foods are served in the dining rooms of Europe.

• Manufacturing outside the fisheries, forestry and mining industries currently employs more than 7,000 people full-time in more than 400 companies in both rural and urban areas. Small scale manufacturers generate sales in excess of $500 million every year.

• Our manufacturers are taking advantage of technology and other innovations to expand their operations= reach to the global marketplace. Last year, our province almost doubled the national average for manufacturing growth.

• The advantages of investing in Newfoundland and Labrador are significant. We have a skilled, productive and loyal workforce. In an independent study of 42 cities in seven countries in 1998, St. John=s emerged as one of the most cost-effective cities in the world in which to do business. This advantage also extends to rural areas of our province.

• The manufacturing industry, but particularly small scale manufacturing in non-traditional areas, has the potential to grow into an increasingly important part of our economy, especially in rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

• We are living in the information age. Enterprises that seek out business opportunities in the information economy are well suited to the geography of Newfoundland and Labrador. They are not limited by distance or space, but simply the imagination of our entrepreneurs.

• We have in our province today 200 IT firms, 4,000 IT professionals, generating $500 to $600 million in sales.

• Growth in the IT sector averaged more than 10 per cent annually from 1992 to 1997. Last year, local employment in the industry grew by 25 per cent.

• Today, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are among the most connected people in the world. While the United States and the rest of Canada are aiming to have the Internet in all schools by the year 2000, Newfoundland and Labrador has been able to claim that distinction since 1995.

• Young Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are rising to the challenge of the new economy and embracing information technology as a means to success.

• Prospects for growth are promising as more IT firms in our province market their products and expertise worldwide. International markets are expanding at light speed.

• Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are generating growth and employment through entrepreneurship.

• Small businesses C those employing fewer than five people C account for about two-thirds of all businesses in our province. This is higher than the national average. Small businesses have created more than 80 per cent of new jobs in our province since the 1980s.

• Small business growth is contributing significantly to the diversification of our economy, especially in rural Newfoundland and Labrador. Our entrepreneurs are expanding into new areas such as aquaculture, tourism, manufacturing, innovative and advanced technologies, food services, and various forms of specialized business services.

• From small beginnings, businesses such as these make a big difference to our economy. The opportunity for growth is enormous as we unleash the creative entrepreneurial spirit and determination of our people.

• The flow of oil from Hibernia is surpassing expectations. Hibernia now has five of the highest producing wells in all of Canada. Hibernia has also provided us with the skills and infrastructure needed to develop the full potential of this new industry.

• As oil flows from Hibernia, exploration and development of further reserves hidden below the ocean floor continues. The Terra Nova field is expected to come on stream next year, followed by White Rose and Hebron.

• This year, up to $1.4 billion is expected to be invested by the private sector in the oil industry, including $850 million in development activity and $225 million in exploration. Exploration is the key to new development over the long term and current offshore activity is the highest in a decade.

• Newfoundland and Labrador, which until November of 1997 was not even an oil producer, is predicted to produce about one-third of Canada=s light crude in just a few years.

• Our offshore natural gas resource is immense, with an estimated potential of 50 trillion cubic feet. It is a valuable resource that presents enormous economic opportunity. Its full exploitation also offers the prospect for a strong and expanded petrochemical industry in the province.

• The oil and gas sector has come of age. We are successfully moving from a single project called Hibernia to a full-fledged petroleum industry able to take advantage of opportunities in our province and around the world.

• We are prospecting for wealth underground. Voisey=s Bay in Labrador remains one of the richest nickel-copper-cobalt finds in the world and can be developed competitively while providing full and fair benefits to our people.

• Even without Voisey=s Bay, the mining sector remains an important part of our economy, especially in western Labrador. It employs about 3,100 people. The value of mineral shipments from the province exceeded $1 billion last year. This reflects growth of about 17 per cent in the past decade.

• The most critical element of mineral development is exploration. New mineral finds are needed to sustain and expand production over time. Exploration remains at historically high levels, in the range of $50 million, despite a downturn in exploration activity globally. The healthy levels of exploration demonstrate the industry=s confidence in our province.

• Our forestry industry employs in the vicinity of 8,000 people in more than 60 communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

• Newsprint sales are predicted to reach $600 million this year, with high quality products being shipped to more than 40 countries around the world. Confidence in the industry=s future is evidenced by recent investments totaling more than $100 million by the private sector to enhance capacity, quality and productivity.

• Our sawmilling industry has experienced tremendous expansion and has considerable potential to grow even further as it takes advantage of value added manufacturing opportunities using lumber and specialty wood products. Production from our sawmills is at record levels and generates employment for more than 3,000 people. The industry contributes more than $40 million to our economy right now, an increase of 33 per cent over the last three years. Almost one half of our sawmill products find their way to markets outside Newfoundland and Labrador, demonstrating that we are very competitive in this industry.

• Our agrifoods industry is valued at $500 million, employs 4,000 people and has been growing steadily in both traditional and new product lines over the past decade.

• The agrifoods industry is diversifying into niche markets through the development of new value-added food and beverage products such as wines, frozen foods, jams, jellies, sauces and chutneys made from our native berries.

• There are 100 secondary food processors in our province today. More than half of them started up in the last five years.

• More than $2 billion is spent annually on food products in our province. This provides a strong base for our producers to supply the local market and a springboard into expanding export markets.

• There=s a lot to celebrate in Newfoundland and Labrador, and we have been doing just that with three seasons of extraordinary tourism campaigns. In 1997, we showed the country and the world the stuff we are made of as we celebrated 500 years since John Cabot=s arrival on our shores. We plan to do the same in 2000 with the Viking millennium, following on the heels of Soiree =99.

• From 1996 to 1998, non-resident tourism grew by almost 25 per cent, a record 372,200 visitors to our province. These visitors spent approximately $240 million in our economy last year. We are looking forward to record numbers again this year.

• Newfoundland and Labrador has a rich cultural heritage. The uniqueness of our culture and our distinctive qualities provide new economic opportunity in areas such as sound recording, film, publishing, visual arts, music and museums.

• Cultural industries employ more than 2,800 people and contribute almost $200 million annually to the provincial economy. This is a growing industry internationally and its potential has only recently been recognized as an important contributor to our economic future.

• Maintaining a strategic focus in adapting to global economic change by targeting industries in which we have, or can develop, a competitive advantage and which offer the opportunity for long-term jobs and growth. We must also be strategic in our actions and investments to support new opportunity.

• Acquiring new skills in a changing and increasingly knowledge-based economy.

• Diversifying our economy to produce goods and services that are internationally competitive in quality and value. We must strengthen and diversify our traditional industries and take advantage of opportunities in the new economy. We must also balance large scale developments with the need to foster growth of small scale enterprises throughout the province.

• Supporting the enterprising spirit of the private sector as the engine of economic growth. It is the role of government to create an economic and social environment that allows private enterprise to be competitive and stimulate lasting economic growth.

• Fostering innovation and technological progression in the economy and the private sector to enhance productivity and competitiveness.

• Building consensus about the need for change and creating strategic partnerships among governments, business, labour, academia, and community-based organizations to achieve common goals and to build economic success.

• Encouraging entrepreneurship and helping small businesses grow.

• Concentrating on sustainable economic development by managing our natural resources and environmental conservation efforts with a view to long-term benefits for everyone.

• Revitalizing all regions of the province, and our rural communities, to ensure fairness in the distribution of wealth and economic opportunity. The needs and opportunities of Labrador deserve particular attention in this regard.

• Maintaining a sound foundation of government supports through an efficient and effective public service, modern infrastructure and prudent fiscal management. Sound public finances, in particular, are critical to economic growth.

• Integrating social and economic development to coordinate investments and achieve common objectives over the long term. The development of business and industrial opportunities creates the employment that, in turn, fosters individual, social and community well-being. Investing in people and strengthening communities by developing the community-based sector, in turn provides the environment that attracts and sustains business.

• Obtaining full and fair benefits from our resources. This means taking a long-term view of our opportunities and choices. It also means balancing the need to capture maximum benefits with the need to remain competitive and attractive to potential investors.

• Providing equality of opportunity for all our citizens, recognizing our diversity. The jobs and growth agenda must be an inclusive one to ensure fairness. The challenge of providing opportunity for our youth is particularly important.

• We must recommit to the guiding principles for jobs and growth that have propelled us forward over the past years.

• We must find innovative new ways to build on those principles and, in so doing, achieve even greater success.

• We must continue to develop the full potential of the fishery by taking advantage of emerging new species and market opportunities and by adding more value to the harvest we capture. Above all else, we must ensure the fishery remains sustainable.

• We must focus our efforts in the aquaculture industry to advance it on a more substantial basis in keeping with expanding global opportunities.

• We must find new markets and show innovation in our manufacturing sector and develop new niches in small scale manufacturing that will help our rural communities in particular.

• We must be aggressive in international markets to make the most of our opportunities in advanced technology, telecommunications and the information revolution.

• We must harness the wealth of our maturing oil industry for the benefit of our people and our business community, and find the best way to capture the enormous opportunity that our natural gas resource offers.

• We must capitalize on the potential of Voisey=s Bay and the Churchill River Hydro Project in a way that will benefit everyone over the long term.

• We must responsibly manage and make greater and more efficient use of our forest and agrifoods industries.

• We must continue to promote and develop our world class tourism industry so that the many thousands of new visitors will want to return again and again.

• We must take advantage of our culture as a new economic opportunity and market it worldwide.

How You Can Take Part

ASecuring Our Future: The Renewal Strategy for Jobs and Growth@ is an invitation to all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to participate in taking our jobs and growth agenda to the next level.

To register to participate in any of the public consultation forums please contact the Consultation Coordinator by calling toll-free 1-877-729-6440 or local calls in the St. John=s area at 729-6440, fax (709) 729-0614, or e-mail econsult@mail.gov.nl.ca.