Brian Gallant picks innovation, jobs as top priority

Premier-designate Brian Gallant reiterated his campaign promise to make job creation his top priority on Tuesday by confirming he would become the province's next minister for innovation.

Gallant confirmed a campaign commitment that he will take over the role of minister responsible for innovation and the chair of the New Brunswick Jobs Board when his government is sworn in on Oct. 7.

The incoming premier said the decision reflects his commitment to generate new jobs.

Gallant said his government will look to spur on innovation-based entrepreneurship and help improve the conditions for the commercialization of current and future research in the province’s universities and research centres.

“Two of the country’s largest venture capital deals in recent history happened in New Brunswick, yet our exports in information and communications technology (ICT) remain below the national average,” Gallant said in a statement.

“There lies great opportunity in the intersection between innovation and the economy. If we aim to get our ICT exports up to the Canadian average, we could potentially inject tens of millions of dollars into our economy.”

Part of that initiative is the promise to set up the New Brunswick Jobs Board, which will be housed inside the Executive Council Office.

Gallant said the board will be comprised of all ministers and deputy ministers of economic departments as well as the chairs and chief executive officers of related agencies and Crown corporations.

The board, which was a promise in the election campaign, will establish policies related to jobs, set targets for job creation and “hold government agencies and personnel accountable for meeting the objectives.”

“Our approach represents better coordination, more accountability and consistent and measureable results,” Gallant said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Combined with renewed and reorganized economic development capacity as well as investments in innovation, commercialization and workforce skills development, we will be on solid footing to embrace the economy of tomorrow right here at home.”

The economy was a major issue during the recent election campaign. Gallant’s Liberals criticized David Alward’s Progressive Conservatives for focusing too much on shale gas development.

New Brunswick’s jobless rate was 8.7 per cent in August, down from 10 per cent in July.

There were 353,000 jobs in New Brunswick in August 2014 compared to 364,800 in August 2010.

Sally Ng, the executive director of Planet Hatch in Fredericton, said during the election campaign that the next provincial government must learn to embrace the digital future, celebrate past successes and learn to leverage, and not duplicate, efforts from around the province.

"Innovation doesn’t happen because someone tells you to 'innovate,'" Ng said in a special op-ed written for CBC News on Sept. 16.

“It’s nurtured and developed. Policy can definitely help leverage it, but people need to want it.”