Over the years, I have had the privilege of speaking with business owners, entrepreneurs, community leaders, educators, elected officials, and residents from every corner of Fredericton and throughout New Brunswick. Those conversations have reinforced a belief that has only grown stronger with time: thriving economies do not happen by accident. They are built by people who choose to invest in their communities, support one another, and create opportunities where others may only see challenges.
When people ask me what drives economic growth, they often expect an answer focused on investment attraction, business incentives, workforce development, or innovation. Those things certainly matter, but successful economies are also ultimately an extension of successful communities. The places that attract talent, encourage entrepreneurship, retain investment, support one another and create long-term prosperity are almost always places where people feel connected to one another and invested in a shared future.
That is why supporting local businesses has always mattered, and why I would argue it matters even more today.
Supporting local is not about obligation or nostalgia. It is about recognizing the role local businesses play in shaping the places we call home. Every locally owned business represents a person or family who made a decision to invest in their community. Behind every storefront, office, restaurant, construction company, consulting firm, manufacturer, technology startup, or service provider is someone who took a chance. They put their savings, their reputation, and often countless hours of their lives on the line because they believed they could offer something valuable and contribute to the community around them.
Those business owners are not strangers. They are coaching our kids’ teams, serving on nonprofit boards, sponsoring charity events, mentoring young entrepreneurs, supporting local festivals, and helping raise money for causes that matter. They are woven into the fabric of our communities in ways that often go unnoticed. When local businesses succeed, communities benefit from far more than the products and services they provide.
That reality becomes especially apparent during difficult times. Whenever our communities face challenges, whether economic uncertainty, natural disasters, public health crises, or periods of transition, local businesses consistently step forward. They donate, volunteer, sponsor, collaborate, adapt, and find ways to support the people around them. The business community is often among the first groups willing to ask what needs to be done and how they can help.
Not that long ago, community development and economic development were talked about as two different conversations, but the people who actually run businesses rarely see it that way. When I speak with employers, they do not talk only about profit margins or sales targets. They talk about housing because their employees need safe, affordable places to live. They talk about health care because it affects recruitment and retention. They talk about childcare because it influences workforce participation. They talk about transportation, education, public safety, immigration, recreation, downtown vitality, and quality of life because every one of those factors influences whether their businesses can grow.
Business leaders understand something that public policy discussions sometimes miss: everything is connected. The strength of a community determines the strength of its economy, and the strength of its economy influences the quality of life available within that community. That connection is one of the reasons I continue to be so optimistic about Fredericton and communities throughout New Brunswick.
There is a collaborative spirit here that is difficult to quantify but impossible to ignore. We have business leaders, educational institutions, community organizations, governments, researchers, entrepreneurs, and volunteers who genuinely want to see one another succeed. We are far from perfect, but there remains a strong belief that progress happens when people work together rather than in isolation.
That spirit has helped Fredericton develop into one of Canada’s most entrepreneurial communities. We have built an ecosystem where ideas can become businesses and businesses can become employers. We benefit from outstanding institutions such as UNB, St. Thomas University, and NBCC, all of which contribute talent, research, innovation, and leadership. We continue to attract people from across Canada and around the world who are drawn not only by economic opportunity but by the quality of life our region offers.
Increasingly, I hear newcomers describe Fredericton as a place where they can build both a career and a life. That distinction matters because economic growth today is not simply a competition for investment. It is also a competition for people. Talented individuals have more choices than ever before about where they choose to be and communities that provide opportunity, affordability, safety, connection, and a sense of belonging have a significant advantage.
Fredericton possesses many of those qualities already, but we cannot take them for granted. Communities that succeed over the long term are communities that continue investing in themselves. They continue improving infrastructure, supporting entrepreneurs, welcoming newcomers, encouraging innovation, and creating opportunities for future generations.
When I look beyond Fredericton and consider New Brunswick as a whole, I see many of the same strengths. For years, our province has often been discussed through the lens of what should improve. While those conversations are important, I think we spend too little time recognizing what makes New Brunswick exceptional. We have remarkable people, resilient communities, natural advantages, world-class educational institutions, a growing innovation economy, and a culture that places tremendous value on relationships and collaboration.
Most importantly, we have an opportunity to define our own future. At a time when larger cities across North America are struggling with affordability challenges, congestion, housing pressures, and strained infrastructure, New Brunswick offers balance. People can build successful businesses, pursue meaningful careers here, raise families, and contribute to their communities here. Increasingly, they can do all of those things without sacrificing the quality of life many people are seeking.
That is why I believe Fredericton and New Brunswick are among the best places in Canada to start and grow a business. Not because we have solved every challenge. We haven’t. Not because growth happens automatically. It doesn’t. The reason is that we possess the ingredients necessary for long-term success, including entrepreneurial people, strong institutions, collaborative communities, and a shared willingness to invest in one another.
Ultimately, economic development is not really about buildings, statistics, or policy documents. It is about people creating opportunities for people, building communities where businesses can grow because families can succeed, and where families can succeed because businesses can grow. That relationship has always been at the heart of strong communities, and it is why we continue to champion local businesses, local leadership, and local investment at every opportunity.
Because when we support local, we are not simply helping businesses. We are focusing on what we can control and helping create the kind of Fredericton and the kind of New Brunswick that is sustainable and prosperous now and for future generations.
Morgan Peters
CEO | Fredericton Chamber of Commerce