I used to live in Oromocto too. CFB Gagetown was my last posting in the military. The town is unique in that it was created by the military when the adjoining training area was purchased in the late 1950's. Most of Oromocto was centrally planned, hence the wide boulevards and open spaces and no real downtown core.

This kind of central planning, or five year plan, usually doesn't stand the test of time. This week, I mentioned (http://jarche.com/?p=732) that the Irish IT miracle was a result of efforts to improve general education in the 1960's. Broad-based, long-term economic initiatives seem to be more successful, but the government in power won't directly reap the rewards, so these initiatives are few and far between.

I'm not sure how we can develop a generation of risk-takers. Many people here still talk poorly of Malcolm Bricklin, and New Brunswick's only foray into the automotive industry.