I'm not an economist.

I'm not sure things have to get bad in New Brunswick, and to be entirely fair with you, it is quite possible that I would go back to live there one day.

Critical mass can be built over time if the conditions are right. Silicon Valley didn't happen overnight. It also wasn't the result of a 5 year government program.

You need to take risks. What I don't see in New Brunswick is a culture of risk-takers (as usual, I'm not including you). Mostly, we have government workers, the military, people working for large corporations as permanent staff... and the rest of the crowd is pretty silent.

You have people who have owned their land for 3 generations. They have traditions. I lived nearby Oromocto. I don't think there is a more boring city on the planet! Everything is square, neat and clean. You won't see innovation coming out of there!

Compare this with China where most people had nothing 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago. Where people have felt that they had nothing to loose by risking it all...