Power broker | New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham sees cross-border benefits in energy sharing
Seventeen months into his four-year term, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham is keeping busy. He's pushed aggressive economic development plans, pledged to put the Canadian province on the path to self-sufficiency and recently announced plans for what he calls "major" reform of New Brunswick's health care system. "We're transforming the province," he says.
Seventeen months into his four-year term, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham is keeping busy. He's pushed aggressive economic development plans, pledged to put the Canadian province on the path to self-sufficiency and recently announced plans for what he calls "major" reform of New Brunswick's health care system. "We're transforming the province," he says.
In those 17 months, Graham, a 10-year political veteran and member of the country's Liberal Party, also has created a stir across the border in Maine. In February 2007, Graham, 40, and Gov. John Baldacci signed a "memorandum of understanding" to study the benefits of sharing electricity between Maine and New Brunswick.
Last month, Graham traveled from Fredericton, N.B., to Augusta to meet with Baldacci and address the Maine Legislature on cross-border cooperation. (Graham was invited by Baldacci, who last year became the first U.S. governor to speak to the New Brunswick legislative assembly.) During the trip, Graham touted energy developments in New Brunswick, including the construction in St. John of Canada's first liquefied natural gas terminal and the $1.4 billion (CDN) refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant. "We're repositioning New Brunswick as the energy hub of the eastern seaboard," says Graham.
And Graham wants to bring Maine on board. Last summer, the first phase of the joint study was released. It noted that cooperation between Maine and New Brunswick could bring "significant economic and environmental benefits." The Maine Public Utilities Commission seconded that with a report to the Legislature in January that laid out three ways Maine could overhaul its energy policy to reduce electricity costs. The "Maine/New Brunswick Option," as the PUC called it, included developing a common energy market that relies on a hub located in New Brunswick.
Energy is just one of the ways Graham says New Brunswick can benefit from stronger ties to Maine. Others include boosting cooperation between educational opportunities in Maine and New Brunswick, as well as a push for what Graham says is the "two-nation vacation" plan to draw Mainers into New Brunswick. "You see New Brunswick [license] plates in Maine, and we also want to see those Maine plates in New Brunswick," he says.
Trade is another area Graham wants to promote. Maine historically has been a strong trade partner with New Brunswick, with more than 20% of the province's imports — from lobsters to wood chips — coming directly from Maine. "It's more than just the L.L.Bean goods," Graham jokes.
The impetus to work closer with Maine is part of Graham's strategy to enhance the economic fortunes of New Brunswick. The province was once self-sufficient, says Graham, with plenty of natural resources such as forest products contributing to Canada's economy. But trade hubs have moved to other parts of the country and New Brunswick now relies more on funds from Ottawa, the Canadian capital, for social services. His goal? To restore self-sufficiency to New Brunswick by 2026. "We've been working hard to diversify our economic base," says Graham.
Graham, whose father served in the New Brunswick legislative assembly for 31 years, says he's looking forward to returning to the private sector when he leaves office — he calls the premiership the "pinnacle of my political aspirations." But for the balance of his term, enhancing relations with Maine is a political priority. "There's been a strong shared history between the province of New Brunswick and the state of Maine that precedes my premiership of New Brunswick," he says. "As premier of New Brunswick, I recognize that rather than looking east to west on a strong federation, look north to south."
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