Premier Blaine Higgs has delivered his annual state of the province address, highlighting how the province is emerging from the pandemic stronger than ever and will continue to build on successes in health care, child welfare, making life affordable, and the economy.

He said the province’s economy is recovering faster than expected and that private investment is up. Over $2 billion was invested by private firms last year in capital construction and machinery and equipment. Statistics Canada predicts that capital investments from both private and public sources will exceed $4 billion this year.

Higgs noted that employment in the province hit an all-time high in November and that construction is booming. As well, New Brunswick had the nation’s second-largest growth in exports last year. The province has also experienced its highest population gains in 45 years, recently topping 800,000 residents.

To build on this momentum, Higgs announced that Opportunities NB will be launching an Immigration Navigator service in the weeks ahead to become more agile in helping employers and newcomers.

Higgs said the government must also continue to make investments in health care. As was recently announced in the 2022-23 budget, over $3 billion has been allocated to the health-care system, which is the largest increase since 2008.

Now that the province’s borders are open once again, Higgs said, the government is dreaming big and wants to build New Brunswick into a top vacation destination for visitors from around the world.