For Immediate Release
February 22, 2022

St. John’s, NL – econext, in partnership with the Maritimes Energy Association (MEA) and with support from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), has released a report “Atlantic Canada’s Green Potential – Jobs and Skills Toward Clean Growth”.

The report helps define what a ‘green job’ means in context of Atlantic Canada’s economy.

“The greening of the economy looks different depending on where in the world you are,” says Kieran Hanley, econext’s Executive Director. “The makeup of a region’s economy – including the state of its current industries and future growth opportunities – will determine to a large extent what effects the energy transition and the greening economy will have on local jobs.”

Hanley said that Atlantic Canada has a unique economy relative to other parts of the country, and that it is important for decision-makers to understand what the idea of a ‘green job’ meant within the region.

“We are pleased to support this project to better define what a ‘green job’ is in Atlantic Canada,” said Jennifer Tuck, CEO of MEA. “This body of research will give business leaders, governments and individuals in the region a better understanding of what the energy transition can mean for the Atlantic Canadian economy.”

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econext and MEA were supported by ECO Canada in this research. ECO Canada’s mission it to build the world’s leading environmental workforce in Canada, with a vision to ensure an adequate supply of people with the demonstrated skills and knowledge required to meet the environmental human resource needs of the public and private sectors.

“Green jobs are growing across Canada. In Atlantic Canada alone we will need 6,600 new green workers by 2025, or nearly 20% of the region’s 2020 green employment levels”, said Kevin Nilsen, President and CEO of ECO Canada. “This qualitative study showed that the transition to a cleaner and greener economy in Atlantic Canada is complex. While there will be opportunities in the form of new or growing STEM jobs, more support is needed to ensure the workforce across various roles has the cross-disciplinary skill sets required.”

“It is clear that governments and financial markets around the world are moving quickly to support clean growth activities,” said Hanley. “We must adequately support our workforce to thrive in a cleaner, greener future and we believe that this research moves the needle in the right direction for us.”

econext is an association of businesses that accelerates clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador. econext works on behalf of over 200 members to foster environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.

The MEA advances the region and its energy economy by working with key stakeholders, including members, governments and policy makers. More information can be found at https://maritimesenergy.com.

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Media Contact
Kieran Hanley
Executive Director, econext
kieran@econext.ca

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