Four premiers from the Atlantic region of Canada visited Georgia with a message that their economies are quickly advancing and diversifying beyond traditional industries like potato farming and commercial fishing. 

Canada's equivalent to state governors, the leaders of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, painted a portrait of a region looking to Georgia and the southern U.S. for trade and investment in emerging sectors like energy and information technology.

They pitched their provinces at a breakfast briefing hosted by Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Canadian Consulate General at the Woodruff Arts Center on Feb. 7. To accent their points, they brought companies along.

All four provinces are members of the Southeast U.S.-Canadian Provinces Alliance, an initiative kick-started by Georgia and Quebec in 2007 to increase business links through high-level dialogue. The alliance meets annually, alternating between locations in Southeast and Canada. This year's event will be held in Myrtle Beach, S.C., following last year's in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

At the breakfast, the premiers sought to distinguish their provinces without putting down their neighbors, a sensible approach considering that many of their target industries - energy, aerospace, tourism and knowledge-based sectors like IT - overlapped.

The fact that they traveled together while representing three parties showed that promoting their region and continuing the friendship with Georgia transcended politics, said David Alward, the New Brunswick premier.

As governments around the world struggled to pay bills over the last few years, Newfoundland and Labrador cut its debt by one-third, largely thanks to "exponential growth, the likes of which our province has never seen," said Kathy Dunderdale, the premier.

The province has been buoyed by production of 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil over the last 15 years, even as it has stepped up efforts to produce more renewable energy. A huge hydropower project on the Lower Churchill River between Labrador and Nova Scotia could provide 16.7 terrawatts of electricity, enough to meet local demand and leave some for export, Ms. Dunderdale said.

Newfoundland and Labrador also has become a leader in efforts to harness the power of the ocean's waves, and it has some of the "best wind energy resources in North America, and that's outside the legislature," Ms. Dunderdale joked.

Neighboring Nova Scotia is also working hard on renewables, having set the "aggressive" goal of procuring 25 percent of its energy from such sources by 2015 and 40 percent by 2020, said Darrell Dexter, the premier.

Like Newfoundland and Labrador, the province is simultaneously developing fossil fuels. Royal Dutch Shell PLC recently announced that it would spend nearly $1 billion on deepwater oil exploration off Nova Scotia's coast.

In trade, Mr. Dexter sees links with the Southeast as a top priority. Exports of carpet, aerospace parts, seafood and other products to the region stood at $550 million last year.

Prince Edward Island, with a population of 140,000 and a landmass about as large as a "million-acre farm," is also expanding trade, venturing into new fields while maintaining its strengths in seafood and agriculture.

"I consider us the Rhode Island of Canada," said Premier Robert Ghiz.

Unknown to most Americans, the island supplies a large proportion of the lobsters, oysters, mussels and french fries consumed in the U.S., but it's more than a food hub.

Aerospace exports totaled $500 million last year, and life sciences, IT and renewable energy are emerging. Working with the South is a natural extension of already strong ties, Mr. Ghiz said.

"We view this region of the country as one of the fastest growing in the United States, and that's why we have a great alliance with you folks," he said.

New Brunswick hosted the last meeting of that alliance in Fredericton, its capital city, where it showcased its strong business environment.

"Your vision of seeing Georgia being pro-business, pro-development - that's what New Brunswick is all about as well," said Mr. Alward, the New Brunswick premier, citing his province's tax structures and broadband connectivity.

Information technology is a growing area of interest for the province of 750,000 people. Q1 Labs and Radian6, two homegrown firms, were purchased by IBM and Salesforce.com, respectively.

To learn more about the mission, visit the Council of Atlantic Premiers' website at http://www.cap-cpma.ca/ or http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/atlanta/index.aspx?view=d.

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