The Atlantic Economic Panel is calling for the four Atlantic provinces to adopt a One Atlantic Canada policy that would integrate and unify their economies, while leaving the provincial governments intact.

The recommendation is contained in a 181-page report released Friday that sets out seven broad measures aimed at increasing economic growth, productivity and investment in the region. The panel, appointed by the federal government last year, was chaired by former pollster Don Mills.

“A One Atlantic Canada approach is not about forming a single political entity,” says the report. “It is about collaborating where it makes sense so that businesses grow and expand, and the region prospers.”

A central proposal in the report  is the creation of a $1 billion Atlantic Prosperity Fund to address a shortage of growth capital for Atlantic Canadian businesses. The panel says particular attention should be paid to high-growth companies seeking between $2 million and $7 million to scale up.

The report proposes that the fund be backed by the federal government, the four provinces, Indigenous partners, institutional investors, pension funds and the private sector. The objective would be to help promising companies expand into new markets while keeping their headquarters in Atlantic Canada.

The panel says many Atlantic companies can reach the early stages of growth but encounter difficulties obtaining the capital needed to expand. It argues that closing the financing gap would allow more companies to increase productivity, create high-value jobs, attract additional private investment and remain in the region as they grow.

The report proposes that Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador remove remaining barriers to trade and labour mobility and coordinate their approaches to major investment opportunities. It calls for a single regional investment platform and says at least half of major infrastructure projects should be delivered through regional partnerships. A regional workforce strategy would include recognition of workers’ credentials across provincial boundaries.

The panel also recommends closer integration of the region’s electricity system through an independent regional operator. Other targets include doubling the number of Atlantic businesses exporting to global markets and doubling exports to Europe to more than $30 billion. The report also calls for increased investment in natural resources and faster regulatory approvals for major projects.

The report’s seven main recommendations are:

- Create an Atlantic Business Growth, Productivity and Scale-Up Partnership, led by the private sector, to help companies improve productivity, adopt AI and digital technologies, develop their workforces and leadership teams, and compete internationally.
- Help high-potential Atlantic companies become national and global anchor firms through scale-up assistance, procurement opportunities and access to growth and expansion capital.
- Position Atlantic Canada as a $50-billion growth engine, with the panel estimating this could increase Canada’s GDP by 1.5% to 2% while expanding the country’s economic capacity and improving federal finances.
- Adopt a One Atlantic Canada Agenda covering regional energy, infrastructure, workforce development, immigration, internal trade, labour mobility and regulatory harmonization.
- Make regulatory speed a competitive advantage by establishing legislated service standards, published decision timelines, real-time transparency and accountability for missed deadlines.
- Coordinate government infrastructure planning, workforce development, Indigenous engagement and sector expertise around priority projects to reduce fragmentation and improve project readiness.
- Adopt a “one project, one coordinated review” system that aligns federal and provincial regulatory processes into a single, transparent and time-limited approval process while maintaining environmental protections, Indigenous rights and the public interest.

The panel says the recommendations are intended to guide economic transformation in the region by 2035.