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Business leaders and business analysts have weighed in on the need for more entrepreneurialism in New Brunswick. The objective is to create an environment in which business start-ups lead to the growth of competitive, growing companies headquartered here.

An entrepreneurial environment cannot be created simply by shuffling the funding programs at Business New Brunswick. It requires a broad commitment from politicians, businesspeople and the public to stop thinking of government as the engine that drives economic activity.

Creative and talented people generate economic growth, and will do so in New Brunswick, provided they see business as a viable career option, can develop leadership skills and access investment capital, and aren't driven out of the province by poor public policy.

Leaders must assess why New Brunswick has many small businesses but fewer firms that grow into regional, national and global leaders. Access to capital has played a role, but so has the calibre of public education and the decisions government has made regarding development funding.

A province with low literacy and limited commercial lending, where businesses are given government grants and loans to compete against their neighbours, is going to have greater difficulty fostering a dynamic economy. The challenge before government is to apply support where it will have the greatest long-term impact - in education, in efforts to increase access to capital, and in policies that foster private-sector development rather than stifling it.

The business community needs to step up, too. In a competitive, commercial environment, business growth depends upon business people. If you want your company to succeed, you need to be shrewd, you need to be excellent, you need to protect your bottom line and you need to play to win. Some small businesses have modest goals, and that's fine; a dynamic economy has many levels. But it's the businesses that grow and spin off and reinvest that generate new jobs and new revenue.

For the spirit of entrepreneurialism to grow and prosper, New Brunswickers need to see business ownership and business development as viable options.

Business is a creative endeavour, where hard work, intelligence and innovation can be richly rewarded. There are inspiring examples of this in New Brunswick, from family-owned businesses such as Cooke Aquaculture and cymbal maker Sabian Ltd. to firms in information technology.

We need to start celebrating business excellence for what it is - a product of entrepreneurialism, and a hallmark of what can be achieved through private initiative.