Welcome to Atlantica

Borders are often merely lines on paper. Trade routes, culture, and economies, on the other hand, are real – and rooted in history. Atlantica is such a reality – and much more.

The region

Atlantica includes the four Atlantic Provinces, Eastern Quebec and five Northern New England states from Maine to upstate New York. Within this zone are 23 border crossings, 11 major truck gateways, and seven major rail gateways. It is naturally tied together by similarities in geography, economic trends, trading patterns, common problems and experiences, and politics.

The reality

Historically Atlantica was an economic powerhouse. Trade was with Upper and Lower Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, Northern Africa, and parts of Asia. After Confederation in Canada, the economic dynamic changed dramatically and the region’s capital, its human resources and its immigration flow was re-directed.

The resurrection

• Atlantica is about maximizing the advantages of our geographic position at the centre of one of the major global trading routes on the planet.
  
  
• Atlantica is about positioning this region as it relates to trade between the NAFTA partners, Europe and Asia.
  
  
• Atlantica is about making this region more globally competitive.
  
  

We will achieve that by:

• Creating a network of business leaders from throughout the region to promote the Atlantica concept;
• Fostering partnerships between businesses in this region;
• Networking with the Eastern Maine Development Corporation to promote the Atlantic Coast Trade Corridor;
• Promoting growth of East Coast port facilities as global competitors;
• Advancing the development of an East-West interstate highway through the U.S. Northeast to grow transportation linkages into major markets;
• Making trade easier by removing barriers and harmonizing regulations.