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St. John's is an "interesting place", with its streets running every which way, mapped out by early settlers following the lay of the land stretching further and further away from the sea as it grew over the centuries. For St. John's is the oldest city in North America and the closest city to Europe at the most easterly point in North America - or as we have been known to say - the far east of the western world - discovered over five hundred years ago. There's a surging vitality and energy here like all port cities whose economy is driven by the sea. Add to that the comfortable homeyness of downtown and you have a small town atmosphere in the midst of a bustling capital. And bustling it is - new hydro electric developments (the largest in the world), the Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose offshore oil developments, a giant nickel mine in Labrador in development, a huge smelter to process the nickel to be built about two hours from St. John's, and more, with a developing tourism sector as the rest of North America, Europe, and beyond discover our miles of rugged and spectacular coastline, clean inland waters, picturesque terrain, fiords (yes, fiords! carved 15,000 years ago), mountains, rocky barrens, tundra, sub-alpine forests - and so, so much more - peopled by those who have stayed close to the land and the sea, with a sense of family, simple pleasures and gracious hospitality.
Of note is the fact that St. John's was recently named the top city in which to do business in a report prepared by KPMG Canada. Entitled "The Competitive Analysis: A Comparison of Business Costs in Canada, Europe and the United States" this annual report compares business costs of 42 cities and seven countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
That in a nutshell is our province - a small town atmosphere in a huge and varied geographic are poised for leadership in the years ahead.
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