Mr. Speaker, it is the number one city in North America for business cost and one of Canada's best cities for export. It is Atlantic Canada's most entrepreneurial city and home to Canada's most entrepreneurial university. It is Canada's first free wireless city and twice named one of the world's most intelligent communities.
It ranks eighth in the world for clean air, fourth in Canada for raising a family, and third as the best place to retire.
It is home to a skilled and bilingual workforce and one of the top destinations in the country for millennials looking to carve themselves a future. With more businesses per capita than elsewhere in the country, is it any wonder that Fredericton was recently named Startup Canada's 2016 Startup Community of the Year?
I congratulate Task Force Fredericton Startup Network, municipal leadership, and community members across the region who are driving this nation-leading culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Freddy Beach.