The Atlantic Provinces Economic Council is a Canadian independent, non-partisan research and educational institution founded in 1954 whose objective is to promote the economic development of Atlantic Canada. It accomplishes this by: * monitoring and analysing current and emerging economic trends and policies * communicating the results of this analysis to its members on a regular basis * consulting with a wide audience * disseminating its research and policy analyses to business, government and the community at large * advocating the appropriate public and private sector policy responses