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By BEN SHINGLER
Canadaeast News Service

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SAINT JOHN - The provincial government will launch a revamped repatriation campaign this fall to lure skilled workers back to the province, says a top government bureaucrat.

Claire LePage, deputy minister of the province's department of energy, said the government is exploring new ways to bring New Brunswickers home, including a television advertising campaign, a delegation of government and business leaders to western Canada, and an online job database to link workers and employers.

Experts are predicting a countrywide labour shortage caused by the aging population, but the slate of large-scale energy projects in southern New Brunswick will likely make the shortage even more acute in Saint John.

"For the energy hub we will have to launch a provincewide (repatriation) initiative," LePage said Tuesday.

"I think we also have to talk to New Brunswickers that are still here - parents of these kids - talk to them about the economy here in New Brunswick and some of the opportunities available."

Projects in New Brunswick include a new liquefied natural gas terminal and pipeline, the refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station, a new potash mine in Sussex, a possible second oil refinery and a potential second nuclear unit at Lepreau.

The projects could create 33,000 jobs in New Brunswick, according to reports.

Details of the repatriation initiative, which will partner the province's population growth secretariat and the Department of Energy, have yet to be ironed out.

"We figure government can play a role to help matching (workers) with potential employers," said Brendan Langille, spokesman for the secretariat.

The provincial government committed nearly $5 million to the population growth secretariat in the 2008-09 budget, including $100,000 for six repatriation outreach missions.

LePage and colleagues from the Department of Energy will meet representatives from the province's 15 enterprise agencies in Miramichi today to get feedback from the regional offices.

Officials from the federally funded Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Ross Jefferson from the development group Benefits Blueprint will also be in attendance.

Along with discussions of repatriation, LePage said the Department of Energy will try to raise awareness about opportunities available for firms provincewide.

"These are huge projects, but there's a whole series of small projects that are going to come out of that, and that's the part we're trying to hone in on," Lepage said.

"I'm working on what I call cluster-development strategy, ensuring that we have a business climate in New Brunswick that's conducive to investment, that the rules of investment are clear, that we work with communities that are interested in accepting energy projects."

Richard LeBlanc, the Enterprise Network's executive director, said the projects in southern New Brunswick could produce a provincewide industry, with firms specializing in energy-related manufacturing and services.