One of Mel Norton's priorities is to rebrand Saint John so that it's viewed as a dynamic city that's open to business, new ideas and innovation.
He says all too often Saint Johnners themselves sell their city short until they're told otherwise by outsiders.
Norton points out Plan SJ is getting not only national but international recognition and Saint John is been cited as one of the 7 smart cities in the world.
On the other hand, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business ranked Saint John 78th out of a 100 cities for being business friendly.