Those looking for something new in a recent report by the former director of the Maine International Trade Center aren’t going to find much. But the work is valuable nonetheless because it puts in a single place a range of ideas that point to a stronger Maine economically and a stronger region through trade.

Perry Newman, the author of the thesis, called it Atlantica to suggest a region not bound by national borders; he sees instead an area encompassing U.S. and Canadian neighbors. But the report is very much an argument for Maine – what it can do internally to prepare for the changing economy and how it must reach out more often to nearby Canada to form a more powerful partnership. Maine has been emphasizing its ties to Canada for decades, and certainly residents of Northern and Downeast Maine do not need to be reminded of the importance of Canada in their lives; Atlantica, however, gives policymakers a place to turn and a context for stronger formal ties in the region.

Mr. Newman, like others, emphasizes higher education as one of the best ways to prepare Maine residents for the new economy. Properly, he notes that college cannot be solely for the young but that opportunities for current workers should be encouraged through, for instance, tax credits. He’d offer the first year of college free for everyone.

And the East-West Highway, or the lack of one, gets a prominent place in the report as well, especially as Mr. Newman speculates that the lack of economic development in eastern Canada could be attributed to Maine: “It just might be that the Atlantic provinces are economically disadvantaged precisely because of where Maine sits on the map.” Gov. Angus King’s incremental approach to building a highway across Maine took much of the steam out of plans for a more massive undertaking, and that is unlikely to change in the next couple of years.

At the time of the governor’s trade mission to Nova Scotia last year, Maine’s exports to that province were a mere $1.9 million, compared with Nova Scotia’s sales to Maine, at $35 million. It is a disparity that Maine should try to eliminate by more often looking for ways to sells goods and services in the Maritimes, but both export numbers are tiny compared with the potential that exists all around Maine. Regional development areas, from those around the U.S.-Mexican border to coordinated state efforts to agreements among other states and Canadian provinces highlight the requirement for Maine to more aggressively pursue a regional approach.

Mr. Newman gives some perspective to how Maine might get there.