The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) represents the interests of the Atlantic region in Government of Canada policy making and has a mandate to encourage federal policies and programs which promote economic develop- ment in the four Atlantic provinces. [...] The views expressed in this study do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency or of the Government of Canada. [...] The topic of the last part is public policy, which examines the impact of the public sector and discusses the policy implications of our results. [...] An educational gap that is growing The region has made significant progress in improving the education of its population, but it has not been enough: the gap between the region and Canada as a whole has widened! The goal should be not only to increase the number of individuals with a post- secondary education but also to reduce the number with less than a grade 9 or a grades 9 to 13 education. [...] A final caveat is that because the census is taken every five years (the last one was in 2001), the information gathered reflects the situation in the year of the census, but less so in the years leading up to the next one.