You know, I hear you, but now factor in P.E.I. to your idea.
It has climate going for it, but not Population, or land mass,
or bountiful natural resources, and the Cod Moratorium in
place, etc....though it does have tourism.
How would a jurisdiction like P.E.I. deal with your program?
I'm not picking on P.E.I. but am using it as an example of
what Equalization was partially created to protect, to help
provide comparable levels of service with the rest of Canada.
Maybe places like NB, NS and PEI need to join together and find relative efficiencies in working together. Look at the communities in the Queen Charlotte's in BC. many small islands and communities manage to get by just fine without operating as a stand alone jurisdiction
The island provinces are certainly interesting, but the end of day analysis still begs these questions.