caltrane74
Jan 11, 2007, 4:22 PM
OMG - This story must be impossible - How Can Toronto beat Calgary at Ecomonic Growth? How can people be a more valuable resource than "oil"? No way I'm not buying it.
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/169927
Toronto's growth to beat Calgary in 2008: Report
Email story
Immigration patterns favour Ontario city
January 11, 2007
Tara Perkins
business reporter
Greater Toronto's economic growth should surpass Calgary's in 2008, largely thanks to immigrants, says the Conference Board of Canada.
"In terms of economic growth, I think you guys will beat them by 2008," Mario Lefebvre, director of the Conference Board's metropolitan outlook service, said in an interview.
The main factor for that conclusion is population, he said.
Population growth in the Toronto census metropolitan area has been averaging a strong 2 per cent per year, mostly because of international migration, he said. "When you have 2 per cent population growth to start, you are never going to be in trouble for too too long."
International migration to Calgary has remained modest, he said, and the huge rise in home prices is expected to dampen the number of Canadians who move there. "Calgary's attraction power is declining."
In recent years, the strong Canadian dollar has hurt Toronto's manufacturing, tourism and transportation industries, the board said in its Winter 2007 Outlook.
Toronto's economy grew by an average of 2.9 per cent per year between 2003 and 2005, well short of its potential. Last year, growth dipped to "a disappointing" 2.3 per cent.
About 36,000 manufacturing jobs were cut in Toronto in 2006, as output contracted by about 1.2 per cent.
"Transportation, storage and communications output increased by a modest 2 per cent in 2006," the report said. "At the same time, output in the commercial services sector, which includes tourist-oriented industries such as accommodation and food, eked out 1.4 per cent growth."
Toronto's economy is expected to grow by 2.9 per cent this year, as things get a bit better.
Manufacturing should get a boost, thanks partly to Ford's Oakville assembly complex, which has begun making the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, and Bombardier's production of the Q-Series turboprops at its Downsview plant.
While manufacturing output is forecast to increase, the sector is not expected to stop shedding jobs until 2008. "The transportation and tourism industries are expected to enjoy somewhat better days in 2007, thanks to increases in the number of domestic and overseas travellers, which will help offset continued declines in the number of U.S. tourists," the report added.
The modest economic pickup in 2007 should mean more jobs for Torontonians. Job growth is expected to accelerate slightly from 1.3 per cent last year to 1.6 per cent this year. "Fortunately, better economic growth results are in the cards over the medium term," the report added.
Employment and housing starts remain relatively strong in Toronto, and that bodes well for consumer spending, Lefebvre said. "If people are buying homes it's usually not because they're depressed. That's when they buy boxes of chocolates."
The housing sector is gliding toward a soft landing following the boom from the late 1990s to 2003. New home building is expected to remain fairly steady, at about 39,000 starts, after dropping to 38,100 last year.
The Conference Board expects Toronto's economic growth to grow by about 4 per cent on average between 2008 and 2011.
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/169927
Toronto's growth to beat Calgary in 2008: Report
Email story
Immigration patterns favour Ontario city
January 11, 2007
Tara Perkins
business reporter
Greater Toronto's economic growth should surpass Calgary's in 2008, largely thanks to immigrants, says the Conference Board of Canada.
"In terms of economic growth, I think you guys will beat them by 2008," Mario Lefebvre, director of the Conference Board's metropolitan outlook service, said in an interview.
The main factor for that conclusion is population, he said.
Population growth in the Toronto census metropolitan area has been averaging a strong 2 per cent per year, mostly because of international migration, he said. "When you have 2 per cent population growth to start, you are never going to be in trouble for too too long."
International migration to Calgary has remained modest, he said, and the huge rise in home prices is expected to dampen the number of Canadians who move there. "Calgary's attraction power is declining."
In recent years, the strong Canadian dollar has hurt Toronto's manufacturing, tourism and transportation industries, the board said in its Winter 2007 Outlook.
Toronto's economy grew by an average of 2.9 per cent per year between 2003 and 2005, well short of its potential. Last year, growth dipped to "a disappointing" 2.3 per cent.
About 36,000 manufacturing jobs were cut in Toronto in 2006, as output contracted by about 1.2 per cent.
"Transportation, storage and communications output increased by a modest 2 per cent in 2006," the report said. "At the same time, output in the commercial services sector, which includes tourist-oriented industries such as accommodation and food, eked out 1.4 per cent growth."
Toronto's economy is expected to grow by 2.9 per cent this year, as things get a bit better.
Manufacturing should get a boost, thanks partly to Ford's Oakville assembly complex, which has begun making the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX, and Bombardier's production of the Q-Series turboprops at its Downsview plant.
While manufacturing output is forecast to increase, the sector is not expected to stop shedding jobs until 2008. "The transportation and tourism industries are expected to enjoy somewhat better days in 2007, thanks to increases in the number of domestic and overseas travellers, which will help offset continued declines in the number of U.S. tourists," the report added.
The modest economic pickup in 2007 should mean more jobs for Torontonians. Job growth is expected to accelerate slightly from 1.3 per cent last year to 1.6 per cent this year. "Fortunately, better economic growth results are in the cards over the medium term," the report added.
Employment and housing starts remain relatively strong in Toronto, and that bodes well for consumer spending, Lefebvre said. "If people are buying homes it's usually not because they're depressed. That's when they buy boxes of chocolates."
The housing sector is gliding toward a soft landing following the boom from the late 1990s to 2003. New home building is expected to remain fairly steady, at about 39,000 starts, after dropping to 38,100 last year.
The Conference Board expects Toronto's economic growth to grow by about 4 per cent on average between 2008 and 2011.