Quote:
Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue
Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if there’s any prospect/hope for the 5 cities in the north...
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Resource-based hinterlands have been suffering across the country, outside of agricultural areas. Northern NB, the outports of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, the small towns of northern Manitoba are some examples.
I'd say the biggest at-risk city is the Sault. Essar Steel has wobbled into and out of bankruptcy repeatedly. There will come a day when the government doesn't bail it out and decides to wash its hands of the whole affair. That will hurt.
The cities with the best prospects are Sudbury and Thunder Bay. They're both largish regional centres with enough sway to attract people to work, study and live there, so that will keep them slowly growing (or not declining at least). Sudbury has the advantage of being a lower-cost region for Ottawa to outsource menial government services to - hence why the CRA is expanding there (yay bilingual population).
Timmins will be the quintessential Northern town/city. It pretty much epitomizes the economy of Northern Ontario - forestry, mining and government. If gold prices stay high, Timmins will do ok. If commodity prices tank, Timmins will hurt.
North Bay is a government and retirement town. As government goes, so does North Bay. I suspect it will be spared the worst of upcoming cuts, as Vic Fideli doesn't want to poison his chance for re-election.
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