The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[PoscStudent]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

If you're talking about people moving from Halifax to St. John's, then comparing the GDP of Nova Scotia to NFLD isn't terribly relevant. There's a big difference between greater Halifax and rural Nova Scotia.

Same applies for St. John's and rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

[Nouvellecosse]

Really? The main reason the NFLD economy has risen recently is the petroleum industry, and natural resources aren't exactly known for being tied to cities.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Per capita income 2010

Newfoundland $55,138
Nova Scotia $38,475
Canada $47,605


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Can...mestic_product#Ordered_by_GDP_per_capita

GDP per capita is not the same as income per capita. GDP figures can also be really flawed. It's attractive to try to represent an economy with one number but I don't think it's possible to do that accurately.

Here is one list of incomes by city, although it is not corrected for family size (cities with more single people will appear poorer than cities with more couples):

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/famil107a-eng.htm

St. John's used to be poorer than Halifax but now the two cities are about the same. I don't necessarily think the trajectory of the past five years is going to continue indefinitely, however. Resource-based economies tend to have their ups and downs, and I think a lot of the gains in St. John's happened because the economy there used to be somewhat depressed. It's easy to bid up really cheap houses, for example.

[PoscStudent]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Really? The main reason the NFLD economy has risen recently is the petroleum industry, and natural resources aren't exactly known for being tied to cities.

The companies involved and the people working in the industry are all concentrated in the St. John's area.

Originally Posted by someone123

St. John's used to be poorer than Halifax but now the two cities are about the same. I don't necessarily think the trajectory of the past five years is going to continue indefinitely, however. Resource-based economies tend to have their ups and downs, and I think a lot of the gains in St. John's happened because the economy there used to be somewhat depressed. It's easy to bid up really cheap houses, for example.

Actually more recent statistics, February 2012, shows that the average person in Newfoundland and Labrador makes $919 a week compared to $775 in Nova Scotia.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/120426/dq120426a-eng.htm

[eemy]

Great shot flars.

[Copes]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

People from NS moved to NFLD? Did they say why? I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing that before.

My experience (and you'll have to take this for what its worth) is that many young people (my age, and remember, I am in a relative bubble) leave Nova Scotia for Newfoundland due to Memorial tuition. Ten courses at MUN (excluding all other fees mind you) costs $2250.00. That's a full year of school for very cheap. Sure, you have to pay to live somewhere, health insurance, etc. but it is still substantially cheaper than NS. I grew up very close to a Nova Scotia University, and at the time I made the decision to move to St. John's, it was cheaper for me to go to school at MUN, live in residence, be on a meal plan and fly home twice a year than it was for me to live at home with my parents and commute to the school in the area I grew up. Pretty outrageous.

I realize this is just University, but many end up in St. John's and love the place. Its much easier to find a job post graduation in the city that you went to school in then the city you used to live in. I applied for several jobs in Halifax, and received one call back. However, here in St. John's, I was pursued by a local company who knew of me through word of mouth and was aware that I was interested in entering the development industry. So, suddenly, I am a Nova Scotian who left Nova Scotia to move to Newfoundland. Ultimately, I think that one of Nova Scotia's largest problems is the competition among so many Universities. Having so many in such a small province means that the provincial government has less resources to help each (as opposed to a place like Newfoundland, where all post-secondary money goes to one University and one trades school), and tuition is higher. Young people leave Nova Scotia looking for a cheaper alternative, and end up staying.

I also had a workterm last summer with ExxonMobil, working on the Hebron project. Plenty of non-Newfoundlanders working with Exxon on their various projects. Oil and Gas has really made Newfoundland prosperous. Whether or not that will continue is yet to be determined.

Morale of the story, they do exist. It's entirely possible that Halifax recieves more Newfoundlander than St. John's does Nova Scotians (haven't lived in Halifax since moving to St. John's so I wouldn't know) but my point remains that the trade between Alberta and Newfoundland is far less even. The only Albertans I know are ones who have moved with the oil companies.

[capitaldensity]

Originally Posted by flar

not sure how it looks, but what the hell...

Great Ottawa shot!!

[PoscStudent]

Originally Posted by Copes

Morale of the story, they do exist. It's entirely possible that Halifax recieves more Newfoundlander than St. John's does Nova Scotians (haven't lived in Halifax since moving to St. John's so I wouldn't know) but my point remains that the trade between Alberta and Newfoundland is far less even. The only Albertans I know are ones who have moved with the oil companies.

If this is going to be discussed further I think it should move to the provincial economies thread, but I will add that I've never heard of anyone moving to Halifax or Nova Scotia from St. John's in recent years. I'd say it's very unlikely that someone would leave St. John's for Halifax today, if people are going to leave they're going to Alberta.

[kw5150]

Cool Ottawa shot!

[Surrealplaces]

Sweet shot! Love those blueish tones!

Originally Posted by Witty Nickname

Blue Skyline by Witty nickname, on Flickr

Larger Here

Blue Skyline by Witty nickname, on Flickr

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by PoscStudent

Same applies for St. John's and rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

Quite right. GDP per capita doesn't tell the whole story, but there's certainly a lot of money circulating around St. John's and many people are moving there to get a piece of it. People seem to get their nose out of joint when provinces that they've historically looked down upon start doing well. Same thing happens here in Ontario when you mention that Alberta is wealthier. Some Ontarians go ballistic.

[lake of the nations]

BERNARD BRAULT, LA PRESSE

[isaidso]

Love that photo. What cruise line docks in Montreal and where do they typically sail to? Ottawa - Montreal - Quebec City?

[chrisallard5454]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Quite right. GDP per capita doesn't tell the whole story, but there's certainly a lot of money circulating around St. John's and many people are moving there to get a piece of it. People seem to get their nose out of joint when provinces that they've historically looked down upon start doing well. Same thing happens here in Ontario when you mention that Alberta is wealthier. Some Ontarians go ballistic.

My step dad has lived in Southern Ontario for the last 8 years (Originally from Winnipeg) and no matter how much I try to enlighten him, he still thinks that Saskatchewan is a )$*#hole and that no one in there right mind would want to live there.

Some people just don't like change. Economies rise and fall, and destinations are always changing for people. I just hope Winnipeg makes that list of places to be someday.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by chrisallard5454

My step dad has lived in Southern Ontario for the last 8 years (Originally from Winnipeg) and no matter how much I try to enlighten him, he still thinks that Saskatchewan is a )$*#hole and that no one in there right mind would want to live there.

Some people just don't like change. Economies rise and fall, and destinations are always changing for people. I just hope Winnipeg makes that list of places to be someday.

This is true but by the same token it's not uncommon for people to give far too much weight to volatile rate of change statistics. People will talk about Saskatoon like it is a great metropolis because it grew by 2-3% while Montreal is considered the loser town because it grew by 1%. In reality, Saskatoon is the small town, Montreal is the big city, and this relationship hasn't changed a whole lot over the last 100 years.

[davidivivid]

[Vaillant]

Originally Posted by isaidso

Love that photo. What cruise line docks in Montreal and where do they typically sail to? Ottawa - Montreal - Quebec City?

they sail to Montreal, Quebec city, Halifax, Boston and NYC

[isaidso]

^^ Thanks. I may have to take that cruise.

Originally Posted by someone123

This is true but by the same token it's not uncommon for people to give far too much weight to volatile rate of change statistics. People will talk about Saskatoon like it is a great metropolis because it grew by 2-3% while Montreal is considered the loser town because it grew by 1%. In reality, Saskatoon is the small town, Montreal is the big city, and this relationship hasn't changed a whole lot over the last 100 years.

Must every conversation cater to the lowest common denominator though? People who report findings realize that some people aren't capable of reaching intelligent conclusions based on the data, but the data wasn't meant for their consumption.

The only people who are going to think that Saskatoon is some great metropolis and Montreal is some loser town based on these news stories are ignorant/uneducated people. Half the country are thick as a board, but we can't dumb everything down all the time so they understand. We live in a country where people think Nutella is a health product because it has milk in it.

Data is only useful if the reader understands what it means and what it's not saying. Many people jump to absurd conclusions about what data means because they don't understand what they're reading. That doesn't mean that we should stop producing data. It just means we need to ignore stupid reactions to it.

[vanatox]

Originally Posted by Vaillant

they sail to Montreal, Quebec city, Halifax, Boston and NYC

The boat on the picture posted by Lake of the Nations is the Aida Luna from Germany. It is a really impressive boat that I had the chance to see in the port in 2010, and it was full of Germans, Italians... There are more European boat that docks in Montreal these days.

[chrisallard5454]

This is true but by the same token it's not uncommon for people to give far too much weight to volatile rate of change statistics. People will talk about Saskatoon like it is a great metropolis because it grew by 2-3% while Montreal is considered the loser town because it grew by 1%. In reality, Saskatoon is the small town, Montreal is the big city, and this relationship hasn't changed a whole lot over the last 100 years.



Must every conversation cater to the lowest common denominator though? People who report findings realize that some people aren't capable of reaching intelligent conclusions based on the data, but the data wasn't meant for their consumption.

The only people who are going to think that Saskatoon is some great metropolis and Montreal is some loser town based on these news stories are ignorant/uneducated people. Half the country are thick as a board, but we can't dumb everything down all the time so they understand. We live in a country where people think Nutella is a health product because it has milk in it.

Data is only useful if the reader understands what it means and what it's not saying. Many people jump to absurd conclusions about what data means because they don't understand what they're reading. That doesn't mean that we should stop producing data. It just means we need to ignore stupid reactions to it.

Just because it can't be compared to Montreal or some other raving metropolis doesn't mean that right now its Economy isn't booming. Which leads to development. I wouldn't hesitate to guess that for a city the size of Regina it has the most striking skyline for a city its size. And everyone I know is moving there. Does that mean it is automatically a better place to live than Montreal? No. It does however mean that the perception around the previously "Boring" province has altered, and if the Government takes advantage of their new found wealth, Saskatchewan can show some great potential.

It is pretty ignorant to say that nothing would come of this when not 40 years ago Calgary was a town of under 400 000. Now its arguably one of the top 3 Metropolises in the Country.



to this



in 40 years. And you say that it is silly to think that Saskatchewan is actually changing.