Northeastern Ontario is being labelled by an economist as a region that should economically lag through 2013, despite major investments in mine developments and power station upgrades.
In his Economic Analysis of Ontario, Helmut Pastrick, a chief economist with Central 1 Credit Union, claims the northeast won't grow faster until the U.S. economy picks up.
Pastrick said Toronto will lead the way in housing sales, construction and price gains in 2013, followed by Kitchener-Waterloo, Barrie and London, “even though their pace will be slow.”
His report said investment in mines and power plants is expected to keep employment growing in the northeast over the next few years.
Job growth in the northeast was 1.5 per cent in 2010 and is forecast to exceed 3 per cent in 2011, led by growth in construction, primary services and professional-technical services.
Major projects identified in his report were Ontario Power Generation's $2.6 billion upgrades to power plants on the lower Mattagami River, Vale's $400-million Totten copper-nickel mine west of Sudbury, and three other mine projects between Sudbury and Timmins totalling $400 million in investment.
Pastrick forecasts Ontario's economy will grow by 2.1 per cent in 2011, 1.8 per cent in 2012 and 2.6 per cent in 2013. But all bets are off if the European debt situation worsens, he adds.
Central 1 is the central financial facility and trade association for credit union systems in Ontario and British Columbia.
To read the report go online at www.central1.com.
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