Canada's economy is benefiting from a global demand for natural resources which also bodes well for Sudbury's economy, says Dr. Sherry Cooper.
“Three-quarters of all global growth in the last decade has been in the emerging world and those economies have been natural resource intensive, in particular base metals where demand has been extraordinary,” she said.
Cooper, the executive vice president and chief economist of BMO Financial Group, was in Sudbury in May as part of an eight-city tour to give presentations to clients.
The city's unemployment rate, at 7.6 per cent which falls below the provincial and national rates, is a sign that Sudbury's economy is strong.
“We will continue to see Sudbury benefiting from the building and health-care sector, the development of the medical school and the regional cancer centre and the development of education in particular,” she said.
The city's lifestyle is affordable where the average house is $225,000 as compared to Vancouver which is $800,000.
“It's a family-friendly environment in Sudbury and there continues to be a high quality of life here. There are lots of lakes and low crime. Things are positive.”
When asked about foreign acquisition of the country's resource-based companies, Cooper said it is difficult to make a blanket statement, but instead each case should be looked at individually.
“Right now there is discussion whether the Toronto Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange should merge. Personally, I think that will be good for Canada. The merger would allow us to develop a much more broader and deeper financial market and trading platform and it would help to increase the capital availability for Canadian companies,” she said.
Canada will increasingly become an attractive haven for foreign investments and that will include investments in financial assets as well as natural resources. Major mining companies look to Canada, she said, due to our stable political system, highly skilled workers and significant quality of life.
“I don't think we can see ourselves as insular,” Copper said. “We are part of the global economy and that is where we find our market and we will continue to be part of it.”
Although loss of jobs may be associated with a foreign acquisition, she said that is more a reflection of what is happening worldwide and not an effect of being owned by a foreign company.
“With technical advances you need fewer people to produce goods and products and competition globally is enormous and part of the challenge,” Cooper said.
However, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) still continue to play a huge role in the Canadian economy and represent 40 per cent of the country's GDP.
“Most of the growth in employment comes from SMEs and most of the growth in business comes from small enterprises becoming larger ones,” Cooper said.
The entrepreneurial spirit is strong in Sudbury, she said, and local SMEs should look globally in order to expand.
“Where we are located isn't really an issue anymore,” she said. “With the Internet, small companies can look quite big online. It is interesting to see how many small businesses have found a niche for themselves through the Internet.”
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