The Business Development Centre (BDC) has an optimistic outlook for Ontario's economy that extends to Northern Ontario, to a degree.
Pierre Cléroux, the BDC's chief economist and vice-president of research shared his predictions for 2017 at a Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Dec. 1.
“There's a lot of uncertainty about the Canadian economy, I'd like to give a different perspective,” said Cléroux. “Despite what you see, the global economy is improving.
He specifically said the Ontario economy is doing well compared to the rest of Canada.
While the average economic growth was 1.2 per cent, Ontario's growth was 2.4 per cent, the second highest after British Columbia at 2.8 per cent.
“The average... is hiding two different stories,” said Cléroux. He said provinces are divided between those with “strong natural resources base versus strong manufacturing base.”
While Cléroux said Ontario, as a whole these days, has a stronger manufacturing presence, the North continues to be resource-reliant.
“What is unique is that resources are important for a lot of jobs here."
Northern Ontario could suffer from that reliance, like Alberta and Saskatchewan which saw less growth than British Columbia or Ontario. But Cléroux said Northern Ontario benefits from having a more diversified economy and their ties to the strong manufacturing presence in the south.
The benefits trickle down – or up – to associated companies doing business with those manufacturers.
“Companies in the North are part of that value chain,” said Cléroux. “They're benefiting from manufacturing, if not as much as cities with manufacturing."
He also sees a slow rise in nickel prices and anticipates that will speed along growth in the region.
The Canadian dollar, currently sitting at 74 cents against the US greenback, will take some time to recover, Cléroux said, who anticipates it will hover between 70 and 75 cents over the next six months.
He maintained that Canada as a whole is “in a growth period,” that will only increase in the coming months.
Overall, Cléroux noted that commodity prices are still down, but anticipates the growing U.S. economy will stimulate growth north of the border.
He said rising retail sales, more jobs, and more exports are contributing to Ontario's growth.
“The Canadian economy is in transition,” said Cléroux. “Despite all the uncertainty, the Ontario economy continues to perform very well.”
