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The atlantic economy can't diversify, because the canadian dollar is too high for low wage manufacturing/we loose to much of our workforce to ontario/alberta. You can't train half an engineer, or build half a university, or find a doctor that is only willing to work half the year, and so on.
If Canadian dollar is too high, then workers should be paid less, problem solved.
If an area can't diversify its economy, wages are stuck at high levels, and can't produce anything high value added, (Doesn't sound familar - aka. Greece?) that means only one thing - this particular area is not competitive and doesn't deserve high quality of life. End of story.
Blaming high CAD is never going to work. We adapt to the environment, but the other way around.
that's probably because their economy is so small, and have so little contact with the rest of the world, that it is always more stable than other areas. That doesn't really mean Atlantic Canada did something right and is stronger now.
take the US for example, if you look at growth of difference states during the crisis, it is the Dakotas, Wyoming, Idaho that are least impacted by the recession. Is it because these states are particularly strong, more than New York, California, Texas? No, it is because they are less part of the world, that they are less important.
When economy finally picks up and Toronto grows strong again, Atlantic Canada will still be like today. They only look good when everyone else is in trouble.
Second your example of high end manufacturing nearly made me fall out of my chair. This works in germany/japan, because they have one of the highest population densities in the world. Sure the windsor quebec corridor is developed, and it will compete in this sense, but this can never happen in places with smaller cma's, than 100 k. The economies of scale don't work.
Thanks for proving the main topic in this thread - Canada will be better off with 3x the population. High density makes country/area more likely to succeed.
The Windsor Quebec corridor is far from dense by international standard. Between Toronto and Windsor, and Toronto and Montreal, most areas are vastly sparse - nothing but farmland. Windsor-Quebec city corridor is kind of a fake concept, as Windsor, London, and Quebec city are all very small.
Belgium has 40000km2, 30% of Southern Ontario yet has 25% more people in the entire Ontario. Southern Ontario can easily accomodate 3X more people. Cities like London, Windsor, Hamilton, St Catharine, Sarnia, Barrie should all have 0.5-1 million people. How great will that be
Last edited by botticelli; 05-30-2012 at 03:18 PM..
If Canadian dollar is too high, then workers should be paid less, problem solved.
If an area can't diversify its economy, wages are stuck at high levels, and can't produce anything high value added, (Doesn't sound familar - aka. Greece?) that means only one thing - this particular area is not competitive and doesn't deserve high quality of life. End of story.
Blaming high CAD is never going to work. We adapt to the environment, but the other way around.
The problem is interest rates, loans, retirement packages etc, are directly tied to the currency you trade in. You cant simply pay people less wages, without causing a domino effect and doing alot of damage.
This is why having a common currency without some system of transfer payments is a economic disaster. Greeces main issue is they have no control over their currency, if they could devalue they could salvage their economy.
The problem of out migration is far worst, it amplifies both growth and decline, which isnt something you want if a smooth running economy is your goal. Granted government money is used to smooth things out, but this creates dependency and lazyness.
Ontario will adapt to the high dollar by cutting low paying jobs, and adding high skill jobs. They can do this by attracting a large population of educated folk to the city.
Your simplifying things way too much.
you said that means only one thing - this particular area is not competitive and doesn't deserve high quality of life. End of story. It`s not that simple and never will be. It`s not competitive not because it is inherintly flawed, but because the structures, migration, immigration policy the currency, do not allow for it.
Thanks for proving the main topic in this thread - Canada will be better off with 3x the population. High density makes country/area more likely to succeed.
The Windsor Quebec corridor is far from dense by international standard. Between Toronto and Windsor, and Toronto and Montreal, most areas are vastly sparse - nothing but farmland. Windsor-Quebec city corridor is kind of a fake concept, as Windsor, London, and Quebec city are all very small.
Belgium has 40000km2, 30% of Southern Ontario yet has 25% more people in the entire Ontario. Southern Ontario can easily accomodate 3X more people. Cities like London, Windsor, Hamilton, St Catharine, Sarnia, Barrie should all have 0.5-1 million people. How great will that be
I`m on your side, I say open the door, and leave it open.
But the windsor corridor still has the bulk of the countries population about 51 percent. Windsor london, and quebec may be small but when totalled they equal the population of montreal-toronto.
Sadly it true, Atleast in BC. I know many people who purely shop and fuel in Washington. Buying things in Vancouver is detrimental to people's paychecks.
Sadly it true, Atleast in BC. I know many people who purely shop and fuel in Washington. Buying things in Vancouver is detrimental to people's paychecks.
Canada needs to change the way it manage its economy. Simply by charging a higher price and imposing tolls and fees on everything possible won't make everyone's life better. Protecting the industry from competition from outsiders in order to maintain their fake "competitiveness" in the long term will only hurt the economy.
Take the airports for example. Canadian government considers it as some sort of toll booth. I built it it is time for you to pay. It charges increasingly high fees of all kinds as revenue, without considering the consequences, taking it for granted people will have to suck it up anyway. The American airports on the other hand, instead of charging higher fees, choose to free the market and lower the fees, so that it is more affordable for everyone to fly. They even smartly expanded border airports to lure more customers from Canada, successfully. It is really very different ways of doing business, very typical Canadian vs American way.
Other products as well. It is quite normal for American online stores to offer free shipping from $4 light bulbs to $1000 furniture. Canadian retailers? Addition to charge high price (since you have no choice), the also charge exorbitant shipping, believing the more I charge, the more money I make. Usually in the US if spent enough amount of money ($50 for example), shipping is most likely free country wide. I don't see that in Canada even if you purchase a $1000 couch.
Since I moved to Canada, my online shopping activity probably dropped by 70%, because costs+shipping can be ridiculous. Do the retailers end up making more money? I don't know. I buy from the US, and if shipping to Canada is expensive, I ship to friends there and bring it back when I can.
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