Downtowns have been ailing for a while — and not just because of COVID-19.
In St. John’s, offices were already emptying due to a downturn in the oil industry. The pandemic-prompted move toward working from home only made matters worse.
“It’s kind of like us and Calgary were hit with our own oil-bust pandemic prior to the COVID pandemic,” said Scott Cluney, executive director for Downtown St. John’s, a business improvement area organization.
In Halifax, Paul MacKinnon likens the city’s downtown core to a 20,000-person town, with those people coming in every day and supporting the local businesses.
“Overnight, that turned into a town of 5,000 people, and so the impact on a lot of businesses has been pretty horrendous,” said MacKinnon, CEO of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission and president of Downtowns Atlantic Canada.
Paul McKinnon is the CEO of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission. – Contributed
Uniting as one
Recognizing their voices are stronger when united, groups representing downtown and main street business communities are joining forces on a campaign directed at the federal government. In her fall economic statement delivered a few weeks ago, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland outlined government’s vision for a three-year plan to aid recovery in the country. Knowing that’s the case, these organizations are making a joint pitch to government, asking federal officials to collaborate with them on creating programs that can address the needs of downtowns and main streets throughout Canada.
According to Ken Kelly, a Halifax-based project manager for the Canadian branch of the International Downtown Association, downtowns and main streets are a community focal point and a barometer for a place’s well-being.
“If you enter any community, whether it’s a smaller one or a larger one, you really can base your impressions on the community in what you see in the downtown or on the main street,” he said. “It’s a focal point for the community and it reflects the ideals, the aspirations, the achievements of any community. If you look at the buildings, the businesses that populate those buildings … I’ve got a pretty good sense if this is a robust community or this is a community that’s trying, but needs a little bit more work.”
These areas also draw in people, whether it’s for work, shopping or entertainment. That’s why Kelly believes it’s in the government’s best interest to listen.
“Work with us — we’re the ones who are closest to these issues,” he said. “We’re the ones who can provide insights that you haven’t thought of. We want to work with you as partners. We can not only contribute the intellectual. We can contribute the financial.”
Ken Kelly is a project manager for IDA Canada based in Halifax. – Contributed
Ideas brewing
Downtown St. John’s and the City of St. John’s already have some infrastructure projects in development for 2021, and Cluney said having multiple levels of government on board is a must to make them happen.
“Otherwise, we’re back to the drawing board if it’s just us and the city,” he said, adding such projects would need to be pushed back to 2022 or phased in over multiple years if other governments are not on board.
IDA Canada and its partners have areas they want government to help address — community well-being, community vitality, urban mobility, infrastructure and entrepreneurship. Kelly said social, cultural and economic matters impacting downtowns and main streets merit attention and that good things can spinoff from programming devoted to those issues.
In Charlottetown, retail and restaurants have managed OK, according to Downtown Charlottetown executive director Dawn Alan. But the hospitality sector was hit hard by a lack of tourism, and Alan expects that situation will not change until safe travel resumes. She would welcome opportunities to collaborate with decision makers.
“When monies come forward, we can be at the table to help make those decisions as to how it would be best spent,” she said. That holds true regardless of how many levels of government are involved.
“We’re the ones who have our ears to the businesses and talk with them daily and know how they’re being impacted and maybe how best they can be helped.”
Dawn Alan is the executive director of Downtown Charlottetown Inc. — SaltWire Network file photo
Inclusivity, accessibility
MacKinnon considers creating more inclusive spaces and maintaining downtown vitality major issues for Halifax and something the federal government has to address for most Canadian cities.
“That doesn’t mean saving every business — that’s probably not going to be possible,” he admitted. “But it means when making infrastructure investments, what are those best ways that we can make those investments — we know they’re coming — to really help the downtown.”
Over the summer, MacKinnon noticed parts of downtown Halifax adjacent to scenic areas — including Argyle Street and the waterfront — did pretty well. He suggested further infrastructure work to help beautify the downtown would benefit the city.
Cluney said it would be great for the three levels of government to work with Downtown St. John’s on accessibility issues dually hindered by local geography and the age of many buildings. With the general population of the province aging rapidly, he said it’s important for the downtown area to get with the times and be accessible to everyone.
“All the new builds in our downtown are all accessible from the time you come in the front door right on through,” he said.
MacKinnon and Cluney both noted that the federal government has been less involved with urban downtowns in recent decades. A main streets program in the 1980s poured a lot of money into cities and larger municipalities and helped establish many downtown development groups.
“That investment is now 30, 40 years old. It’s time for a renewal of that and some new thinking,” MacKinnon said, pointing out the help is especially needed now given municipal governments are dealing with their own financial issues as a result of the pandemic.
Discussions are already moving forward with the federal government. MacKinnon and Kelly were scheduled to take part in a virtual meeting with Infrastructure and Communities Minister Catherine McKenna on Friday, Jan. 8, and more meetings with federal officials are scheduled this month.
Andrew Robinson is a business reporter in St. John’s.
OTTAWA – Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 6.5 per cent last month as hiring remained weak across the economy.
Statistics Canada’s labour force survey on Friday said employment rose by a modest 15,000 jobs in October.
Business, building and support services saw the largest gain in employment.
Meanwhile, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing experienced the largest decline.
Many economists see weakness in the job market continuing in the short term, before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cuts spark a rebound in economic growth next year.
Despite ongoing softness in the labour market, however, strong wage growth has raged on in Canada. Average hourly wages in October grew 4.9 per cent from a year ago, reaching $35.76.
Friday’s report also shed some light on the financial health of households.
According to the agency, 28.8 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older were living in a household that had difficulty meeting financial needs – like food and housing – in the previous four weeks.
That was down from 33.1 per cent in October 2023 and 35.5 per cent in October 2022, but still above the 20.4 per cent figure recorded in October 2020.
People living in a rented home were more likely to report difficulty meeting financial needs, with nearly four in 10 reporting that was the case.
That compares with just under a quarter of those living in an owned home by a household member.
Immigrants were also more likely to report facing financial strain last month, with about four out of 10 immigrants who landed in the last year doing so.
That compares with about three in 10 more established immigrants and one in four of people born in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information says health-care spending in Canada is projected to reach a new high in 2024.
The annual report released Thursday says total health spending is expected to hit $372 billion, or $9,054 per Canadian.
CIHI’s national analysis predicts expenditures will rise by 5.7 per cent in 2024, compared to 4.5 per cent in 2023 and 1.7 per cent in 2022.
This year’s health spending is estimated to represent 12.4 per cent of Canada’s gross domestic product. Excluding two years of the pandemic, it would be the highest ratio in the country’s history.
While it’s not unusual for health expenditures to outpace economic growth, the report says this could be the case for the next several years due to Canada’s growing population and its aging demographic.
Canada’s per capita spending on health care in 2022 was among the highest in the world, but still less than countries such as the United States and Sweden.
The report notes that the Canadian dental and pharmacare plans could push health-care spending even further as more people who previously couldn’t afford these services start using them.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
As Canadians wake up to news that Donald Trump will return to the White House, the president-elect’s protectionist stance is casting a spotlight on what effect his second term will have on Canada-U.S. economic ties.
Some Canadian business leaders have expressed worry over Trump’s promise to introduce a universal 10 per cent tariff on all American imports.
A Canadian Chamber of Commerce report released last month suggested those tariffs would shrink the Canadian economy, resulting in around $30 billion per year in economic costs.
More than 77 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S.
Canada’s manufacturing sector faces the biggest risk should Trump push forward on imposing broad tariffs, said Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters president and CEO Dennis Darby. He said the sector is the “most trade-exposed” within Canada.
“It’s in the U.S.’s best interest, it’s in our best interest, but most importantly for consumers across North America, that we’re able to trade goods, materials, ingredients, as we have under the trade agreements,” Darby said in an interview.
“It’s a more complex or complicated outcome than it would have been with the Democrats, but we’ve had to deal with this before and we’re going to do our best to deal with it again.”
American economists have also warned Trump’s plan could cause inflation and possibly a recession, which could have ripple effects in Canada.
It’s consumers who will ultimately feel the burden of any inflationary effect caused by broad tariffs, said Darby.
“A tariff tends to raise costs, and it ultimately raises prices, so that’s something that we have to be prepared for,” he said.
“It could tilt production mandates. A tariff makes goods more expensive, but on the same token, it also will make inputs for the U.S. more expensive.”
A report last month by TD economist Marc Ercolao said research shows a full-scale implementation of Trump’s tariff plan could lead to a near-five per cent reduction in Canadian export volumes to the U.S. by early-2027, relative to current baseline forecasts.
Retaliation by Canada would also increase costs for domestic producers, and push import volumes lower in the process.
“Slowing import activity mitigates some of the negative net trade impact on total GDP enough to avoid a technical recession, but still produces a period of extended stagnation through 2025 and 2026,” Ercolao said.
Since the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement came into effect in 2020, trade between Canada and the U.S. has surged by 46 per cent, according to the Toronto Region Board of Trade.
With that deal is up for review in 2026, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Candace Laing said the Canadian government “must collaborate effectively with the Trump administration to preserve and strengthen our bilateral economic partnership.”
“With an impressive $3.6 billion in daily trade, Canada and the United States are each other’s closest international partners. The secure and efficient flow of goods and people across our border … remains essential for the economies of both countries,” she said in a statement.
“By resisting tariffs and trade barriers that will only raise prices and hurt consumers in both countries, Canada and the United States can strengthen resilient cross-border supply chains that enhance our shared economic security.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
