GOLDSTEIN: Ontario's economy crashed from 2000 to 2019, report says - Toronto Sun | Canada News Media
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GOLDSTEIN: Ontario's economy crashed from 2000 to 2019, report says – Toronto Sun

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3 years ago

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Once considered the engine of the Canadian economy, Ontario’s economic performance over the last two decades has been among the weakest in the country, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.

“The decline of Ontario’s manufacturing sector in the 2000s, the 2008/09 recession and a tepid recovery have combined to create an extended period of economic weakness for the province,” said Ben Eisen, co-author of An assessment of Recent Economic Performance and Business Investment Growth in Ontario.

“Ontario’s position near the bottom of the Canadian provinces doesn’t bode well for the province’s future prospects.”

Covering the period from 2000 to 2019 (excluding 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the report found Ontario performed well below its own historic economic norms, most other provinces, and neighbouring U.S. states.

In the key metric of per-person business investment which, Eisen said, “lies at the heart of improving our standard of living and job creation,” Ontario recorded the third-lowest average annual growth rate of just 0.3% when adjusted for inflation and population.

Only New Brunswick and Nova Scotia had lower growth rates and Ontario lagged far behind B.C., the top-performing province, where the average growth rate was 2.7%.

Ontario was the worst performer in real per-capita aggregate economic growth of 9.1% from 2000-19, compared to an average of 26.1% for all provinces, excluding Ontario.

The Ontario economy also underperformed compared to previous decades.

From 1982-90, Ontario’s average annual real per capita GDP growth rate was 1.5% and 1.4% from 1991-2000, before plummeting to 0.1% from 2001-10 and only partly recovering to 0.9% from 2011-19.

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Private-sector job growth in Ontario only increased by 23.2% from 2000-19, compared to an average of 31.7% for all other provinces, ahead of only New Brunswick (10.0%) and Nova Scotia (14.2%) and on par with Newfoundland & Labrador (23.1%) and Manitoba (23.1%).

Ontario’s nominal net debt per capita from 2000-19, increased more than in any other province — by $12,952 — and its debt-to-GDP ratio — the lower the better — went from sixth-highest among the provinces in 2000 to second highest in 2019.

“In more recent years (prior to the COVID pandemic), weak economic performance in several jurisdictions, particularly Canada’s oil-producing regions, have led to a slight improvement in Ontario’s relative performance within Canada on economic growth,” the study concludes.

“However, Ontario should take no comfort in this development. The reversal is the result of weakness in other jurisdictions, not improvement in Ontario per se … Ontario has stopped being the economic growth laggard in Canada, but that is primarily because of more economic weakness elsewhere in the country … not because of improvements in Ontario.”

The Fraser study doesn’t go into the reasons for Ontario’s economic decline from 2000-19 and, to be clear, provincial economies are impacted by both national and global events in addition to policies by provincial governments.

That said, for the vast majority of the time covered by this study, the big-spending, high-deficit Liberal governments of Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne were in charge of the province — from 2003-18.


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Their policies turned Ontario into one of the world’s most indebted sub-sovereign borrowers and, among other things, dramatically increased electricity prices, causing significant job losses in Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

More proof, if any was needed, that government policies have a direct impact on economic growth, jobs, and our standard of living.

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S&P/TSX composite gains almost 100 points, U.S. stock markets also higher

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September 13, 2024

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TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.

The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.

The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

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Statistics Canada reports wholesale sales higher in July

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September 13, 2024

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OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.

The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.

The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.

The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.

In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.

Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

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S&P/TSX composite up more than 150 points, U.S. stock markets mixed

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September 12, 2024

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TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.

The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.

The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.

The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.

The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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