Indigenous businesses employ tens of thousands of people across Atlantic Canada and generate billions of dollars in goods and services, according to new research.
The interim report by the Atlantic Economic Council was released on Wednesday at a news conference in Truro, N.S.
Its findings show that overall, the Indigenous economy contributed five per cent of the region’s GDP and more than eight per cent of the region’s jobs.
“This is about twice the size of the impact of the aerospace and defence sector in the Atlantic region and about 11 times the size of international students attending Atlantic Universities,” said the report’s author, Fred Bergman, a senior policy analyst with the council.
The Indigenous economy added $3.6 billion to� Atlantic Canada’s gross domestic product in 2020, according to Bergman’s report, including $1.3 billion in Nova Scotia.
Fred Bergman of the Atlantic Economic Council said the number of self-employed Indigenous people has been growing at a much faster rate than it has among the non-Indigenous population. (Paul Poirier/CBC)
The research is being conducted on behalf of the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chief Secretariat.
It indicates as of 2020, Indigenous people held 56,000 jobs in the Atlantic region, 23,000 of which were located in Nova Scotia.
“The contribution of the First Nations community has in a local economy is significant and is often not looked at,” said Bob Gloade, chief of Millbrook First Nation.
Gloade noted the report shows in Nova Scotia, Indigenous business was responsible for $400 million in direct taxes, another thing he said is often misunderstood.
“You hear in the public that Indigenous people do not pay taxes and they are a burden on society, but that is totally incorrect,” he said.
The inland shipping terminal Millbrook First Nation is a part of is one of a number of job-creating projects being developed, he said.
Rapid growth of self-employed
Bergman pointed to other examples such as the $250-million acquisition of Clearwater Seafoods, as well as the 2023 North American Indigenous Games, which he said resulted in $26 million in economic spin-offs.
As of this year, the report identified 660 Indigenous-owned businesses in Nova Scotia as well as 2,400 self-employed people.
Between 2016 and 2021 the number of self-employed in the Indigenous community grew by 37 per cent, far outpacing the non-Indigenous population, Bergman said, showing an entrepreneurial spirit.
“If you’re having trouble finding a job, whether it is due to a weak economy and high interest rates, whether it’s due to the pandemic and restrictions, your other option is to start your own business,” he said.
The primary source for the research are the preliminary results from Statistics Canada’s Indigenous Peoples Economic Account, released in 2022.
The final estimates from that report are expected in April. A final report from the Atlantic Economic Council will then follow.
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.
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.
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.
