A new report from the Conference Board of Canada indicates university activities in the Windsor region contribute $2.1-billion a year to the local economy.
Michael Burt, Vice President, The Conference Board of Canada, says it works out to 12,716 jobs being supported each year in the region as a result of university activities and 13.1 per cent of the local GDP in the area.
But university activities is not defined as simply just what’s going on at the University of Windsor, it also includes graduates from any other university who now call the region home and the impact of their spending in the area.
The report assessed the economic impact three different ways – spending at universities including operations and income premiums people earn when the graduate from a university, the benefits of extra earnings people receive after graduating, and the economic impact of Research and Development spending.
Burt says a university graduate in the Windsor region makes 70 per cent more than those with just a high school diploma.
“That’s a significant contributor to the economic impacts in the region because that means people have more money to spend. It leads to impacts beyond their personal incomes because they’re able to spend more on housing, leisure, restaurants and all those sorts of things,” he says.
In 2015, 33,217 Ontario university graduates were working in the region. On average, they earned $73,025 in employment income, while the average high school graduate earned $42,670, representing a premium of $30,355. Ontario universities support $1 billion in additional annual earnings in the region, equivalent to 6.1 per cent of GDP, according to the report.
Burt says the footprint that comes from the operations from the University of Windsor is a significant contributor to the local economy.
“That goes beyond what the university is doing itself, but also things like tourism activity as people come in for convocation and those sorts of things. The presence of the university is a significant contributor to economic activity in the city,” he says.
Spending from university activities generated $455 million in taxes for the federal government, $431 million in taxes for the provincial government, and $102 million in taxes for municipal government(s) during the 2018–2019 period, according to the report.
The report examine 15 regions in Ontario and found the combined impact of spending in Ontario from university activities ($45.6 billion) and human capital development ($50.6 billion) is $96.2 billion annually, corresponding to 11.7 per cent of provincial GDP during the 2018–2019 period.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
