Quote:
Originally Posted by Crawford
There's some scholarship that suggests that U.S.-Germany-China type population/wealth distributions, with multiple power nodes, are better for economic growth than France-UK-Japan type centralized distributions.
I could see Toronto's rise as potentially challenging for Canada's overall economic growth. In an Anglosphere-dominated world, you have Toronto, and everywhere else is problematic. Montreal is the "wrong" language/culture, Vancouver ultra-isolated and ridiculous income-housing ratios, and everywhere else is really cold. Winnipeg and Edmonton aren't really like Nashville or Stuttgart. Multinationals don't have the menu of options like in the U.S. It creates inefficiencies.
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Although there's the argument that polycentric is economically beneficial, having significant population clusters in multiple regions is politically, socially, and culturally important as well. In the Canadian context, we're really talking about the populated south. North of 60 won't get properly integrated into the country and time soon; if ever. It's too isolated and the climate too harsh.
In our south, the gaping regional hole is Northern Ontario. The rest holds promise. The prairies may have harsh winters but the Calgary - Edmonton corridor is the wealthiest in Canada, has strong institutions, a solid corporate base, and 3.3 million people. It's absolutely building enough critical mass where it's self sustaining and able to attract global talent and capital. No population cluster rivals Toronto in heft but it's a counter balance nonetheless. It grows faster than Toronto so its clout should increase over the long term. The question is whether Saskatchewan and Manitoba can follow in Alberta's footsteps. Maybe, maybe not.
Vancouver/Vancouver Island is no more isolated than Seattle. It's expensive but droves of people head there any way. The BC Interior is growing rapidly too. Kelowna was the fastest growing metropolitan area in Canada. Montreal may not appeal to some anglophones but people of numerous stripes move there. Montreal probably added 70,000+ people last year.
The Maritimes will likely attain critical mass over the coming decades. They're southern but have historically lacked the demography to matter in the grand scheme of things. It will take a long time but, it too, will grow into another regional counter balance. The region has cultural and historic appeal and the climate is quite good by Canadian standards. Halifax has milder winters than Toronto.
Foreigners tend to be puzzlingly dismissive about what lies beyond Toronto. Canada is dominated by Toronto but there are loads of demographic, economic, political, and/or cultural counter balances either in existence or on the horizon. That's good for national cohesion, gives a voice to most of our regions, and offers Canadians more options.