Halifax holds the key to Atlantic economy

[Wishblade]

Halifax holds the key to Atlantic economy
City needs more funding to help region grow — economist


Halifax will be the locomotive that pulls Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada out of the recession and contributes to most future regional economic development, a leading economist said Monday.

Glen Hodgson, senior vice-president and chief economist with the Conference Board of Canada, said federal and provincial policy-makers must break away from the "peanut butter approach" of spreading cash for economic development around the region on a per capita basis and recognize the unique role the provincial capital has as a national urban centre.

"If you’re helping Halifax, you are helping everybody in Nova Scotia and indeed everybody in Atlantic Canada," the economist told about 300 people participating in Mayor Peter Kelly’s Forum on the Greater Halifax Economy.

"The countryside does better when you invest in the city," the economist said in his presentation that covered policies for achieving successful cities.

"Research shows that per capita distribution, while politically appealing, is not optimal," he said of economic development policies of the past.

The economist said the numbers suggest the recession should begin to lift across Canada by 2010, with gross domestic product rebounding back up to a healthier level of 2.5 per cent.

He said Halifax — because of its high proportion of employment in the military, government, educational and health sectors — will escape some of the worst that the recession will bring to some other parts of Canada, such as in the manufacturing heartland of southwestern Ontario.

Statistics the economist presented to the forum covered Conference Board of Canada research that identifies nine hub cities: Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

"These cities are the economic engines in their respective regions or province," said Mr. Hodgson.

And he said more funding for economic development should be allocated strategically to these nine hub cities to meet their needs and pull their respective regions forward.

Mr. Hodgson introduced forum participants to an economic theory called the Convergence Hypothesis, which suggests that a richer or urban area acts as a growth locomotive and poorer or rural areas experience faster growth as a result.

Mr. Kelly said Halifax has been lobbying for a more consistent funding arrangement from the province and from Ottawa for years.

He said the hub city concept is already recognized in other parts of the country.

"We are the economic hub not just of Nova Scotia, but for Atlantic Canada and what’s good for Halifax municipality is good for other municipalities in Nova Scotia and in Atlantic Canada," the mayor said.

He used the forum to announce the establishment of a new economic strategy committee, an advisory group that will be led by businessman Dick Miller.

Mr. Miller is president of Clayton Developments Ltd.

link: http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1114231.html

[kwajo]

Statistics the economist presented to the forum covered Conference Board of Canada research that identifies nine hub cities: Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

"These cities are the economic engines in their respective regions or province," said Mr. Hodgson.

So New Brunswick, Newfoundland and PEI don't have their own economic engines? Give me a break.

[hfx_chris]

Must be a skeleton key...

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by Wishblade

Halifax holds the key to Atlantic economy
City needs more funding to help region grow — economist

He said Halifax — because of its high proportion of employment in the military, government, educational and health sectors — will escape some of the worst that the recession will bring to some other parts of Canada, such as in the manufacturing heartland of southwestern Ontario.

Statistics the economist presented to the forum covered Conference Board of Canada research that identifies nine hub cities: Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

"These cities are the economic engines in their respective regions or province," said Mr. Hodgson.

And he said more funding for economic development should be allocated strategically to these nine hub cities to meet their needs and pull their respective regions forward.

What a joke.

Only three of the nine cities mentioned are east of the Ontario/Manitoba border. Why is it that Saskatchewan gets two regional economic cities but all of Atlantic Canada only gets one?

Halifax is certainly not the sole economic engine of Atlantic Canada.

Halifax's economy is largely service based and is concentrated in the "healthcare, military, educational and governmental sectors", all areas of the economy directly controlled and/or manipulated by the federal or provincial government bureaucracies.

What this means is that Halifax's economy doesn't actually create wealth, it merely redistributes wealth created elsewhere. This is true of most provincial capitals. The real wealth is created in non-governmental cities like Saint John and Moncton, which have learned to survive on their entrepeneurial skills and largely in the absence of federal or provincial largess.

And this economist thinks that the Atlantic region as a whole should be thrown to the wolves with all federally or provincially supported economic projects being concentrated in Halifax alone?

Give me a break!!!

Talk about social engineering....

Don't get me wrong......I really like Halifax and it has an important role in the provincial and regional economy but you can't sacrifice the whole region just to promote development in Halifax.

[Jringe01]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

What a joke. The real wealth is created in non-governmental cities like Saint John and Moncton, which have learned to survive on their entrepeneurial skills and largely in the absence of federal or provincial largess.
Don't get me wrong......I really like Halifax and it has an important role in the provincial and regional economy but you can't sacrifice the whole region just to promote development in Halifax.

I agree. In fact it's apparent that devleopement in Mocton is the major driver of economic activity along the Halifax-Mocton corridor...not development in Halifax.
When you have just one big city with all the action it can easily bleed the regions around it (St John's NFLD is a good example of this) whereas if you have 2 or more cities (such as Halifax-Moncton or Calgary-Edmonton) in a corridor arrangement then we see that regions will also benefit

[MonctonRad]

I wouldn't go so far as to say all that, but it certainly is somewhat disingenuous of Peter Kelly et al to say that growth elsewhere in the Maritimes should be sacrificed on the altar of Haligonia.

[someone123]

Well, Halifax also has a major port, finance, high tech businesses, aerospace/airport, etc. All of that is much larger than what you find elsewhere in the region.

The point is not so much that all growth has to happen in Halifax, it is that some things only really would work there and so it in fact even makes sense to invest disproportionately in the city. There are lots of things that Halifax can and does support that could not exist in other cities around the Maritimes.

Halifax-Moncton is not like Calgary-Edmonton. The cities are smaller, and Halifax is 3 times larger than Moncton at least. Halifax has a national profile and Moncton does not.

I think the Maritimes have hugely lost out by not having a single major city that can compete with other major cities nationally. The kind of bickering that exists in this thread is a significant part of why the region was so economically stagnant for so long.

[MonctonRad]

You make very good points Someone, There is a value in having a dominant city with a national profile in the Maritimes. It tends to increase the profile of the region in general. A strong Maritimes needs a strong Halifax.

There is a very fine line to this argument however. If Halifax were to become too dominant, it might be to the detriment of the rest of the region. There is a value to distributing the economic activity around the region. I personally feel that there should be a strong economic corridor extending from Halifax through Moncton and on down to Saint John.

I think this is happening in any event. Saint John is coming along like gangbusters with their plans to become an energy powerhouse for the northeast. Sussex is prospering with natural gas and potash developments. Moncton has transportation and distribution. Sackville/Amherst has the university and wind energy. Truro is a mini Moncton. Halifax is well....Halifax.
Saint John, Halifax and Moncton are all well served by commercial services, educational and health care infrastructure.

We just have to stay the course to remain prosperous.

I do agree with the economist that we have to be careful about where to place infrastructure investment. Does it make sense to fund container ports in Sydney and Port Hawksbury? How serious should we be about finding replacement industries for (former) mining and forestry related communities in northern NB. These are serious questions.

A central growth corridor encompassing central NS and southern NB however is essential. This can not be sacrificed. This spreads the wealth around and helps to justify a regional transportation infrastructure. After all, if 2/3 of the Maritimes population were centred in Halifax, would we really see a region wide network of divided highways. I don't think so. You would have a situation like in southern Ontario or lower mainland BC where divided highways peter out pretty quickly once you get outside the urban areas.

Food for thought in any event. You need a balanced approach. Place the funding where it makes the most sense. This may not always be in Halifax.