FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 23, 2014
SIMCOE – A recently-released independent study has found Ontario’s lagging economy is dragging down the rest of the country.
Released April 14, the Fraser Institute study Can Canada Prosper Without A Prosperous Ontario, looked at the province’s decline from the country’s economic engine to a “have-not” province. The study found Ontario’s economy didn’t perform as well as the remainder of the country.
“Ontario’s poor record on GDP growth, employment and business investment reflects a damaged provincial economy that’s dragging down the national economy,” said Livio DiMatteo, study co-author and Lakehead University economics professor.
To make matters worse, Ontario has recorded the third lowest rate of private sector job creation in the country for the past 10 years. Private sector employment growth was 19 per cent nationally, and 42 per cent in Alberta, but only 14.1 per cent in Ontario.
The national unemployment rate averaged 7.6 per cent between 2009 and 2013, but would have dropped to 7.3 per cent if Ontario data was not included.
“This is depressing data, but not entirely surprising,” said Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett. “Ontario is currently not a business-friendly environment. From the highest electricity rates on the continent to the College of Trades to mounds of red tape, something needs to change.”
From 2003 to 2012, the level of national business investment was 5.3 per cent, but only 3 per cent in Ontario. This measure looks at business investment in buildings, machinery and equipment and is a reflection of business expansion.
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For more information
Contact MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446