When we’re hot, we’re hot. (Remember that kiddies, next time you grumble at the tanks.)
“The western provinces remained on top of the leaderboard for a third consecutive year in 2005, while Central Canada experienced moderate gains and Atlantic Canada trailed at the bottom of the pack,” the bank said in an analysis of Statistics Canada’s annual provincial economic report card released this week.
That report card revealed Alberta led all provinces with economic growth of 4.5 per cent last year; followed by growth of more than three per cent in British Columbia and Saskatchewan; between two and three per cent in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec; by just over one per cent in Nova Scotia; and by less than that in the other Atlantic provinces.
“However, there is more to the story than just growth,” the bank said, noting to get a better idea of living standards it looked at per-capita incomes, both before and after taxes.
“Indeed, we observed a clear-cut disparity in standards of living from coast to coast in 2005,” the report said. “Albertans were better off than anyone lately, both in terms of the level and the rate of growth in economic well-being.”
For example, it noted the average income in Alberta was $65,397 — 156 per cent of the national average of $42,464, and 13.5 per cent more than a year earlier. Only two other provinces had average incomes above the national average, Ontario at $42,993, and Saskatchewan at $42,743.
Steve Poloz, chief economist Export Development Canada was on John Gormley Live this morning and mentioned that, among other things – the US economy is “slowing” and will drag ours back down…
Makes me wonder if he gets his information from the Toronto Star Enquirer.
via the Corner
GDP Grew at a 4.8% Annualized Rate in the 1st Quarter
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its �advance estimate� of growth in the inflation-adjusted (�real�) gross domestic product (GDP) for the 1st quarter of 2006. (Available at http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrelarchive/2006/gdp106a.pdf).
Annualized GDP growth in the 1st quarter was estimated at a rapid 4.8% rate; growth was 1.7% in the 4th quarter of last year.
Highlights:
� The major contributors to GDP growth in the 1st quarter were personal consumption expenditures (which grew 5.5%), business equipment and software spending (which grew 16.4%), exports (which grew 12.1%), and federal government spending (which grew 10.8%). Imports, which are a subtraction from GDP, grew 13.0%.
� The inflation-adjusted change in private inventories subtracted 0.52 percentage point from the 1st-quarter change in real GDP.
� The acceleration in growth (from 1.7% in the 4th quarter to 4.8% in the 1st) reflected faster growth in personal consumption expenditures for durable goods, an upturn in federal government spending, and faster growth in equipment and software and in exports.
� Growth in the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy prices, the Federal Reserve�s preferred measure of consumer price inflation, declined to an annualized 2.0% in the 1st quarter from 2.4% in the 4th quarter.
That’s right – on the surface, this suggests that the growth of the US economy outstripped that of Alberta. I know there’s lots to quibble about in the details (differences in calculation methodology,etc.) and quibbling is our specialty here – but please, may we at least drop this longstanding and self-serving canard about the “strong” Canadian vs “weakening” US economy?
Hopefully this means that the Flames and Oilers can stop whining about being small-market, small-revenue teams.
A friend told me she was not voting Conservative because she was afraid Harper would give us the same kind of economy as Bush gave the U.S. I asked her what she meant and she said “well for example their unemployment rate”. I pointed out that their unemployment rate was under 5% and ours was over 6.5%. She didn’t believe me. I attempted to entice her into making a large bet and then sent her links to the facts. I then suggested she stop getting her news from the Toronto Star and the CBC.
I heard (or read) somewhere that for all the hoopla, Canada’s lowest unemployment rate still had to come down some to match America’s highest.
Terry, this is why many canadians vote Liberal not b/c alot of them are liberals. It’s b/c they have been brainwash by the media.
More proof the MSM is a bunch of lying scumbags.
There are definitely people out there that secretly gloat about some impending economic gloom and doom for the US economy. And funny, these people are by and large wealth-dependent on it, inlcuding Canadians. Think of Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky’s stock in Halliburton. What is it with this death wish? The simple answer must be that without God providing the measure for your life, idolatry fills that vacuum, which naturally leads to hatred towards the principles of Judeo-Chrsitianity, democracy, free markets, everything that afforded us so much wealth, health and freedom to enjoy. It’s like the spoiled child playing video games while his parents bring him snacks to eat. He gets fat and ungrateful and thinks he is the center of the universe. Sound like a liberal?
Kate, you do have a point, especially in the longer run. Here’s part of a CTV report on a Conference Board of Canada report comparing Canada with other countries [Ann Golden is Conference Board President]:
“If Canada were a child, we would be in the gifted class,” said Golden. “We have so many endowments, great human capital, we’ve got so many things going for us. … But over the years, we’re no longer in the front of the class.”
Golden cites three main reasons behind the slip:
lagging productivity;
the improved performances of other countries; and
the country’s failure to embrace trade.
The report finds that Canada’s productivity is stagnating, with a widening income gap between Canadians and Americans to the tune of more than $8,000 US per person. American productivity grew by 3.6 per cent in 2004 — triple the Canadian rate.
And other countries, especially those in Scandinavia, are surpassing both Canada and the United States in productivity growth.
On the issue of trade, Golden said trade has “become much more complicated, integrated … and we’re not embracing openness to trade — inbound and outbound — the way we have to.”
Those points, coupled with Canada’s aging population, will make it difficult for Canada “to avoid falling farther in the global rankings,” warns the report.
I had the same conversation with my brother. He said that unemployment is high under Bush. I replied that U.S. unemployment is and always has been less than Canada’s. He was silent after that.
AdScam Power Corp/Jeancula/Paul Who?/gag, etc., sold its “lumber” stock holdings yesterday on the advice of Ralph “Income Trust Me” & Scorty. The Librano$ now are attempting to recoup their losses from George Harper. +
Canadian lumber company stocks lifted on news of softwood deal with U.S. +
Canadian Press
Published: Friday, April 28, 2006
TORONTO (CP) – +
http://www.paulding.net/bin/url.cgi/13266.20
I don’t know if this is still true, but a few years ago I read that the top selling car in Canada was the Honda Civic while in the US it was the Honda Accord. To me this says it all.
Dare I say it but Saskatchewan is higher than the national average income by a whopping 0.657%. The trouble is that you folks aren’t taking home nearly as much percentage wise as Alberta due to the taxes. And that is truly sad as Saskatchewan is litterally sitting on the equivalent of a gold mine but is doing nothing about it but driving it’s people away. So much potential, sighhhh.
One could also make a decent case about the Canadian “social safety net” and the fact that many people rely on that too much. It is a good thing that the Mexican border is so far away otherwise there would be a lot of people filling those jobs that Canadians will not take because it pays less than the job they left, etc.
Free, I was going to say that.
We must have the same sense of humour.
You need to make 62,000.00 a year to live in Alberta. The cost of living high in Alberta is expensive. I live better on 42,000.00 a year here in Sask.
ok—do you live in Alberta?
I do.
The cost of living in Alberta is one of the best I have ever experienced in my life, and I have lived all around the US too; east, midwest and west. But one thing, even with the lowest price of gasoline in Canada, gas in Alberta is still not as cheap as it is in Montana.
Kate: re your spelling question: I’m pretty sure the guy you were listening to on Gormely was Steve Poloz – a pretty cool guy, and also my first economics teacher (when he was a grad student at UWO).
I seriously doubt that you could live better in Saskatoon or Regina than you could in Calgary or Edmonton for that difference.
According to the Fraser institute tax freedom day calculator, you would make around $11000 more after tax in Alberta. That is around $900 per month to pay more for housing and Auto insurance. Also, if you have two average income wage eaners in your household, that will double.
While Saskatchewan is doing well despite the communist regime we have for a government, I feel the gap between our provinces may widen more in the next few years.
TD
earners
One day Manitoba will see the light and be welcomed back into the Western family.
Poloz it is – thanks!
I have an RCMP friend in Alberta. He’s from there but was stationed here for awhile. His who handles the finances told us it was cheaper to live in Sask. I think you’re braggin a little bit and not truthful. Everyone from Alberta thinks it’s great even when it’s not. I’ve been there many times. Albertans are alot like Americans they like to puff up their image.
The standard of living in Calgary is pretty good, but the cost of housing is going through the freakin’ roof. I’d been hoping to upgrade to a bigger home but right now I’m just sitting tight to see if the real estate market will cool down just a bit. Too many people moving into the city!
Boom, boom, boom baby!
When companies here have a hard time getting people to shovel Oiled dirt for $14.50 an hour…
Sound like an American, huh? And what if I was an American?
Did you ever stop to think that you sound like a Soviet Communist?
What happened to them?
I visit Western Ontario twice a year for the great fishing. Never met an anti-American asshole and never feel a bit unwelcome. The values and culture are pretty nearly identical to Wisconsin’s. I think you guys (from central Ontario west) should change countries. Let the socialists have their little nirvana of the east (and try to pay their own bills) while the productive Canadians get a big raise (tax cuts) and a lot more freedom.
If you guys think the cost of housing is high in Alberta, you should try the Vancouver area. My daughter and her husband bought a new townhouse in Langley, a fairly modest one, last august for $228K. Last week the same units were selling for $299K. And the assessed value of my own house has increased $350K from what I paid for it 11 years ago.
Funny, we bought our first house in Calgary, an average bungalow, in Calgary in 1972 for $25K…of course, I was only earning about $7000 per year at the time.
Let’s negotiate, Cap’n Ron…
I aways thought in was unfortunate that the US & Canadian portion of North America wasn’t split north to south rather than east to west…that way each country would have a balanced mix of sunbelt versus tundra…
Ya gotta love this line from ok4u “Everyone from Alberta thinks it’s great even when it’s not.”
It is all subjective. If you like it, it is good. If you do not like it it is bad for you. When more people move from one location to another, that indicates more people like one place than the other.
Very simply, more people are moving to Alberta. People are moving away from Saskatchewan.
Real estate costs being much less in Saskatchewan would lower costs for someone who makes the same in Alberta as in Saskatchewan. Thing is, that RCMP is overpaid in Saskatchewan and underpaid in Alberta.
You go get a job in Alberta, and see if you make the same as you do in Saskatchewan. You probably won’t. Net net you come out ahead. Unless you are another federal employee.
enough
ok4u,
You vote with your feet. I have been in Calgary on a number of occasions and I am amazed by the number of ex-Saskatchewan people who now live in Calgary. Not a lot of Albertans moving to Regina or Saskatoon. Ask the moving companies which way the flow is.
Posted by: Begbie.
Quite a week for Mr. Emerson. This may make him feel better about having left the Dark Side. Good news for Canada too, of course – this type of infrastructur is critical to our development plans for the next century:
Money for Pacific Gateway plan to be included in Tuesday’s federal budget
JENNIFER DITCHBURN AND SANDRA CORDON
OTTAWA (CP) – More than a half-billion dollars is expected in the Conservative government’s maiden budget next Tuesday to help British Columbia’s overwhelmed ports system and expand trade with booming China.
…
“Emerson’s on top of this stuff big time,” said one source. “He’s doing a hell of a job.”
…
Local boosters say the new container port will bring a major shift northward in Canada’s economic centre of gravity. +
http://www.voy.com/178771/4773.html
More people left Sask when Reverend Divine was in power than ever now. You vote hoping some of the rich man’s money will help you. It doesn’t work that way so keep hoping. If I’m a commie you’re a nazi………same extreme. There has never been a good Tory Gov’t. Not even in Alberta. They are successful in Alberta because of oil and tourism.The weird Socreds even made money and they were weird.
Deal-breaker?
Clause in softwood deal could impinge Canadian sovereignty, sources say
A clause in the tentative softwood deal between Canada and the United States is being called a deal-…
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/index.html
ok4ua
I beg to differ…the population of Saskatchewan increased when Grant Divine was in power.
He had some problems but getting people and business to come here was not one.
Now the Calvert NDP……
Excuse me I remember it well. We had some Alberta Co doing buisness and a few easteners come in but we had a net loss. There were 980,000 people here under Devine when Romanow took power in a year we were over 1,000,000 . Check Stats Canada .
Yup – more people have left under Calvert than any other modern administration.
Ssaskatchewan Bureau of Statistics
1982…..987,274
1991….1,002,686
Believe what you want.
Having lived and worked in all three prairie provinces, I can say that if ok4ua thinks Alberta is a bad place then so be it. Somebody has to stay behind and turn off the lights.
Yes the cost of living is increasing in the major centers and up in the oilsands but then again it is supply and demand. Remember that you will also get 50% more wages to help handle it. Live elsewhere in Alberta and you will find it a lot better. Heck, I might retire down in Pincher Creek. Or Belize but that is another post.
Not to pick on ok4ua but ” They are sucessful in Alberta because of oil and tourism.” is the typical rant of someone who believes the oil reserves stop at the border and that the oil came bubbling up after cousin Jed missed shooting supper. Socialism brings everyone DOWN to the same level not up.
My wife and I recently found out we’re expecting our first child later this year. Since she has a degree and a diploma and CANNOT find a job because she is overqualified (we live in a rural community that has a hospital but will not accommodate birthing) and the nearest hospital that can deliver our baby is OVER 1 hour away, we’ve decided to bolt for Alberta later this summer.
We both were born and raised in Saskatchewan and our hearts will always remain here. But, the world is an unforgiving place and we need to do what’s best for the 3 of us…and Alberta more than offers what we need. It’s a bloody shame that this province has so much potential and yet the socialists keep scaring the electorate when election time rolls around. Don’t kid yourselves, the NDP are masters when it comes to engineering election campaigns and will win in 2007. If they fold under the pressure of fiascos such as Baby Paige, they won’t bother bolting down the NDP seats in opposition because they’ll be back to restore the insanity after one term of rational, reasonable, common sense SP government.
As far as population statistics go, Devine grew the province. Under Romanow, Calvert et.al. Saskatchewan’s population has taken a major nosedive (just as Kate mentioned previously). Plus, if all the socialist thinkers (a misnomer if I ever heard one) out there keep leaning on the “Devine Legacy” to make their point, that only goes to prove that the NDP are still living in the dark ages and rely on fear, loathing and envy.
I’ll check in once and awhile to let you know how the job hunt goes.
Perhaps it’s time to trot out The Map again: http://www.prairiecentre.com/capital-punishment.htm
It looks more political than geological.
This is a Tory pipe dream. We lost more people under devine. Even more than under Calvert.
Next you’ll try to convince me Devine was a great premier. You Tories are all the same. Blame somebody else for your blunders. Your party and the Liberals screwed up a great country. Canada.
You screw it up and then promise to repair it. You guys lie like sidewalks. You fudge stats with your media buddies to convince people we should trust you. You and your kind don’t fool me a bit.You guys couldn’t administer an enema!!!Even here in Sask a local radio station tried to give Devine at the time free airspace……You’re a crooked bunch of religious freaks. You guys couldn’t teach a cat to take food off a table.
ok4ua
I’m glad I was asleep while you were on your rant,I might have stayed up too late arguing.
No one said that Devine was a great Premier,the discussion was about population.
Several people have told you that Devine grew the population and you still ignore the facts.
That leads me to the only conclusion possible.
You are an idiot.
We lost people under Devine. Your sources are wrong. Check stats Canada during the 80’s. Our population grew under Romanow. Quit fudging stats to suit your story. I remember it well.
ok4u…you are partially right about population under this NDP administration. Here are the numbers as prepared by StatsCanada:
1981 – 975,867
1982 – 987,274
1983 – 1,001,872
1984 – 1,015,494
1985 – 1,025,469
1986 – 1,029,270
1987 – 1,032,745
1988 – 1,028,012
1989 – 1,019,222
1990 – 1,007,114
1991 – 1,002,686
1992 – 1,003,956
1993 – 1,006,854
1994 – 1,009, 521
1995 – 1,014,126
1996 – 1,019,100
1997 – 1,018,067
1998 – 1,017,506
1999 – 1,014,707
2000 – 1,007,134
2001 – 1,000,134
2002 – 995,886
2003 – 994,519
2004 – 994,300
2005 – 994,126
Based on those numbers, it looks like the people who used to live in Saskatchewan could see what was coming. When Devine was obviously not going to be re-elected, they fled. Under Romanow, they continued to flee until they realized that Roy was not a bad Liberal premier and the population grew. When Romanow was on his way out the people again saw what was coming – this time only quicker – and kept fleeing under Lorne Calvert.
BTW, all these are the stats from StatsCanada posted on the Province of Saskatchewan’s website.
Does it really make a difference what party is in?
We still lose people. I’ll give you an example. My wife is a manager in the health district. She says there are dozens of postings that go unfilled. Our LPN’s here in Sask are the highest paid in Canada. They can’t fill jobs. Our Nurses are 2nd only to Alberta. Homecare workers get 18.00 an hr and they can’t get workers. The private sector construction workers get 12.00 to 14.00 an hr. That’s too low a wage. There is a shortage. This government has nothing to be ashamed of.
I think we could blame the SaskaTory party for all the bad press. They’re always telling us how rotten Sask is. They are fear mongers that’s for sure. We’re right behind Albert in GNP. So what’s up SaskParty? They disagree to disagree. It makes good news. Dragging in dying people is good!! Yes? No? Nothing like someone who is dying to get news media going. And then blame the Gov’t. It’s their fault she has terminal Cancer……Right???
And she is terminal. No Oncologist can save her but it looks good on TV. Or does it? Yellow Journalism is alive and well on our unbiased news media.Right? I feel sorry for her family that the SaskParty uses their sorrow for political points. They just don’t realize it yet. Or do they?
The best advertisement for moving to Alberta is the Saskatory Party. They woo a lot of skilled labour to Alberta. Thanks SaskaTory party you’ve done your job.