Calgary and Ottawa have best prospects

Will outperform rest of Canada, say TD economists

By: IE Staff
February 25, 2000 February 25, 2000
10:34

(February 25 – 10:40 ET) – Calgary and Ottawa have the best long-term economic prospects among Canada’s 10 major cities, says economists at TD Bank.

“The rapid economic growth chalked up over the past few years in Canada’s major cities is fuelling a wave of optimism not seen since the late 1980’s,” says Derek Burleton, senior economist at TD.

In the late 1990’s urban Canada prospered relative to the rest of the country. “Looking ahead to the longer term, we expect that these cities will continue to outperform the rest of the country,” predicts Burleton.

Calgary is tipped wth the brightest future. “Calgary continues to diversify away from the oilpatch and towards manufacturing and knowledge-based industries, is home to a young and growing workforce, and boasts a very low tax burden,” says Burleton.

Ottawa’s high tech focus should propel it ahead, while the prospects are also very good for Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Kitchener-Waterloo and Halifax.

The economies of Montreal, Winnipeg and Saskatoon are expected to expand at a slower pace than the other major cities over the longer term, although their prospects remain good, says TD.
-IE Staff