Research suggests it makes more ecological and economic sense to dismantle dams than to restore or maintain them
Urban studies researcher Richard Florida has made a reputation with a lot of interesting ideas, many of which are controversial. One of his ideas is that people like to live near water, and that leads to prosperity in cities located on rivers, streams, lakes and oceans. My perspective on this theory is that settlers to…
Most of Canada’s transportation system, from Halifax to Vancouver, has been undercapitalized for years
After a harvest from hell across the country, farmers now have to deal with a new problem: the CN strike. Over 3,000 Canadian National Railway Co. employees out of about 24,000 in Canada and the United States are off the job. They’re asking for better working conditions and safety improvements. Perhaps it’s not the most…
Rapid adoption could cause an 11% spike in Canadian electricity demand, requiring utilities to make significant infrastructure investments
A new report the presence of an estimated 13.2 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030 will change Canadian energy demands. The EY Canadian electric vehicle transition – the difference between evolution and revolution report was released on Monday. It says Canadian sales of electric vehicles grew 165 per cent year over year in…
Governments and taxpayers need to look more closely at several factors, including transportation, impact and costs
Listen to the promoters and you would think the Vancouver-to-Seattle-to-Portland high-speed rail proposal is a great idea. For many, high-speed rail is a panacea that promises to solve all of our transportation and environmental problems. But governments and taxpayers need to look more closely at several factors, including transportation, impact and costs. High-speed rail has…
Alberta’s stock of infrastructure has gone from $21,541 per person in 2009 to $30,219 in 2019. The national average is $20,618 per person
Spending on infrastructure is important to any jurisdiction’s economy. Infrastructure investment – both public and private – is a good indication of how an economy is performing. It also helps boost that economy through jobs and business spending. ATB, in its The Owl daily economic update, says Alberta’s stock of public and private infrastructure was…
Over 585,000 jobs were associated with producing infrastructure assets in 2018, up 17,000 jobs from 2017: StatsCan
The value of Canada's public and private infrastructure was $852 billion in 2018, up $47 billion from 2017. That represents 7.7 per cent of national wealth, says Statistics Canada. “In real (volume) terms, this was a 2.7 per cent increase in the stock of infrastructure from the previous year and was 37.4 per cent higher…
CAPP report calls for a clear government commitment to resource development and a competitive fiscal environment
Canada has an abundance of natural resources, but a lack of pipelines and insufficient infrastructure are crippling our ability to compete for global market share, says a new report by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. “Before they will invest in Canada, global investors need to see that the Canadian federal and provincial governments are…
Pierre Cléroux of BDC talks about the province's steady emergence from recession and why the oil industry will remain a key factor
Pierre Cléroux is vice-president or research and chief economist at BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada). What’s your sense of where the Alberta economy is and what its outlook is for 2019? Cléroux: I think the economy is going to have slow growth for 2019 and we’re going to see more growth for 2020. The…
My advice for Western Economic Diversification Canada as it builds a 10-year strategy for growth
Western Economic Diversification Canada is working on a 10-year strategy to make the four western provinces competitive, innovative and inclusive, attracting business and investment and generating good jobs. To build the strategy, they’re seeking answers to the five questions below. Here are my thoughts on those questions: What does a stronger western Canadian economy look…
The premier is ignoring very real problems across Ontario in order to settle a personal vendetta with Toronto city council
It’s no shock that Ontario Premier Doug Ford wishes to shrink the size of Toronto city council. Conservatives like small government. Ford, a former Toronto city councillor, and his late brother Rob, a former mayor of Toronto, were known to be libertarian. They regularly made it clear that they believed that government should be leaner…