Economic Development Blog

A new Conference Board of Canada report assessing the impact of $364 billion CAD worth of investments on Canada’s regions and industry sectors says that a full one-third of the economic benefits of oil sands investment between 2012 and 2035 will be outside Alberta.

Alberta Oil Sands investment (source – Conference Board of Canada)

The report, titled “Fuel for Thought: The Economic Benefit of Oil Sands Investment for Canada’s Regions,” was presented at the National Buyer Seller Forum in Edmonton.

Oil sands investment is expected to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 25 years.

Aside from the employment impact, oil sands-related investment is expected to generate government revenues of $79.4 billion ($45.3 billion in federal revenues and $34.1 for provinces) between 2012 and 2035, on an inflation-adjusted basis. This includes the effects of personal income taxes, corporate profit taxes, and indirect taxes (such as sales taxes and taxes on fuel).

“The development of Canada’s oil sands deposits constitutes one of the largest development projects in the country’s history,” said Michael Burt, director of Industrial Economic Trends. “It is so large that it will rival massive public works projects in scale, such as the building of the Interstate Highway System in the United States.”

As for the employment impact, the study details the supply chain effects of 1.45 million person-years of employment in a variety of industries, but predominately in oilfield services, professional services, manufacturing, wholesale trade, financial services, and transportation.

The majority of the supply chain employment effects (70 per cent) will occur in Alberta, geared toward industries where oil and gas in general, and oil sands in particular, are a major source of revenues.

The share of supply chain effects outside Alberta is broken down by percentage and industry type as follows:-

Ontario (14.8 per cent): Above-average employment effects will occur in services, but also in manufacturing inputs for the oil sands.

British Columbia (6.7 per cent): Plastic products, paper products, and wood products all experience above-average effects. So do scientific services, legal and accounting services, computer services and transportation and travel-related industries.

Quebec (3.9 per cent): Supply chain effects are tied to the large businesses that are headquartered in Quebec, such as CGI for computer services and CN for rail transportation.

Prairies (3.7 per cent):  Rail and truck transportation, steel mills, metal tanks, steel pipes and tubes, printing, and medical equipment and supplies gain from supply chain effects related to oil sands investment.

Atlantic Canada (0.8 per cent): Ornamental and architectural metal products; construction machinery; navigational, measuring, medical, and control instruments; and tire manufacturing.

This study was funded by the Government of Alberta and Industry Canada. Read the full Conference Board of Canada report – Download (free registration required)

www.leadershipdallas.org/

The regional chamber in the Dallas, Texas area has honored economic and job creators.

“Momentum Awards” were handed out to a variety of businesses and organizations which contributed to job growth and economic development.

The Chairman of the Dallas Regional Chamber elaborates on how the nine organizations have done their part to make a lasting impression on the community while also boosting the local economy.

The winners of the awards include:

1. Southwest Airlines which received a total job growth award. Nearly 4,000 jobs were created through a redevelopment project and the Airtran acquisition.
2. Golden Living received a relocation award. Nearly 100 jobs were created as the company relocated from Fort Smith to the region of Plano.
3. Baylor Medical Center received a facility location award. Nearly $200 million dollars was spent while 500 jobs were created.
4. Kohl’s Distribution Center received a facility location award. An e-commerce distribution center was created in DeSoto which ultimately created 400 full time jobs and 1,600 part time jobs.
5. Bottle Rocket Apps received a percentage growth award. The company has efficiently doubled over the years while 78 jobs were added.
6. The community catalyst award was handed out to Trinity Trust and the entire city of Dallas
7. The Innovation Catalyst Award was handed out to the Development Center at the University of Texas.
8. The education catalyst award was given out to Group Excellence. Mentoring organization for school students has grown to 500 people.
9. Global Catalyst Award was handed out to the Worlds Affair Council

Economic development has been a large part of progress as many regions across the United States are currently struggling. The local government and the people are going to have to work in collaboration in order for progress to occur.

The economic development awards are well deserved as the organizations have made a positive impact on the Dallas region.

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www.50states.com/

The state of Wisconsin is utilizing art to ultimately drive economic development.

Ground is expected to be broken as the $1.5 million dollar Houdini Plaza is opened. The plaza will be used for purposes such as small concerts, exhibits and a variety of other events. The region of Appleton has gone through a transformation as entertainment and art is now the focus of the town and the surrounding area. The Houdini Plaza will be located between Lawrence University and Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. Leaders across Wisconsin will gather at the Paper Valley Hotel where they will talk about utilizing art as an economic development tool. An Executive Director for Appleton Downtown elaborates on how people are looking for something unique and the focus on art will definitely boost business.

The conference will include a downtown tour, speakers across the state and a variety of panel discussions. There have also been other communities which have utilized art for economic development purposes such as Cedarburg, Door County, Mineral Point and the region of Milwaukee. A two year economic impact report was also conducted in which nonprofit art organizations generated approximately $535 million dollars for the year. If profit arts are thrown into the mix, the impact is even greater.

Executive Vice President Maria Laanen states that economic impact has been incredible for the state of Wisconsin and the surrounding region. The Performing Arts Center brings in approximately 300,000 people a year while having an economic impact of nearly $14 million dollars. Appleton also holds a local farmers market with nearly 180 vendors. Octoberfest was also held in which nearly 130,000 people were drawn to the region of Appleton. Van Laanen states that the performing arts center does need to be scaled for the surrounding community.

Overall, the state of Wisconsin needs to be properly scaled to benefit the community of Appleton.

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www.officer.com/

The company called Revision Military in the state of Vermont has received a $1.2 million dollar loan from the local development authority.

Revision Military is currently located in the Essex Junction and has bases in the Netherlands and Canada as well. Revision Military is known for producing protective gear and helmet shells in its plant which is located in Vermont. Revision Military is currently contracted to produce nearly 100,000 helmets for the Army within the time span of one year.

A Democratic Senator named Patrick Leahy wanted to bring Revision and MSA together by announcing a $2 million dollar contract that would ultimately develop a helmet system.

A Senior Member named Greg Guma elaborates on how he worked with the MSA to secure nearly $10 million dollars for development and research. Greg also worked with Revision Military to acquire millions of dollars for the development of protective eyewear. Senator Leahy has also allocated money to the MSA in the past as $21 million dollars was given out to produce combat helmets for the United States Army. For the year 2011, only $134,000 dollars was given out for the combat helmet project. On the other hand, Revision Eyewear received nearly $7.3 million dollars in the past couple of years. There has also been state support for Revision and its affiliates.

The Economic Progress Council in Vermont also obtained funding in the amount of $734,000 dollars. The Vermont Employment Growth Program approved the funding as well. The Development Authority is helping the military and the general public as more jobs will be created to ultimately create the helmets and the protective eyewear. A bright light has to also be shed on Senator Leahy as he supported the helmet and eyewear initiatives.

Overall, the Development Authority has made a smart move by supporting Revision Military and its contract to produce approximately 100,000 helmets.

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