ARTICLE
Only 19 percent of northeastern Ontario businesses are confident in Ontario’s economic future, according to the 2018 Ontario Economic Report, issued this week by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Timmins Chamber of Commerce. This is a five-percent drop from the previous year, as revealed in the 2018 Ontario Economic Report (OER)’s annual business confidence survey. The report indicates that businesses’ main area of concern is the growing cost of operating in Ontario, due in part to its rising tax burdens and electricity rates. “These findings are in keeping with the challenges faced by Timmins businesses, whose costs continue to rise in virtually every sector,” said Jamie Clarke, president of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce. “Over the last year, our membership has expressed strong concerns about the impact that issues like cap and trade and labour law changes are having on their competitiveness, and we continue to advocate on their behalf to urge government to relieve some of that burden.” Despite a lack of confidence in the larger economy, northeastern businesses are slightly more confident in their own economic future: 45 percent said they have a positive perspective for their own firm, citing a growing client base and increased demand. The combined result, according to the report, is a projected stagnation in Ontario’s overall economy. This is reinforced by regional data, as the Business Confidence Survey reveals that nearly half of northeastern Ontario businesses expect their organization’s revenue to stay the same over the next 12 months. “Industry in Ontario are feeling the impact of the rising minimum wage, significant labour reforms, increasing global and US competition, NAFTA renegotiations, consistent overregulation, rising input costs, and challenges to accessing talent,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. “This year’s Ontario Economic Report indicates that these challenges are creating a climate of low business confidence that will compromise the province’s future prosperity.” Tackling many of these issues will be a major focus for the Ontario Chamber in 2018, which will also work on some specific areas of interest for northeastern Ontario. In particular, the Ontario Chamber will look to address Northern Ontario transportation and infrastructure issues, in part due to continued advocacy by the Timmins Chamber on topics such as Connecting Link funding. The Timmins Chamber will continue to work directly with the Ontario chamber network throughout the coming months to address barriers that impact local businesses. The OER contains several different perspectives on Ontario’s economy, produced by different partners for the Ontario Chamber: this includes the Business Confidence Survey, as conducted by Fresh Intelligence; a Business Prosperity Index, as developed by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA), and a 2018 Economic Outlook, as prepared by BMO Financial Group. To view the full 2018 Ontario Economic Report, visit www.tinyurl.com/OntarioEconomicReport2018 -30-
Only 19 percent of northeastern Ontario businesses are confident in Ontario’s economic future, according to the 2018 Ontario Economic Report, issued this week by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.
This is a five-percent drop from the previous year, as revealed in the 2018 Ontario Economic Report (OER)’s annual business confidence survey. The report indicates that businesses’ main area of concern is the growing cost of operating in Ontario, due in part to its rising tax burdens and electricity rates.
“These findings are in keeping with the challenges faced by Timmins businesses, whose costs continue to rise in virtually every sector,” said Jamie Clarke, president of the Timmins Chamber of Commerce.
“Over the last year, our membership has expressed strong concerns about the impact that issues like cap and trade and labour law changes are having on their competitiveness, and we continue to advocate on their behalf to urge government to relieve some of that burden.”
Despite a lack of confidence in the larger economy, northeastern businesses are slightly more confident in their own economic future: 45 percent said they have a positive perspective for their own firm, citing a growing client base and increased demand.
The combined result, according to the report, is a projected stagnation in Ontario’s overall economy. This is reinforced by regional data, as the Business Confidence Survey reveals that nearly half of northeastern Ontario businesses expect their organization’s revenue to stay the same over the next 12 months.
“Industry in Ontario are feeling the impact of the rising minimum wage, significant labour reforms, increasing global and US competition, NAFTA renegotiations, consistent overregulation, rising input costs, and challenges to accessing talent,” said Rocco Rossi, President and CEO at the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.
“This year’s Ontario Economic Report indicates that these challenges are creating a climate of low business confidence that will compromise the province’s future prosperity.”
Tackling many of these issues will be a major focus for the Ontario Chamber in 2018, which will also work on some specific areas of interest for northeastern Ontario. In particular, the Ontario Chamber will look to address Northern Ontario transportation and infrastructure issues, in part due to continued advocacy by the Timmins Chamber on topics such as Connecting Link funding. The Timmins Chamber will continue to work directly with the Ontario chamber network throughout the coming months to address barriers that impact local businesses.
The OER contains several different perspectives on Ontario’s economy, produced by different partners for the Ontario Chamber: this includes the Business Confidence Survey, as conducted by Fresh Intelligence; a Business Prosperity Index, as developed by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA), and a 2018 Economic Outlook, as prepared by BMO Financial Group.
To view the full 2018 Ontario Economic Report, visit www.tinyurl.com/OntarioEconomicReport2018
-30-