Cover: Alberta Sets Provincial Pace
A Vancouver Venture
Saskatchewan
Sees the Light
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WESTERN CANADA REGIONAL REVIEW
Alberta Sets
Provincial Pace
Provincial Pace
Energy efforts push
development in Western Canada.
development in Western Canada.
| E |
nergy exploration and related projects figure to keep provinces in western Canada hopping in coming years.
A report by the Bank of Montreal indicates Alberta's economy to be the country's "front-runner" due to an upturn in investment in natural gas exploration and development. The report pins provincial hopes to an expected improvement in the U.S. marketplace.
Bank economists say Alberta's economy has outpaced the national average during the past couple of years and is poised to continue this trend in 2003 and 2004. Spin-off benefits from the province's infrastructure and service sectors have been impressive, they say. Conditions in British Columbia are improving, but economic growth lags behind the rest of the country.
Saskatchewan will return to "positive territory," the bank says, with a stronger growth spurt in 2003 and 2004, depending on overall economic growth in North America. Manufacturing has softened in Manitoba, with declines in exports. Nonetheless, the Bank of Montreal expects growth there to reach 3.5 percent in 2003.
Supporting Alberta's standing is the fact that Calgary's industrial market reported some of the lowest vacancy rates in Canada, according to the Colliers International Market Report. The year-end 2002 vacancy rate was 3.5 percent, or 3.1 million square feet (288,000 sq. m.), down from 4.2 percent for the previous year. The report says transportation, warehousing and distribution users will remain the prime space seekers in coming years.
Alberta will likely get a future boost from the US$120-million National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta. The facility, slated for an early 2005 move into a 180,000-sq.-ft. (16,700-sq.-m.) building, will focus on research and development, and is expected to attract researchers in physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, informatics, pharmacy and medicine.
By creating 9,000 jobs in 2002 alone, Manitoba's economy set an all-time record for total employment for the year, at nearly 567,000 people. In an effort to further promote Manitoba's growing energy, science and technology sectors, the province created the Department of Energy, Science & Technology last fall. The new department will help facilitate efforts in emerging alternative energies such as ethanol, hydrogen and wind power.
JR Simplot Co. expects to complete construction on a $120-million potato processing plant near Portage la Prairie by June. The plant will employ about 230 and will have an annual capacity of 300 million pounds of French fries and other frozen potato products.
Statistics Canada has indicated that Manitoba has been one of only three Canadian provinces to achieve private investment growth in each of the past three years.
A report by the Bank of Montreal indicates Alberta's economy to be the country's "front-runner" due to an upturn in investment in natural gas exploration and development. The report pins provincial hopes to an expected improvement in the U.S. marketplace.
Bank economists say Alberta's economy has outpaced the national average during the past couple of years and is poised to continue this trend in 2003 and 2004. Spin-off benefits from the province's infrastructure and service sectors have been impressive, they say. Conditions in British Columbia are improving, but economic growth lags behind the rest of the country.
Saskatchewan will return to "positive territory," the bank says, with a stronger growth spurt in 2003 and 2004, depending on overall economic growth in North America. Manufacturing has softened in Manitoba, with declines in exports. Nonetheless, the Bank of Montreal expects growth there to reach 3.5 percent in 2003.
Supporting Alberta's standing is the fact that Calgary's industrial market reported some of the lowest vacancy rates in Canada, according to the Colliers International Market Report. The year-end 2002 vacancy rate was 3.5 percent, or 3.1 million square feet (288,000 sq. m.), down from 4.2 percent for the previous year. The report says transportation, warehousing and distribution users will remain the prime space seekers in coming years.
Alberta will likely get a future boost from the US$120-million National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta. The facility, slated for an early 2005 move into a 180,000-sq.-ft. (16,700-sq.-m.) building, will focus on research and development, and is expected to attract researchers in physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, informatics, pharmacy and medicine.
By creating 9,000 jobs in 2002 alone, Manitoba's economy set an all-time record for total employment for the year, at nearly 567,000 people. In an effort to further promote Manitoba's growing energy, science and technology sectors, the province created the Department of Energy, Science & Technology last fall. The new department will help facilitate efforts in emerging alternative energies such as ethanol, hydrogen and wind power.
JR Simplot Co. expects to complete construction on a $120-million potato processing plant near Portage la Prairie by June. The plant will employ about 230 and will have an annual capacity of 300 million pounds of French fries and other frozen potato products.
Statistics Canada has indicated that Manitoba has been one of only three Canadian provinces to achieve private investment growth in each of the past three years.