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Press Release

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Mark Arend

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(770) 263-8825 fax
mark.arend@conway.com


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Press Release

Site Selection Publishes Annual Canadian Rankings

Atlanta, September 9, 2013: British Columbia is the most competitive province in a competitive nation, followed by Québec and Alberta. Hamilton, Québec City and Edmonton lead Canada’s metro areas in corporate facility development. And the business attraction and retention strategies of the nation’s Top 10 economic development groups (see list below) continue to help foster corporate facility growth.

Those are the conclusions reached as Site Selection publishes its sixth annual Canada’s Best to Invest awards and rankings, based on April 2012-March 2013 project data derived from the publication’s proprietary New Plant Database (which counts projects according to specific criteria related to new construction) and the magazine’s own research. The rankings include:

  • The Canadian Competitiveness Awards, awarded to the leading provinces based on data derived from qualifying new corporate facilities and expansions;
  • Top Canadian Groups, recognizing local economic development groups based on project data, regional partnership, proactive and innovative programming, and quality data and Web tools and resources, and including for the first time this year an Honorable Mention category;
  • Top Canadian Metros, based on a tally of new corporate projects and expansions.

“Energy is still the lead dog,” says Adam Bruns, managing editor of Site Selection, noting that Canada now is the No. 1 destination for outbound foreign direct investment from China. “Western Canada in particular is aligning its prized resources and infrastructure with the prized markets in Asia. Economic development and job creation are the end result.”

The Canada’s Best to Invest 2013 report, entitled “Home and Away,” includes a Canadian economic development directory, and appears in the September 2013 edition of Site Selection, available via digital edition at www.siteselection.com/digitaledition. A Web edition of the story will be posted Thursday, Sept. 12. Also included in this report and in the magazine’s annual Infrastructure report in the same issue are comments from Bruns’ interview with Canada’s Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, the Hon. Denis Lebel.

“We make sure Canada is covered in every issue of Site Selection, from provincial and Canada-U.S. border updates to coverage of new projects in our industry reports,” says Mark Arend, editor in chief of Site Selection. “The annual Canada’s Best to Invest feature sheds additional light on Canada’s many location options for corporate site selectors. We salute the provinces and communities that made this year’s rankings.”

Site Selection magazine, published by Conway Data Inc., delivers expansion planning information to 44,000 executives of fast-growing firms. The senior publication in the development field, Site Selection is also available via Site Selection Online (www.siteselection.com). The Site Selection Dispatch, a weekly e-mail newsletter, is delivered to approximately 44,000 industry professionals. The publication also publishes a growing family of e-newsletters.

Conway Data is an international publishing and association management company headquartered in Atlanta. The firm manages the Industrial Asset Management Council. The firm also owns and manages London-based Red Hot Locations, organizer of world-wide FDI events; Berlin-based FDI advisory firm Terrain Consulting; and New York-based The PONT Group, a leading PR and lead-generation firm.

Canadian Competitiveness Rankings

  1. British Columbia (British Columbia Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training)
  2. Québec (Invest Québec)
  3. Alberta (Alberta Ministry of Enterprise & Advanced Education)

Top Canadian Economic Development Groups (in alphabetical order)

Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association
Calgary Economic Development
City of Hamilton Economic Development
London Economic Development Corp.
Montréal International
Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corp.
Québec International
City of Toronto; Invest Toronto; Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance
Vancouver Economic Commission
Economic Development Winnipeg

Top Canadian Economic Development Groups Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)
Canada’s Technology Triangle
Chatham-Kent Economic Development Services
Edmonton Economic Development Corp.
Niagara Economic Development
Initiatives Prince George
Regina Regional Opportunities Commission
Saskatoon Regional Economic Development Authority
City of St. John’s Dept. of Economic Development, Tourism & Culture
Greater Sudbury Development Corp.
Wood Buffalo Economic Development

Top Canadian Metros
These areas tallied the most corporate facility projects from April 2012-March 2013, according to qualifying criteria of the Conway Data New Plant Database (at least $1 million invested, 50 new jobs created, or 20,000 new sq. ft.):

Rank
Metro Area
Project Count
1.
Hamilton, Ontario
35
2.
Quebec City, Québec
34
T3.
Toronto, Ontario
22
T3.
Edmonton, Alberta
22
5.
Montréal, Québec
19
6.
Calgary, Alberta
17
7.
Wood Buffalo, Alberta
14
T8.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
12
T8.
Vancouver, British Columbia
12
10.
London, Ontario
10