Canadian Provincial Socio-Economic Differences; where, how much and why Presentation by Prof. Dr. Alfred Hecht* Viessmann European Research Centre at Laurier Waterloo, Ontario, Canada At the Hochschule Hof Hof, Germany November 27, 2008 *A hearty thank you goes to the Dr. Hans Vießmann-Stiftung and the Fachhochschule "Fördergesellschaft“ for their financial help in bearing the cost for this Canada Day

Abstract One of the most contentious issue for many countries is the variation in socio-economic conditions that exits in different parts of the country. What is where and why can create major conflicts. Canada is no exception. The federal governments has a mandate to remove differences between people no matter where they live. In Canada this is attempted through regional transfer payments, through regionalization of federal jobs, through regulations and laws and through regional incentive payments. Still, substantial variations exist in Canada, at the provincial and territorial levels. Differences are found in all areas of the broader socio-economic, civic, political, ethnic, linguistic and natural resource endowments, so mention just a few. People do respond to these by moving from have not regions to have regions in Canada, by electing different governments and or by advocating different governmental policies. The overarching research questions in this presentation is: What are some of the major regional differences in Canada, what are its possible causes and how big or troubling are they to the country.

The first law in Geography, and its overarching cause for regional differences Source: Wikipedia, “First Law of Geography”, see "Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." TOBLER, W. R. (1970). "A computer movie simulating urban growth in the Detroit region". Economic Geography, 46(2): Here an example of interaction between Moscow and its peripheries, e.g. Kaliningrad, Hecht, Alfred, “The Kaliningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation: It’s Development Prospects on the Conceptual Baltic Main Street”, GeoINova, Numero 12, 2006, pp Holds true for human, commercial, political and communication interactions

Canadian Provinces and Territories Source:

Canadian Provincial and Territorial Population, 2008 Source: Statistics Canada, "The Daily", October 29, Jul-08 % of Total Canada33,311, Newfoundland and Labrador507, Prince Edward Island139, Nova Scotia938, New Brunswick747, Quebec7,750, Ontario12,928, Manitoba1,207, Saskatchewan1,015, Alberta3,585, British Columbia4,381, Yukon33, Northwest Territories43, Nunavut31,

Canadian Population Growth Components Source: Statistics Canada, "The Daily", October 29, April 1 to % of for the 3 month period of April 1 to June 30, Jun-08 Total Total growth125, Natural increase34, Births93,071 Deaths58,830 Net international migration91, Immigration69,228 Emigration8,472 Net non-permanent residents30,843

Proportion of foreign-born population, by province and territory (1991 to 2006 Censuses) Source : Statistics Canada, 2006 Community Profiles, see Source : Statistics Canada, Proportion of foreign-born population, by province and territory (1991 to 2001 Censuses) % of % Imm. Pop Total Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia Yukon Territory Northwest Territories Nunavut……

Canadian Population, Immigration, Emigration, 2008 Source Statistics Canada, "The Daily", October 29, 2008, and Source: Statistics Canada, "Components of population growth, by province and territory“ July 1, 2007 to June 30, Jul-08 % Immig.% Emigr.% E/I Canada33,311, , ,04918 Newfoundland and Labrador507, Prince Edward Island139, , Nova Scotia938, , New Brunswick747, , Quebec7,750, , ,96815 Ontario12,928, , ,81819 Manitoba1,207, , ,84219 Saskatchewan1,015, , Alberta3,585, , ,36922 British Columbia4,381, , ,95414 Yukon33, Northwest Territories43, Nunavut31,

Doctorates (PhD) In Canada by Place of Birth and Place of Education Source: “Doctorate Education in Canada: Findings from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2005/2006 by Darren King, by Darren King, Judy Eisl- Culkin and Louise Desjardins see Doctorates (PhD) In Canada by Place of Birth and Place of Education Source: “Doctorate Education in Canada: Findings from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2005/2006 by Darren King, by Darren King, Judy Eisl- Culkin and Louise Desjardins see Doctorates (PhD) In Canada by Place of Birth and Place of Education Source: “Doctorate Education in Canada: Findings from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2005/2006 by Darren King, by Darren King, Judy Eisl- Culkin and Louise Desjardins see

Proportion of foreign educated doctorate degree holders by field of study Source: “Doctorate Education in Canada: Findings from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2005/2006 by Darren King, by Darren King, Judy Eisl- Culkin and Louise Desjardins see

Source of Canadian (PhD) doctorate holders Source: “Doctorate Education in Canada: Findings from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2005/2006 by Darren King, by Darren King, Judy Eisl-Culkin and Louise Desjardins see

Pathways of foreign-born PhD graduates Source: “Doctorate Education in Canada: Findings from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2005/2006 by Darren King, by Darren King, Judy Eisl-Culkin and Louise Desjardins see

Proportion of PhDs in the population, aged 15 and older Source: “Doctorate Education in Canada: Findings from the Survey of Earned Doctorates, 2005/2006 by Darren King, by Darren King, Judy Eisl-Culkin and Louise Desjardins see

Canada in the International Student Assessment (PISA) Ranking, 2006 Source: A surprising high ranking of Canadian Students in this international test Even in the reading score Canadian scored high despite having a large number of immigrant students Or is Canada’s high score the result off immigrant children? (PISA says ‘no’) Between school variation contributed on average 33.0% of total variation (In Germany it was 64.2%, Canada 17.9%) Most of Canadian variation came from within school variation, 79.3%, in Germany it was 50.8%, OECD average was 68.1 Rank Mathematic Score Chinese Taipei5491 Canada5277 Germany50420 Kyrgyzstan (last)31157 Reading Score Korea5561 Canada5274 Germany49518 Kyrgyzstan (last)28557 Science scale Finland5631 Canada5343 Germany51613 Kyrgyzstan (last)32257

Canadian Median Age by Provinces and Territories, 2006 Source: Source: Statistics Canada; "2006 Community Profiles" see Median Age decreases as one goes from east to west (except BC) The high age in the east is in part due to the westward migration of the young Another reason is the homeward movement of the elderly from the central and western Canada It is especially low in the north The prairies are surprisingly low even though they have many old farmers Median Age Canada 39.5 Newfoundland and Labrador 41.7 Prince Edward Island 40.8 Nova Scotia 41.8 New Brunswick 41.5 Quebec 41 Ontario 39 Manitoba 38.1 Saskatchewan 38.7 Alberta 36 British Columbia 40.8 Yukon Territory 38.4 Northwest Territories 31.2 Nunavut 23.1

Major inter-provincial migrations between 1996 and 2001

Canadian Population with Aboriginal Identification, 2001 Source: Statistics Canada; "Aboriginal Population“ see =355313&METH=1&PTYPE=55440&THEME=45&FOCUS=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0&PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=99&GK=NA&VID=0 &VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&FL=0&RL=0&FREE=0 Canada Area of Residence Aboriginal Identity Population Percent Total Canadian population Aboriginal identity populationin Total - Area of residence29,639,030976, On reserve321,855286,080 Total off reserve29,317,175690, Rural non-reserve5,782,375196, Total urban23,534,805494, Urban non-census metropolitan area5,575,480214, Urban census metropolitan area17,959,320279,

Canadian Core CPI Changes by Regions since 2002 The Core CPI excludes the price changes of; fruit, fruit preparations and nuts; vegetables and vegetable preparations; mortgage interest cost; natural gas; fuel oil and other fuel; gasoline; Inter-city transportation; and tobacco products and smokers' supplies. Core CPI variations by provinces over this 6 year period varied only by 7% from the Canadian average. The absolute differences was near 10 CPI values. The surprise is that the North only increased the same as Canada as a whole. Maybe it is a function of what is excluded in the core CPI value. CPI by Province and Territories, 2002 to 2008 (2002=100) % Sep-08Diff. Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia Whitehorse Yellowknife Iqaluit (Dec. 2002=100)

Consumer Prices vary Substantially by Provinces, Source: Statistics Canada; The Daily,” Latest Release from the Consumer Price Index”, October 24, 2008 see The CPI index includes all consumption costs Variation in the cost of living increase varies substantially between provinces Some of the poorer and smaller provinces had the highest increases Period covers the large increase in Oil prices Decrease in Natural gas prices in Alberta was the major decline in Alberta

Average Household Expenditure by Provinces, 2006 Source: Statistics Canada; "Average household expenditures, by province and territory see The variation is large, going from 87% to 125% of Canadian average Only three provinces are above the Canadian average, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, the “have” provinces All other provinces are less then 90% of Canadian average, the “have not” provinces Except for Ontario there is a general increase from east to West Alberta’s wealth is in part related to the 0 % provincial sales tax. In all other provinces it is above 8% Total exp. in $% Canada Newfoundland and Labrador Prince Edward Island Nova Scotia New Brunswick Quebec Ontario Manitoba Saskatchewan Alberta British Columbia

Canadian Household Expenditures in Selective CMAs, 2006 Source: Statistics Canada; "Average household expenditures, by selected metropolitan area”, see Only the six selected CMAs in the provinces of Ontario, Alberta and BC are above the Canadian average The range goes from just under 80% to over 143% of the Canadian average The variation in expenditure is greater between Canada’s CMAs then between the provinces themselves Except for Calgary the population size seems to influence be expenditure pattern. The r value is The fact that Calgary is far higher then Edmonton a test to the fact that the absence of the sales tax in Alberta does not explain all the differences why Calgary is so much higher. It must be the wealth from the headquarters of the oil industry there Total in $% Canada St. John's Charlottetown Halifax Saint John Québec Montréal Ottawa Toronto Winnipeg Regina Saskatoon Calgary Edmonton Vancouver Victoria

Canadian and Provinces Sales Taxes as % of Purchase 2008 Source: PST Rates, see The VAT or Provincial Sales Tax varies between 0 and 13 % The poorer provinces have the higher rate The riches, Alberta has a 0% rate It effects the standard of living in that a high rate reduces purchases Frequently includes service charges The Federal rate is the same across the country ProvincialFederal Newfoundland and Labrador135 Prince Edward Island105 Nova Scotia135 New Brunswick135 Quebec85 Ontario85 Manitoba75 Saskatchewan55 Alberta05 British Columbia75

Canadian Federal Government Transfer Payments, 2008/09 Source: Federal Department of Finance "Federal Transfers to Provinces and Territories" see Population ($ millions) $/Person Rank Newfoundland and Labrador507,8951, Prince Edward Island139, Nova Scotia938,3102, New Brunswick747,3022, Quebec7,750,50419, Ontario12,928,99621, Manitoba1,207,9593, Saskatchewan1,015,9851, Alberta3,585,1426, British Columbia4,381,6037, Yukon33, Northwest Territories43, Nunavut31,

2008 Canadian Election Results by Province, % Votes and Seats Source: “2008 Canadian Election Results”, see Cons.Lib.Total Prov.% VotesMPs% VotesMPs Nfld PEI NS NB Que Ont Man Sask Alta BC NWT NU Yuk Total

2008 Canadian Election by Regions with Voter % and MPs Elected Source: Simon Fraser University, see The ‘local winner takes all’ political system always gives the election to the most popular local candidate! Small national parties have little chance of electing delegates (PQ = 49 10% of total votes; NDP = 37, 18.2 % of total votes: Others = % of total votes) The following parties participated in the 2008 Canadian Election Québécois, Conservative Party, Green Party, Liberal Party, New Democratic Party, Canadian Alliance, Social Credit, Progressive Party, Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party, Canadian Action Progressive, Independent, Christian Heritage Party, Communist Party, First Peoples National Party, Libertarian Party, M-L Marxist-Leninist Party, Marijuana Party, Neutrino, Newfoundland and Labrador First Party, People's Political Power of Canada, Progressive Canadian Party, Western Block Party, and some independents (2 elected) Cons.Lib.Total Province% of VotesMPs% of VotesMPs Nfld PEI NS NB Que Ont Man Sask Alta BC NWT NU Yuk Total

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