Ontario Poised to Be One of Canada's Growth Leaders Once Again

OTTAWA, June 13, 2016 /CNW/ - With growth of 2.8 per cent this year, Ontario is among the few provinces expected to see economic growth much stronger than the national average, according to The Conference Board of Canada's Provincial Outlook: Spring 2016.

"Unlike other provinces more dependent on natural resources, Ontario is benefiting from favourable terms of trade that improve the competitiveness of Canadian goods and services on international markets," said Marie-Christine Bernard, Associate Director, Provincial Forecasting. "The province is on much stronger ground, with job creation fuelling consumer demand and a pick up in exports helping to bolster economic growth."

HIGHLIGHTS

• The province's real GDP is expected to increase by 2.8 per cent in 2016 and 2.6 per cent in 2017.
• Employment growth running at twice the pace of the national average is fuelling growth in the province.
• Consumer demand for durable and semi-durable goods will boost real household consumption by 3.2 per cent in 2016, but household savings will continue to slide this year.
• Only four provinces are expected to see real GDP growth above 2 per cent this year: British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island.
• The commodity price slump will continue to hurt the economies of Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The wildfires in northern Alberta will have a short-term economic impact but rebuilding efforts will lift real GDP in 2017.

Ontario's exports have been advancing at a strong pace due to stellar U.S. demand for auto and auto parts. Real exports in Ontario are slated to increase 5.3 per cent in 2016. Even with the anticipated contraction in automotive sector trade as General Motors scales back production at its consolidated and flex plants in Oshawa, exports will continue to increase in 2017. However, business investment in non-residential structures, and machinery and equipment will advance at a modest pace over the next two years.

While consumption in the services sector will remain strong, it is the pent-up consumer spending on durable and semi-durable goods that will cause real household consumption to grow 3.2 per cent this year. 

With a stronger economy and an ongoing fiscal plan to restrain spending, the Ontario government is on its way to balancing the books by 2017-18, seven years after it laid out the fiscal plan to do so.

The Provincial Outlook: Spring 2016 is available via the Conference Board's e-Library.

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SOURCE Conference Board of Canada

Yvonne Squires, Media Relations, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: [phone] ext. 221, E-mail: [email protected]; or, Juline Ranger, Director of Communications, The Conference Board of Canada, Tel.: [phone] ext. 431, E-mail: [email protected]