Promising news from Ontario Accounts for Q1 2010

Being located in Toronto, Miratel Solutions is ideally situated to grow in concert with the talented and diverse labour pool at our doorstep. Toronto is a truly international city with excellent domestic and international connections by Air, rail and road – naturally we closely monitor economic conditions in the GTA and indeed Ontario as our business continues to expand. New reports released today show that Ontario continues to be at the forefront of the economic recovery which is further enhanced by Canada outperforming the US and Europe.

Today’s announcement firmed up the perception that Ontario is extremely well positioned following the release of Ontario’s specific results for Q1 2010. Q2 growth showed a leap in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at an annualized rate of 6.0%. This marks the 3rd straight upward result for the province and remains amongst the highest in Canada. Experts were also heartened that the figures do not lean heavily on a single sector but display a healthy balance which should see the overall positive consolidation continue.  Upward growth was noted in government, consumer spending, business investment, housing construction and net exports. The anticipated investment in staffing and inventory seems to be taking root as employers raise capacity as the recession hangover finally abates.  Ontario officials cite the benefits now being seen are at least in part linked to the five-year Open Ontario plan, part of the plan reduces income taxes for individuals and businesses and the transfer to the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). Forecasters claim that the resultant investments will help to launch a net gain of 600,000 new jobs across Ontario, over the course of the next decade.

Provincial finance minister Dwight Duncan said the reported figures “are good news for Ontario, we are mindful that the global economy is still facing a number of challenges. Our plan and its policies remain the right approach for Ontario in today’s economic environment.”

He also added that that last year’s deficit will in fact be smaller than the anticipated $21.3 billion. Some 200,000 jobs have returned to the province since May of 2009. The manufacturing and construction sector posted gains of 4.7 % 3.5 %, while the real GDP increased 1.5 per cent during the quarter. A marginal drop versus Q1 but still within the boundaries of analysts predictions. Exports (+3.6%) and imports (+4.1%) were both higher with imports rising faster. As a result, the real trade deficit widened to $5.6 billion ($2002) in the first quarter of 2010.

Most concerns attached to pricing increases were harboured in that a very manageable inflationary rate was recorded for Q1. Economy-wide prices rose increased 0.8% which was identical to Q4 2009, an annualized rate of beneath 3.5%  will not cause significant concern. Increased consumer spending was not hampered by an increase on goods and services of just 0.4% much of this due to increased costs of motor vehicles, natural gas and other fuels. Overall lower prices were observed for clothing and footwear, furniture and appliances and other durable goods creating a safe margin for consumers against the backdrop of low overall inflation.

The overall report makes for a fascinating read and focuses on GDP Expenditure, Inventory Levels, Business Investments and deeper analysis industry by industry.

The full report Ontario Economic Accounts – First Quarter of 2010 is available here

The PDF of the report can be downloaded here

Learn more about the ‘Open Ontario’ 5 year plan here

Video overview of Open Ontario plan