Well, I have returned from a rather lengthy set of travels. My trip
home was via the scenic Highway 17 drive through Sudbury, the Sault and
around the north shore of Superior to Thunder Bay. There is nothing
quite like this drive in terms of the vastness of the land and the
vistas of rocks, trees and highway. I had not done this drive in a
number of years and perhaps because of the extra rain this year the
landscape seemed a lot greener than I remembered it. The video link here shows a bridge crossing along the way (I was in the passenger seat doing the filming for those of you who might be concerned about my safety). Nevertheless, here are some of the economic news items that have caught my interest.
Well, there were a number of
not so flattering stories dealing with
Thunder Bay in the national media over the last few weeks but the economic news was somewhat more upbeat.
$23M from Ontario government for school upgrades. CBC Thunder Bay. June 19th, 2017.
Thunder Bay Sears Location to Remain Open. Tbnewswatch. June 22nd, 2017.
Thunder Centre shopping area to be sold to new owner. CBC Thunder Bay June 19th, 2017.
The Thunder Centre has got a new owner and despite Sears Canada's financial woes, the Thunder Bay store at Intercity Mall is to remain open - at least for now.
Sudbury and
The Sault were not as lucky.
North Bay's store is also not closing.
As for the new school construction, it comes at the cost of some closures - rule of thumb in Thunder Bay based on this story is close three old schools to get one new one. While closing schools is one way of generating some new construction activity, in the end, there are only so many schools that can be closed. Eventually, to get new schools we will have to do it the old fashioned way - boost enrollment. Other northern Ontario cities also seem marked by the dynamic of out with the old and in with the new. In the Sault, the original St. Mary's College was demolished to make way for a new
elementary school. One wonders when this dynamic will hit the school boards in Toronto. Curious to see when they will knock down stately old Jarvis Collegiate or UTS in order to build a shiny new building.
Also, in Thunder Bay tourism news, the decommissioned icebreaker
Alexander Henry has left Kingston Ontario and is set to return to Thunder Bay to serve as a transportation museum on the waterfront.
In Sudbury, there seem to be a lot of projects coming to a head with
respect to community infrastructure. A key debate is where to build the
new sports arena - downtown or outwards.
Sudbury at a crossroads: build downtown or build outwards? TVO. June 23, 2017.
True north wants to convert downtown arena into arts centre. CBC Sudury. June 22, 2017.
Rainbow Centre makes pitch for Sudbury library, art gallery. CBC Sudbury. June 23rd, 2017.
New Casino in Sudbury depends on where city builds new arena. CBC Sudbury. June 14th, 2014.
In other potential infrastructure news from a natural resource perspective:
Noront looks for smelter landing spots in Sudbury, Timmins. Northern Ontario Business. June 20th, 2017.
New gold mine in Timmins by 2018: Gowest CEO. mining.com. June 4th, 2017.
In other news, North Bay's housing market is still doing well according to
this source.
Meanwhile, for those of you that missed this, the June 1st provincial byelection in Sault Ste. Marie for the seat vacated by Liberal David Orazietti was
won by a Conservative for the first time since 1981. A sign of things to come? Hard to say. The election is still officially a year away (though one might see a snap election called in the fall if the governing party feels confident) and alot can happen in a year. Stay tuned.
