Google Trends: Plan Nord Versus Northern Ontario Growth Plan

Google Trends is a quick and popular way to assess the importance of ideas, events and trends by looking at the results of people’s web searches.  If the searches for something are trending up, it is suggestive that it is growing in importance.  One way of assessing the impact of northern economic development in Ontario at least as a concept that has seized the imagination is to conduct a Google Trends search. In particular, it is interesting to see what the impact of two northern development plans has been – The Northern Ontario Growth Plan and the Quebec Plan Nord.   I put in “northern Ontario growth plan” and “plan nord” for trends in the “region” Canada over the period all years (2004 to 2012) into Google Trends and downloaded the results.  I then graphed the results for the 2011 to 2012 period (See Figure)

The Northern Ontario Growth Plan was released in March 2011 while the Plan Nord was released a little later in May of the same year.  The Google Trends plot is not the number of searches but rather an index of the number of searches for a term to the average number of searches for the term over the time period.  For example, if there is a value in the graph of 5; this means that traffic is 5 times the average for the time period. As a result, it is a relative measure showing whether something is trending up or down.  The results were intriguing in that they reveal enough activity to show a rising trend in the wake of the release of the Plan Nord.  However, there was so little interest in the Northern Growth Plan that it did not generate enough activity to even register a trend.

This is not the same as saying the Plan Nord will be a success and the Northern Growth Plan will not.  What it is saying is that the Plan Nord seems to have generated a lot more interest on the web whereas the Northern Ontario Growth Plan has not.  The fact that the Plan Nord has generated so much interest could simply be better marketing but that in itself would tell you something about how the Quebec government values its northern development plan.  Or, it could be that people are more interested in Quebec’s northern development than Ontario’s.  However, it one truly believes that large groups of people on average are very forward looking and very smart, it also means they may see more potential in the Quebec Plan than the Ontario Plan.  Whatever way you look at it, it would appear that the Northern Ontario Growth Plan does not look very credible.  Google Trends has spoken.

Northern Economist Does Vegas!

Well, I have had the ultimate travel and tourism experience by spending a few days in Las Vegas – a place I can now best characterize as a Disneyland experience for adults.  The state of Nevada and the desert metropolis are relatively isolated and yet Las Vegas has established itself as a large and dynamic urban centre focused around gambling and entertainment on a grand industrial scale.  Nevada and Las Vegas offers an interesting example of how remote and isolated places can innovate and create economic opportunity – in this case with tourism.  While the region has the advantage of a warm climate and populous nearby states, it came as a surprise to learn that the land in the region is largely owned by the U.S. federal government – about 85 percent.  As well, nearby California also appears to be resented because of past historical actions with respect to land and water resources.  It would appear that regional alienation is not limited to Northern Ontario.  As well, recessions affect Las Vegas also.  There are a number large and impressive work sites where activity has ground to a halt due to lack of funds.

Las Vegas offers a unique experience.  Where else in the course of a single day can you visit massive reproductions of New York, Egypt, Paris, Rome and Venice?  At The Venetian, the shopping mall follows the path of an inland waterway with gondolas and singing gondoliers.  City planners in Thunder Bay take note.  What Thunder Bay needs are canals and gondolas at the Intercity Mall with a direct canal link to the new waterfront park (it can get double use for skating in the winter).  Too expensive you say?  No problem.  Thunder Bay is just as capable of creative accounting and sudden flash funds as Vegas.  City Council and administration can simply “forget” to budget for millions of dollars in expenditures and then dip into either the reserve fund or find some new leveraging partners.

Vegas is not just about gambling.  There is entertainment ranging from the amazing Cirque du Soleil to comedians and singers of all kinds.  Malls and shops abound.  There are also tours of the region to places like Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon.  Hoover Dam was an impressive feat of engineering and full of tourists the day I went.   

And then there is the food and drink!  You know you’ve left Ontario when you see shoppers at the mall with beer and wine glass in hand walking around and chatting.  As for the food, the all you can eat buffets are astounding though you do need to pace yourself.  The high fat content of many of the buffet offerings does not always agree with your digestion and can result in what you eat in Vegas staying in Vegas.

Ah Las Vegas.  I wonder if Caesar’s Palace needs an economist?