Rural-urban prosperity divide grows in Atlantic Canada, report says

The prosperity divide between urban and rural Atlantic Canada grew again in 2016, continuing a long-term trend tracked bythe Atlantic Provinces Economic Council.

The independent think-tank says employment in rural Atlantic Canada fell by 31,000 jobs between 2008 and 2015. Employment in the top six urban centres Halifax, St. John's, Moncton, Saint John, Fredericton and Charlottetown expanded by 38,000 jobs.

This year employment in the six areas grew by 0.5 per centcompared to a contraction of nearly two per centoutside the urban centres.

"These diverging trends reflect both the concentration of export-oriented primary and resource-related manufacturing job losses in rural communities, as well as weaker population dynamics," economist DavidChaundywrote in a 2017 outlook.

Young people move away

The report said Atlantic manufacturers shed 11,000 jobs in rural areas between 2008 and 2015 compared with the loss of fewer than 5,000 positions in the urban centres.

Reductions in rural area populationsfed an 8.5 per centgrowth in the city populations during the period. The rest of the region has 3.4 per centor 46,000 fewer people as the young people move away.

'Slower for longer'

TheAPECreport predictedsluggish growth going forward, with P.E.I. seeing a GDP increase of 1.4 per centin 2017, Nova Scotia at oneper centand New Brunswick at just 0.8 per cent.

Newfoundland and Labrador will bounce back briefly in 2016 before seeing a 1.8 per centreduction in real GDP next year, triggered by continuing fiscal austerity and a drop in major project investment.

The region lags behindthe rest of Canada.Chaundycharacterizedthe situation as "slower for longer and lower for longer."

• Atlantic Canada Indigenous bands have $1.14B impact

Employment in the region was down slightly in the first ninemonths of 2016. It is now back to where it was before the recession. Nationally employment is up slightly in 2016 and more than sixper centhigher than in 2008.

Chaundy said relatively small manufacturing plants and higher energy costs contributed to the business closures. That's in the face of weak global demand and increased international competition.

• Cape Bretonmarket hires threein land-for-work deal