Economic growth in Saskatchewan
By Paul Martin, Martin Charlton Communications
People follow opportunity.
That economic development truism is the foundation of any community growth strategy. People will move to your community or remain there if they believe they have a positive future for their careers, their lifestyle or their family’s wellbeing.
No province has more experience with this topic than Saskatchewan, which endured more than two decades of out-migration as our citizens saw better prospects elsewhere. We were able to reverse the drain back in 2006 and have posted positive population numbers ever since, but growth brings its own set of imperatives. In particular, the need for infrastructure growth and renewal.
More people in a community not only results in more households or the need for expanded retail outlets, but it also means more schools, expanded health care delivery and enhanced transportation infrastructure.
You’d think we’d be used to this after more than 15 years on the winning side of the population growth equation, but recent demonstrations at the legislature and the government’s response to the need for expanded capacity in the education system suggest this remains a work in progress. And, given that our population expansion has now reached a pace we haven’t seen in a century, there is no doubt the volume of this story is going to be amped up.
At the heart of this discussion is investment.
Capital flowing into a community is the fuel that drives growth and opportunity. Billions dedicated to expanding the mining sector, for example, triggered construction of the mine itself, but the spin-offs are also impressive. The industrial sectors in our major cities are evidence of how that cycle works – investment decisions precipitate the arrival of those who do the actual building and the service teams required to support them. All those new arrivals bring families who require more services – schools, hockey arenas, residential subdivisions and grocery stores, the hallmarks of a community in growth mode.
To borrow a phrase: nothing happens until somebody makes an investment – the so-called virtuous circle where investment sparks growth, which sparks more investment.
To borrow a phrase: nothing happens until somebody makes an investment – the so-called virtuous circle where investment sparks growth, which sparks more investment.
Economic developers often say communities that reach a population of 500,000 become self-perpetuating. In other words, their flywheel has enough momentum that the virtuous circle becomes a self-fulfilling legacy.
Saskatchewan, while on its way, has not yet achieved the status of cities such as Calgary or Winnipeg, which now prosper and grow regardless of how the rest of the province is performing, but it is reasonable to assume our current pace of growth makes the half million number not only attainable, but inevitable.
Ensuring we have the infrastructure in place to meet that target should be a vital part of the provincial growth strategy because the virtuous circle tells us: growth begets infrastructure requirements which begets more growth.