Canadian Manufacturing and Industry Fading?

folcar

Electoral Member
Mar 26, 2007
158
5
18
Over the last few weeks i have been pounding the pavement looking for employment as my former employer has undergone some very hard times, as i have searched for my new golden meal ticket. I have traversed the corridor between West Toronto and East London Ontario, what i have found has been disturbing. Without actually taking a count, the number of empty and abandoned facilities looked to me to be around 1 in 3 of all facilities in the area. Friends who are working in the area have expressed concerns over there own job security, and the local papers have been reporting more layoffs than major hirings of late. Is this the early signs of recession? or worse? and aside from Alberta is this playing out elsewhere in the country?
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
17,466
138
63
Location, Location
Over the last few weeks i have been pounding the pavement looking for employment as my former employer has undergone some very hard times, as i have searched for my new golden meal ticket. I have traversed the corridor between West Toronto and East London Ontario, what i have found has been disturbing. Without actually taking a count, the number of empty and abandoned facilities looked to me to be around 1 in 3 of all facilities in the area. Friends who are working in the area have expressed concerns over there own job security, and the local papers have been reporting more layoffs than major hirings of late. Is this the early signs of recession? or worse? and aside from Alberta is this playing out elsewhere in the country?

Not so much. See, there is a huge chunk of the economy in that area that was built on "branch plants" in the 1970s. A big number of US manufacturers built plants in this area to manufacture goods for Canada, so that they would have a Canadian manufacturing prescence. With the changes in the global economy, a huge number of these branch plants have closed down, as they cannot be justified economically. In fact, a lot of the parent company's plants in the US are shutting down as well, moving offshore or further south.

So this effect is very noticeable in that area specifically, because the economy there was built around these branch plants. Cambridge is a true case in point. Used to be all kinds of manufacturing plants that were just branches of US parent companies.

Toyota's new truck plant is certainly good news for that area.
 

tamarin

House Member
Jun 12, 2006
3,197
22
38
Oshawa ON
It is tough to view the health of the Canadian economy through the lens of the manufacturing sector in Ontario. I live in the Kawarthas and this area has been devastated by closures over the last ten years. I concur with Tenpenny: a lot has to do with American base industries closing branch plants. But Mexico calls here too. We are losing industries to them.
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
17,466
138
63
Location, Location
It is tough to view the health of the Canadian economy through the lens of the manufacturing sector in Ontario. I live in the Kawarthas and this area has been devastated by closures over the last ten years. I concur with Tenpenny: a lot has to do with American base industries closing branch plants. But Mexico calls here too. We are losing industries to them.

That's what I meant by the US plants moving further South.
 

folcar

Electoral Member
Mar 26, 2007
158
5
18
What is striking is that they are not being replaced by anything, it is no wonder the gap between rich and poor is growing steadily with a diminishing middle class. Most of the jobs that remian are hotly contested for, or low paying. This is an area that needs addressing, but i think most politicians don't even have it chalked down as a reomote issue. Loosening the red tape and taxes so that it's Made in Canada appears on the label more often would get my vote.
 

Liberalman

Senate Member
Mar 18, 2007
5,623
35
48
Toronto

By more manufacturing jobs going to other countries Canada is open to hard times.

The skilled workers job supply is drying up because of the exporting of Canadian jobs to other countries.

In Question Period in the House of Commons a Conservative MP was telling a Bloc MP that the displaced apparel workers can get other jobs but he forgot to say the jobs would be lower paying jobs.

Conservative party does not believe in protecting Canadian jobs.

This just does not make any sense because the high paying jobs pay the government more income taxes.

Maybe this is what the Conservative party means by cutting personal taxes is allowing Canadian job loss so they have to settle for lower wages thus lower taxes.

After the Bloc voted to support the Conservative budget to keep them in power longer the Conservatives are still willing to let the apparel industry die in Quebec.

Under this Conservative government more job losses will come.

When you think of it the Reform party platform was to decentralize the federal government so separation can happen more easily.

With a Conservative majority Canada is one step closer to breaking up.
 

El Barto

les fesses a l'aire
Feb 11, 2007
5,959
66
48
Quebec
A furniture CO Shermag was bought by an American Company only to see the shops close one by one and sent to China. By the looks of it we are going to be the next third world country with lots of resources.
 

tamarin

House Member
Jun 12, 2006
3,197
22
38
Oshawa ON
Well, it would be nice if the number boys produced numbers that made sense. In the US data collection is increasingly underfire and revisions are not only common but expected. Figures like the US Farm Report are regularly met with snickers. In Canada, what you see should be what you get but gov orgs love to tell us everything is just spiffy. People should read as much as they can, observe and draw their own conclusions. I no longer take government stats seriously. The feds are always manipulating formulas to suit their own purpose. Anyone acquainted with basics like EI calculations and inflation rates knows there's more than one goof in charge.
 

folcar

Electoral Member
Mar 26, 2007
158
5
18
I for one would like to see a return to protective tariffs and levies applied to goods that are manufactured abroad with cheap labour. As well as significant tax breaks for companies that make and sell there products here, both for our domestic market and for export. Using our resources and labour to manufacture here just generates more wealth by employing more people here. I have always felt our economy should take care of the home team first, the current trend however will see us completely dependant on foreign manufacturing in a few years time. Which is sad considering we used to be so strong in the area.