Ontario Economic History - Term Paper Example

Ontario Economic History Ontario Economic History Ontario is one of Canada’s commercial centers rich with many natural resourceslike minerals. Ontario has about 250, 000 lakes that are rich in fresh water and number of industries that range from automobiles, mining minerals and cultivation of crops. Ontario’s economy is characterized by various sectors. In Canada, Ontario contributes to 37% of Canada’s GDP (Ontario, 2014). Ontario lies towards the North America’s free trade area (Ontario, 2014). The annual generation from Ontario is about $18 trillion purchasing power (Norrie and Emery, 2008). Furthermore, Ontario is the main manufacturing centre with many industries ranging from communication technologies, automobiles, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and medical services. In the entire Northern America, Ontario has the largest jurisdiction in North America in terms of assembly of automobiles according to the available statistics, in 2011; Canada exported 88% of its produced vehicles most of them destined for the United States. In the same year again, Ontario made exports from its manufacturing industries worthy $258 billion (Ontario, 2014). In terms of employees, Ontario has a higher number of employees in its manufacturing industries compared to Texas and California. In the agricultural sector, Ontario has got the first class farming lands in the entire country and there are about 51,950 farms according to the 2011 census. When translated in the entire country, they make about a quarter of the entire productive land in Canada. The main production from Ontario’s agricultural sector include, flowers, cash crops, fruits, dairy and beef cattle farms, ornamentals, and vegetables (Ontario, 2014). The forestry sector also contributes to Canada’s economy; it supports the standard of living to about 53,000 people. In mineral production, the city produced a revenue of $10 billion dollars in 2011 (Ontario, 2014). The economic history of Ontario dates back to 12,000 years before the arrival of the European settlers. The Iroquoian and Algonquian had settled on Ontario in the past 12000 years (Ontario, 2014). In early 1600s, both British and French colonist started arriving to work in Ontario (Ontario, 2014). After the 7 year old war from 1756-1763, most of the land had been grabbed by the British settlers. This area was later named the province of Quebec that covered Ontario, Part of the United States, and Quebec. Immediately after the revolution, most of the Americans loyal to the British settlers moved to Ontario (Ontario, 2014). Later, Ontario was also named United Empire Loyalists. Additionally, many of the Iroquois came to Canada from the native land in the New York State (Norrie and Emery, 2008). In 1791, the constitution was enacted by the British which led to the split of Quebec into two territories. Ontario was in the upstream of River Lawrence and Quebec became Lower Canada (Ontario, 2014). All throughout the nineteenth century, many of the immigrant groups moved to Ontario and in 1834, there were 235,000 people in Ontario. Ontario is the major business hub in Canada because it is a host to major business investments like City National Bank, Toyota North America, Chapman University and Covidien (Ontarioeda, 2015). Ontario has attracted many investors because of its favorable environment and good performance in economic development. These combined environmental friendly advantages make Ontario a good place for the business success. Additionally, the city’s Economic Development agency has made it a prominent destination for investments (Ontarioeda, 2015). Moreover, the location of the Ontario International airport provides the city with convenient transport routes all over the world. The future economic growth of Ontario is promising. Ontario’s economic growth was projected to grow by 1.9 % in 1996 and 3.0% in 1998 (Norrie and Emery, 2008). From the above statistics, it shows that Ontario’s economic growth grows at 1.1% annually. Additionally, future prospects of Ontario predict that consumer spending will boost the tax cuts and more money will come back to the people of Ontario. There are high expectations that the number of small businesses will increase, which will create thousands of jobs. The housing sector is set to improve which will lead to cheaper housing and renewed confidence amongst the investors. In the exports sector, Ontario still stands at a better chance of continued export growth placing Ontario in a competitive position globally. On machinery, many investors will continue to spend more on machinery and other equipment to increase the profit margins at the farms strive to increase their profits globally (Norrie and Emery, 2008). Additionally, the economy of Ontario has started showing a new level of confidence. The economy improved in the second half of 1995 when it recorded the highest GDP of up to 5.0 %. When the second half GDP of Ontario is compared to the entire Canada, it grew five times more than that of the entire country (Ontario, 2010). Between 1995 and 1996, the private sector in Ontario created 90,000 jobs (Ontario, 2010). In terms of buyer confidence, there was a 3.1 % increase in the first quarter of 1996 translating to about 70% in the last quarter of the years (Ontario, 2010). The economic history of Quebec/ Ontarion is grouped into five major eras. The first period covers the arrival of the French (Chaplain, 1839). During this period, the main economic activity was the Fur Trade that was imposed by the French under their MERCANTILIST system. The system was also reinforced in New France whereby the mineral resources exploited from New France were transported to the Metropolis and in turn manufactured goods were taken to New France (Chaplain, 1839). In this era, the other economic activities that were seen as a threat to the homeland economic activities were highly discouraged. The transition from New France to the confederation began with the French colonization initiated by Jacques Cartier who had landed in Gaspe in 1534. A year later most of the French people mingled with the Iroquoian villages on either sides of the Lawrence river. The French colonization began in 1608 when Samwel de Champlain set a fort in the Quebec City of today (Chaplain, 1839). Additionally, at the start of 17th century, most of the Iroquoians had moved out from the northern shores of the Lawrence River (Chaplain, 1839). This led to a decrease of population in this region to about 4000 people. In 1666, there were only 3215 people living in north of the Lawrence River (Chaplain, 1839). Moreover, the French Northern America territory expanded in the 17th Century. Despite the expansion of the French colonies, there were rebellions in the Upper and the Lower Canada because of the Durham report and the principle of self government. According to lord Durham he recommended that the problem that was bringing about the rebellion and its solution was to reunite the two colonies (Norrie and Emery, 2008). The plan was implemented in 1841 in a union act that was voted in 1841 in London (Chaplain, 1839). Hence, English became the only language in the new colony (Chaplain, 1839). What followed was the abolishment of the mercantilist system from 1846 to 1848 and this was a retaliatory effort done by the British government to compensate the colonies of what they had lost in the British market. In line with the British decision, Robert Baldwin and Louis Hyppolite merged and formed a first democratic government that reunted the Upper and Lower Canada in 1848 (Chaplain, 1839). Major reforms were realized and by 1864, negotiations were underway that were aimed at forming a confederation of British North American colonies. This led to a more recognition of the French people in the new federation. Southern Ontario has been of significance in Canada. The region has been crucial in the Canada economy (Mills & Young, n.d). In recent years, there have been challenges in Ontario due to the financial shocks due to the large-scale financial challenges. The volatile exchange rate, the global financial crisis, and demand for adaption of sophisticated innovation are some the challenges that have faced the economic sector of Ontario. Pressure has been intense more especially in the local industries that depend on traditional methods and use less sophisticated equipment. Hence, the formation of the Federal Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev) is a timely action for the economic revival of Ontario (Mills & Young, n.d). The new agency has been equipped with sufficient resources from the Federal Government and other national networks with the mandate to innovate the community development projects (Norrie and Emery, 2008). The WWI changed the economic environment by changing the market forces. Most of the poor Canadians suffered and were forced to rely on relief support and other poor administrative support for relief. During the great depression, Ontario’s industries and other industries within Canada were greatly affected by the great depression and recorded the lowest production between 1929 and 1932. The rate of unemployment also rose from 13% in 1930 and 26% in 1933 (Mills & Young, n.d). Additionally, the export for the natural resources also dropped drastically. There were diverse experiences during the great depression, the rate of unemployment rose and the economy collapsed. Most people lost their jobs and the standards of living rose drastically between 1926 and 1933 (Mills & Young, n.d). Additionally, when poverty increased during this period, it was believed that poverty increased due to lack of support structures to soften the blows of the great depression. During this time, Ontario Municipal Council was forced to seek relief which was accompanied by strict requirements (Mills and Young B, (n.d). Moreover, during WW2, Canada declared its war against the German aggression in September 1939 further stretching its ailing economy. After the passing of war act, the national government resumed all the tasks as stated by Rowell- Sirois Royal Commission (Mills & Young, n.d). During this period between the end of WW2 and 1973, it was a period of economic revival in the postwar situation. The industries started regaining their lost glory in economic drop and slowly started returning to its normal economic growth. Currently, Ontario is one of the leading cities with the fastest economic growth in Northern America (Norrie and Emery, 2008). In conclusion, Ontario is one of the prominent economic and commercial backbones of Canada’s economy contributing 37% of Canada’s GDP. It is concentrated with mining and manufacturing industries that gives the city its biggest income. Ontario has got a long history and dates back to 12,000 years when it started coming up. Ever since there were changes in governance in the city between the French and British people who colonized Canada in the nineteenth century. During the Great Depression, World War I and II the city got economic shocks that were later cushioned in the post war era. References Chaplain, M, M. (1839). Historical Canada. Retrieved on 28 Jan. 2015 from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/quebec/. Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation. (2010). Regional Economic Development Agencies In Canada. Lessons for Southern Ontario. Retrieved on Jan. 29 2015 from http://mowatcentre.ca/wp-content/uploads/publications/7_regional_economic_development.pdf. Mills, S., Young B. (n.d). 1919-1945: DEPRESSION AND WAR. Retrieved on 29 Jan. 2015 from http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/eduweb/texts/summary/1919-1945/. Ontario. (2014). About Ontario. Retrieved on 28 Jan. 2015 from https://www.ontario.ca/government/about-ontario. Ontarioeda. (2015). City of Ontario, California Attracts Major Investors and Companies. Retrieved on 28 Jan. 2015 from http://www.ontariothinksbusiness.com/. Ontario. (2010). Ontario Budget 1996 Ontarios Economy Jobs and Growth. Retrieved on 28 Jan. 2015 from http://www.fin.gov.on.ca/en/budget/ontariobudgets/1996/e-econ.html. Norrie, O and Emery. (2008). A History of Canadian Economy, 4th Edition. Nelson 2008. Read More