Abstract

The commercial activity index is a summary measure of the attraction of urban places as locations for commercial activity. The index compares the actual commercial employment to the employment predicted on the basis of population. Thus it captures both the variation in income per capita (the attractiveness of the local market), and the centrality, as the ability to reach service areas outside the city. In combination, the variation in income per capita favours the industrial towns of Ontario, while the measure of centrality favours the smaller centres of western Canada. The small resource centres, especially in the Atlantic region or Quebec have the lowest values. For a commercial service firm the index is a valuable indicator of the potential of a city to generate sales beyond the level indicated by its size; and for public institutions, that are less sensitive to variations in level of income, the index measures the ability of the city to reach a larger population.