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6
TRANSPORTATION AND REGIONAL ECONOMIES
Demand for Transportation
Expenditures on Transportation
This section explores the demand for transportation by using
the third indicator of the relative importance of regional transportation:
expenditures on transport-related goods and services. Expenditures
include:
- transport-related personal expenditures, e.g. cars
- business and government transport-related investment, e.g.
trucks and roads
- government spending on transportation, e.g. road maintenance.
Figure 6-5 presents the distribution of national totals. Ontario
accounts for the largest share of national transport demand at
40.7 per cent of the national total, roughly equivalent to the
size of its economy. The other large provinces rank roughly in
order of the size of their provincial economies, with British
Columbia showing a slightly higher share of transport at 12.3
per cent than its economic size alone of 11.3 per cent would suggest.
The smaller provinces have a share of total transport demand relatively
close to the relative share of their provincial economies. As
transport-related personal expenditures represent about two thirds
of transport-related demand, the provincial distribution
is similar to total transport demand. Appendix 6-1 provides more detail on personal
expenditures.
A large proportion of investment in transportation occurs in
Ontario. At 46.6 per cent, the share of total transport investment
in Ontario is higher than the share of the province's economy
in Canada's GDP. The other large provinces follow, in rough order
of their economic size, with transport investment in British Columbia
and Quebec lower than their share of GDP. In the smaller provinces,
Nova Scotia has a slightly higher share in 1998 than would be
expected, given the relative size of its provincial economy; and
New Brunswick has a slightly lower share. Appendix 6-2 provides more detail on provincial
investment.
When ranked according to relative shares of national totals,
government spending on transportation (primarily on road
maintenance) is relatively close to the shares of provincial economic
size. Ontario has a relatively lower level, at 37.3 per cent,
compared with the size of its economy, along with Alberta, whereas
British Columbia shows a relatively higher share. The smaller
provinces also rank in rough order of the relative importance
of their provincial economies. Higher shares of transport-related
government spending occurred in Nova Scotia. More detail on
government spending can be found in Chapter
3.
Provincial Growth in Transportation Expenditures
In terms of growth in total transportation expenditures, national
growth was driven largely by Ontario and Alberta, as shown
in Table 6-5. In both provinces, growth came primarily from
investment. In Quebec, transportation expenditures stayed the
same despite declines both in investment and in government spending.
In British Columbia, negative growth was observed as a result
of declines in personal expenditures and investments on transportation.
In the smaller provinces, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick,
and Manitoba and Saskatchewan, growth in transport-related expenditures
was relatively small. In Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick, declines were observed due to decreasing investment
and government spending on transportation.
Demand for Transportation
- Transportation and Regional Economies Transport
Related Demand and Investment
Appendix 6-1a Transport-Related Expenditures
by Province as Percentages of National Totals, 1998
Appendix 6-1b Annual Growth in Transport-Related Expenditures
by Province in 1998
Appendix 6-2 Provincial Transport-Related
Investment as a Percentage of National Investment, 1997
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