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CANADIAN INDUSTRY ONLINE - FEB/MAR 2013
**
courtesy of the Ontario Chamber
Index comes as business leaders, think
tank, and pollster table agenda for new
Ontario premier on how to strengthen the
Ontario economy
T
ORONTO – THE
Ontario Busi-
ness Confidence Index shows
that most Ontario businesses are confi-
dent in their own outlook (72 percent)
and are planning to expand over the
next five years (60 percent). However,
the same businesses are unsure about
the overall direction of Ontario’s econ-
omy–41 percent express confidence.
The index is a survey of 2,386
businesses and was conducted as part
of Emerging Stronger 2013, a business-
driven economic agenda for Ontario
released today by the Ontario Cham-
ber of Commerce, its network of local
chambers, along with their research
partner, the Mowat Centre at the Uni-
versity of Toronto.
Emerging Stronger 2013 is a
transformational agenda aimed at ac-
celerating Ontario’s economic growth.
It identifies Ontario’s challenges and
advantages, and sets out practical and
detailed recommendations for govern-
ment and business.
Some of its key recommendations
include: enabling better access to capi-
tal for start ups and small businesses
through crowd funding; encouraging
businesses to employ more Aboriginal
people and people with disabilities;
opening up more government services
to private sector and not-for-profit
delivery; utilizing Ontario’s large im-
migrant population to grow exports;
and, allowing more employers to par-
ticipate in training.
The agenda comes days after
Kathleen Wynne was named Ontar-
io’s next premier and is intended to
provide a non-partisan platform that
should appeal to all three parties.
“
The Ontario Chamber of Com-
merce has criss-crossed this prov-
ince engaging and hearing from local
chambers and their 60,000 members,”
said Allan O’Dette, CEO of the Ontario
Chamber of Commerce. “We are con-
fident that Ontario has all the assets to
prosper, but we need to act collectively,
strategically, and with purpose.”
“
This Index is one of the largest
surveys ever conducted of business
opinion in Ontario,” according to Dave
Scholz, Vice President of Leger Mar-
keting, the pollster. “Business senti-
ment is very much ‘glass half-full’ in
the province right now.”
Among the survey findings are:
•
Ontario is falling behind on produc-
tivity: only 10 percent of respon-
dents believe their sector is a global
leader in productivity.
•
Some sectors are much more confi-
dent than others: the financial ser-
vices sector is the most confident in
their own outlook (74 percent say
their business will expand in the
next 5 years).
•
Businesses are struggling to diver-
sify their exports: 45 percent of On-
tario businesses view China as the
most critical market in the next 5-10
years. Yet only 1.4 percent of Ontar-
io’s exports are bound for China.
•
The debt and deficit remain big
concerns: 26 percent of businesses
believe Ontario is going in the right
direction when it comes to restoring
fiscal balance.
•
Some regions are more confident
than others: Hamilton businesses
are most likely to respond that the
economy is heading in the right
direction (48 percent), while Eastern
Ontario businesses are the least like-
ly (36 percent).
To read Emerging Stronger 2013 vis-
it
Source: Ontario Chamber of Commerce
For further information, contact:
Neville McGuire
Communications Manager, Ontario
Chamber of Commerce
E.
T. 416.482.5222 ext. 2410
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