Economy of Hamilton, Ontario

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This article is the expanded version of the Economy section in the city of Hamilton, Ontario.

See also: Economic History of Hamilton, Ontario

Contents 1 Biggest employers 2 Biotechnology cluster 3 Construction & real estate 4 Economy 5 Economic highlights 6 Shopping malls 7 References

[edit] Biggest employers

Main article: List of Hamilton, Ontario Head Offices

• Top 100 Employers in Hamilton Ontario

[edit] Biotechnology cluster

Business, education and government in the Hamilton, Halton and Niagara regions have joined forces to energize existing biosciences strengths and help turn breakthroughs into business success. A regional initiative, the Golden Horseshoe is being transformed into a knowledge-based, economic powerhouse of research, growth and investment. ^[1]

Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network

[edit] Construction & real estate

Hamilton's construction sector performed well in 2006, with output growing by an estimated 8.8 per cent this year, led by spending on the Red Hill Creek Expressway project.^[2]

Average house prices in Hamilton were up almost 6 per cent in January of 2007 compared to January of 2006. The Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington says that 'Consumers are continuing to show confidence in resale housing' and reports that 823 properties were sold in January 2007, a 1 per cent decrease from the same period last year. The number of properties listed rose by almost 6 per cent to 1,723. During January 2007, 786 homes were sold, including 650 houses and 136 condominium properties. The average price of non-condominium properties was $268,729 while the average price of a condo was $193,735.^[3]

[edit] Economy

The most important economic activity in Ontario is manufacturing, and the Toronto-Hamilton region is the most highly industrialized section of the country. The area from Oshawa, Ontario around the west end of Lake Ontario to Niagara Falls is known as the “Golden Horseshoe” and the centre of it is Hamilton.^[4] Under the 2001 StatsCan definition, the population was 6,704,598 in the 2001 census.^[5] Major industrial products include motor vehicles and parts; iron, steel, and other metal products; foods and beverages; electrical goods; machinery; chemicals; petroleum and coal products; and paper products.

"Golden Horseshoe" The phrase was first used by Westinghouse President, Herbert H. Rogge, in a speech to the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, on January 12, 1954. “Hamilton in 50 years will be the forward cleat in a “golden horseshoe” of industrial development from Oshawa to the Niagara River”...150 miles long and 50 miles wide”...”It will run from Niagara Falls on the south to about Oshawa on the north and take in numerous cities and towns already there, including Hamilton and Toronto."^[6]

As the largest steel manufacturing city in Canada and home of the two Steel Giants; Stelco and Dofasco where 60% of all the steel in Canada is produced. It is the steel and metals manufacturing Capital of Canada.^[7] In the last decade, Hamilton's heavy industry reached a stable level, Stelco has returned to profitability.^[8] Dofasco in 1999 was the most profitable steel producer in North America and in 2000 it was the most profitable in Canada. It currently has approximately 7,300 employees at its Hamilton plant and produces over four million tons of steel annually, representing about 30% of Canada's flat rolled sheet steel shipments. Dofasco is likely to be bought by a foreign company and in addition to being one of North America's most profitable steel companies, Dofasco has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index seven years in a row. Dofasco’s wide range of steel products is sold to customers in the automotive, construction, energy, manufacturing, pipe and tube, appliance, packaging and steel distribution industries.^[9]

National Steel Car Ltd., North America's leader in freight and passenger train cars and equipment is based in Hamilton. They have been building reliable rail transportation products since 1912.^[10] National Steel Car recently won (January 2007) a contract for 1,200 custom-made railcars for TransLoad America, a New Jersey based waste transport firm.^[11]

Hamilton Health Sciences is the largest employer in Hamilton with nearly 10,000 employees and serves approximately 2.2 million people in central south and central west Ontario. Hamilton Health Sciences is a family of five unique hospitals and a cancer centre, they include Chedoke Hospital, Hamilton General Hospital, Henderson General Hospital, McMaster Children's Hospital, McMaster University Medical Centre and the the Juravinski Cancer Centre. Hamilton Health Sciences is affiliated with McMaster University's Faculty of Health Sciences. It is is one of the most comprehensive health care systems in Canada.^[12]

McMaster University was established in Hamilton in 1930. It is locally the sixth largest employer with approximately 3,500 full-time equivalent academic and support staff. It also has six partner hospitals in the city. Total student population well over 27,000. Almost two-thirds of the students come from outside the immediate Hamilton region. McMaster's total impact on provincial GDP ($670 million in operating expenditures impacts plus $94 million in student/visitor expenditure impacts plus an estimated $525 million in technology and knowledge transfer impacts) is $1.289 billion. Capital project impacts and informal/unmeasurable knowledge transfer impacts are not included in this total, and would be in addition to the $1.289 billion estimate.^[13] A massive McMaster University research campus called McMaster Innovation Park is planned for development on the former Camco lands near Westdale.^[14] A recent $105 million CAD donation was given to McMaster's medical program from billionaire Michael G. DeGroote. It is the largest single cash gift in Canadian history^[15] and will be used to upgrade the current medical school, called the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. He is also a benefactor to McMaster's business school the DeGroote School of Business.

Lakeport Brewing Company is based in Hamilton and focused on producing value-priced quality beer for the Ontario take-home market. Lakeport pioneered the "24 for $24" value segment. Lakeport produces nine proprietary beer brands, two of which, Lakeport Honey Lager and Lakeport Pilsener, are two of the top ten selling brands in the province of Ontario. Lakeport has more than 200 employees at its production facility.^[16] It is one of the fastest growing companies in the Hamilton region. Lakeport Brewing Company joined forces with the Hamilton Port Authority who will finance and construct a 35,000 square foot (3,250 m²) expansion to Lakeport's Hamilton harbour front facility. ^[17] Lakeport Brewing Company is Canada's No.1 co-packer of beer, non-alcohol and spirit-based products. The company is also said to be North America's most modernized beverage alcohol production facility.^[18]

Oakrun Farm Bakery opened in 1978 in Ancaster by John & Ellie Voortman. The bakery has now grown to over 165,000 square feet in size and now produces over 20 different lines and variations of other high quality products. They are a premier supplier of fresh & frozen bakery products, and are currently aggressively targeting both the U.S.A. and Canadian market. They currently produce muffins, pancakes and mcgriddles for Canadian & American McDonald's outlets and bagels, cookies and tarts for Tim Horton's outlets in Canada. Their product line also includes danish pastries, cinnamon buns, pies, cakes, crumpets and waffles. The company is currently (January 2007) going through massive expansion to their plant and warehousing facilities in Ancaster.^[19]

The Hamilton Port Authority, formerly known as Hamilton Harbour Commission, handles over 12 million metric tonnes of cargo through over 700 vessels each year. This ranks Hamilton as the busiest of all the ports of Canada's great lakes and 28% of all movements on the St. Lawrence Seaway System.^[20] In 2006 Total ships in and out of the harbour was 739; Domestic/U.S.: 577 (78%), International: 162 (22%) from countries including Malaysia, Philippines, Russia and Brazil. Percentage of Imports: 87%, Percentage of Exports: 13%. International arrivals at the port grew from 130 ships in 2005 to 162 ships in 2006. In 2006 most of the materials arriving at the port include raw materials including iron ore and coal for steelmaking at Stelco and Dofasco, as well as imported steel from Brazil. The port also accepted 24,000 litres (5,280 Imp gallons) of bulk Jamaican rum. The oddest new arrival was windmill blades (some more than 80 feet long) destined for wind farms in southern Ontario. This is the first year windmill parts have arrived in the port. Exports include 500,000 metric tonnes (550,000 short tons) of agricultural products including grain.^[21]

John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport is the busiest air cargo hub in the country and as well the fastest growing airport in Canada.^[22] Originally, in the 1940s the airport was used as a wartime air force training station. Today TradePort International Corporation manages and operates the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport. Under TradePort management, passenger traffic at the Hamilton terminal has increased from 90,000 in 1996 to approx. 900,000 in 2002, and has grown dramatically since then. The airport's mid-term target for growth in its passenger service is five million air-travelers annually. Air cargo has increased by 50% since 1996; 91,000 metric tonnes (100,000 tons) of cargo passed through the airport in 2002. Hamilton's air cargo success is due to its 24-7 operational capability and strategic geographic location. Courier companies with operations at the airport include United Parcel Service, Purolator Courier and Cargojet Canada.^[23] The airport is also home to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.^[24]

Currently the Airport needs 1,000 hectares of new employment land to handle its growth for the next 25 years; farmland around the airport is the best option available. A report by Hemson Consulting^[25] says the city will need greenfields the size of the Royal Botanical Gardens on which to locate businesses that will generate an estimated 59,000 jobs by 2031. Aerotropolis, a proposed 1,050-hectare industrial park at Highway 6 and 403, has been a hotly debated issue at City Hall for years. Opponents feel the city needs to do more investigation about the cost to taxpayers before embarking on the project.^[26]

[edit] Economic highlights

The Government of Canada has published a Labour Market Bulletin for the Hamilton Area in 2006. The report states that Hamilton has a shortage of hotel facilities, truck drivers and finance professionals, all of which are in high demand. As well, 55% of the manufacturing workforce is expected to retire in the next 15-years and the Ontario government has injected millions of dollars into Hamilton's Education sector. The steel industry also saw some highlights; Stelco emerged from bankruptcy protection and Dofasco has been taken over by Arcelor.^[27]

According to Canadian Business magazine Hamilton is also the top location in Ontario for business in 2006. The survey conducted by the magazine ranks cities based on the variable operating costs of doing business, cost of living, non-residential building permits, unemployment rate changes and crime rates. Hamilton was ranked sixth overall in the survey of forty cities across Canada.^[28]

[edit] Shopping malls

• Battlefield Square
• [1] Centre Mall
• [2] Eastgate Square
• Effort Square
• Fennell Square
• Fiesta Mall
• Gulliver Square
• Lloyd D. Jackson Square
• Hamilton City Centre (formerly the Eaton's Centre)
• [3] Limeridge Mall
• Meadowlands Centre
• Mountain Plaza Mall
• South Hamilton Mall
• Spartan Square
• Taba Development (Upper Ottawa)
• University Plaza
• Village Plaza
• Waterdown Shopping Centre
• Westcliffe Mall

[edit] References