C HAPTER 1
S U M M A R Y As Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management at University of Toronto, notes in the accompanying speech first delivered to the Canadian Club in Toronto in January 2003, Ontario is failing to keep pace with comparable economies in the U.S. In fact, compared with the 14 U.S. states larger than half Ontario’s size – from Indiana and Massachusetts to New York and California – Ontario ranked 14th, ahead of only Florida. Worse still, our relative competitiveness and prosperity are falling. In 1980, Ontario ranked 11 th among this elite group and was $850 per capita behind the median; in 2000, Ontario ranked 14 th and was $5,900 per capita behind. Martin, who is also chairman of Ontario’s Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress, focuses on Ontario’s performance. However, his remarks are relevant for Canada as a whole. Among his conclusions is that Canadians need to invest significantly more in our future prosperity. By investing in and supporting the development of early-stage companies, angels are making a valued contribution to Canada’s prosperity and helping to nurture a future
T HE P ROSPERITY C HALLENGE by Roger L. Martin
I am pleased to speak to you today on behalf of my fellow members of the Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. At issue is the competitiveness and economic prosperity of our province. Let’s start with the good news. Ontario is a terrifically prosperous place by global standards. If it were a country, it would rank second in the world in prosperity. And it is actually larger in population than all but the U.S. in the top ten countries. So it is the richest consequential jurisdiction outside America. This is very good news for Ontarians. However, there is more sobering news, which we need to take to heart and take action on. We have looked closely at Ontario versus our true peers — which are not small countries, because we are considerably more prosperous than them. Instead, we compared Ontario to the 14 U.S. states larger than half our size — from Indiana and Massachusetts on the small end and New York and California at the large end. Unfortunately, in this more elite group we rank 14 th out of 15, ahead of only Florida. And worse still, our competitiveness and prosperity relative to this group are falling. In 1980, we ranked 11 th and were $850 per capita behind the median; in 2000 we ranked 14 th and were $5,900 per capita behind. What does it mean to be $5,900 behind in GDP per capita? It translates almost exactly into $10,000 per Ontario household in after-tax disposable income. Think about it this way: $10,000 per Ontario household in after- tax income is slightly more than all the money spent in Ontario on mortgages, plus rent, plus new car purchases.
economy that can be competitive with the best in the world.
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