Provincial and territorial economic accounts

Economic growth rates for 2002 have been revised upward for five provinces, according to new estimates of provincial and territorial economic accounts for the period from 1999 to 2002, available today.

Along with this release, the publication Latest developments in the Canadian economic accounts, includes five articles providing a historical analysis of various aspects of the provincial and territorial economies.

The revised estimates, which update preliminary data released in The Daily on April 28, 2003, show that real gross domestic product (GDP) for 2002 increased faster than initially estimated in all four Eastern provinces and in British Columbia.

Among the territories, real GDP growth rates were revised downward for the Yukon and Nunavut, while the rate for the Northwest Territories was revised upward from 3.3% to 4.0%.

Newfoundland and Labrador led the pack in 2002; its real GDP rose an impressive 15.4%, up from a preliminary 13.4%. This was more than twice the rate of growth in Prince Edward Island, which came in second with a revised growth rate of 5.7%.

Crude oil production from offshore fields propelled the gain in Newfoundland and Labrador, with the Terra Nova oil field coming on stream early in the year.

Ontario and Quebec's growth rates were revised down from 3.9% to 3.6% and from 4.3% to 4.0%, respectively.

Saskatchewan had a revised growth rate of -1.5%, a slight decline from the preliminary estimate (-1.4%). It remained the only province in which output declined. This second straight annual decline for Saskatchewan was due largely to drought conditions that hit the province's agricultural sector.

The five articles released today in Latest developments in the Canadian economic accounts look at structural changes in the provinces and territories from the perspective of the evolution of industries and the various components of GDP.

The article on Information communication technologies examines ICTs on a provincial basis. Years of stellar growth ended abruptly in late 2000 as global demand for ICT infrastructure waned. This had a devastating effect on many ICT manufacturers. The ICT boom and subsequent "Tech-Wreck" in 2001/02 had a significant impact on economic performance in central Canada compared with other provinces and territories.

According to Energy Sector in Canada: Impact on Provincial Economies, the energy sector contributed more than $53 billion to GDP in 2002. It also made significant contributions to the economy in terms of exploration activity and capital investment. Recent discoveries in oil and gas have had a significant impact on several provincial economies over the last decade.

A glance at provincial investment in residential structures 1981-2002 looks at the importance of investment in residential structures to provincial and territorial economies. With most provinces posting strong gains in residential investment, it looks at the trends over the time period and the variation in spending between new housing construction and renovations. While residents in some provinces tend to invest more in new housing, like Ontarians and Albertans, others spend more on renovations.

Are some regions more sensitive to business cycles? explores how the industrial structure of some jurisdictions makes them more vulnerable to business cycles. It finds that the structure of economies in Ontario and Quebec were more cyclical, whereas Newfoundland, the territories and many Western provinces were less cyclical. It suggests that, between 1997 and 2000, some provinces and territories became more and others less cyclically sensitive.

The Review of personal disposable income investigates trends among provinces and territories of per capita personal disposable income (PDI) relative to the national average. Starting in 1996, Albertans' PDI has increased relative to Canada, while British Columbia's residents have seen their relative position deteriorate. More employees in Alberta work in industries where wages, salaries and supplementary labour income are higher. In British Columbia, there has been a shift to employment in industries where earnings are lower.

Available on CANSIM: tables 379-0023 to 379-0025, 381-0009 to 381-0014, 383-0009, 383-0010, 384-0001, 384-0002 to 384-0013, 384-0036 and 386-0002.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 1303, 1401, 1402, 1403 and 1902.

Provincial economic accounts, 1999 to 2002

Provincial economic accounts, annual estimates - tables and analytical document, 2002 (13-213-PPB, $54) is now available. The accounts can also be obtained on diskette (13-213-DDB, $428). The diskette can also be purchased at a lower cost seven business days after the official release date (13-213-XDB, $86). To purchase any of these products, contact the client services officer (613-951-3810; iead-info-dcrd@statcan.gc.ca), Income and Expenditure Accounts Division.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, including labour statistics, contact the information officer (613-951-3640; iead-info-dcrd@statcan.gc.ca), Income and Expenditure Accounts Division.

Provincial gross domestic product by industry, 1999 to 2002 

Revised estimates for provincial gross domestic product by industry for 1999 to 2002 are now available.

With this release, the provincial gross domestic product (GDP) by industry program has introduced the first stage of conversion to a Chain Fisher formula, by adopting annual chained benchmarks in its calculation of real GDP for 1997 to 2000. However, from 2001 onwards, the data are 2000 Laspeyres-based estimates. The provincial GDP results are expressed in chained 1997 dollars. This conversion brings the provincial GDP by industry estimates more in line with the expenditure based chained provincial GDP data. For more information, see Chain Fisher volume index - Methodology.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Bruce Cooke (1-800-887-IMAD; imad@statcan.gc.ca), Industry Measures and Analysis Division.

Provincial input-output tables, 1999 (revised) and 2000 (preliminary)

The national and provincial input-output (I/O) tables for 1999 (revised data) and 2000 (preliminary data) are now available on CANSIM. Some changes have been made to the classification of industries in this release. For the years 1999 and 2000, three group of industries were expanded: Transportation, Broadcasting and Telecommunications and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services. Also, the value added components was expanded in the commodity space at the L, M and S level aggregations for all industries, in order to facilitate the calculation of the GDP at basic prices. Other clarifications have been brought to the commodity titles and some classifications have been changed in non-ferrous metal products. These changes will be rolled back in a subsequent release.

Revised interprovincial and international trade data for 1999, as well as preliminary data for 2000, are now available.

This release also incorporates changes made to the 2000 Annual Survey of Manufacturers, as well as the results of a new survey on head offices, also for 2000. Consult the webpage The 1999-2000 Revisions of the Provincial Input-Output Accounts for more information.

All statistics are in line with the annual national GDP at market prices released on May 30 and the national GDP by industry monthly statistics released on September 30. They are also consistent with provincial economic accounts and provincial GDP by industry statistics released today.

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Ronald Rioux (613-951-3697; fax: 613-951-0489; riouxr@statcan.gc.ca), Input-Output Division.