This document summarizes benchmarking research on the creative economy in rural Ontario communities. It examines the creative class, industries, and assets of 5 focus communities from 5 different regions of Ontario. The findings provide a framework for any rural community to assess their creative economy by comparing occupational data, talent, technology, and quality of life factors to peer regions. The methodology allows any community not specifically included to conduct a similar analysis to identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in their local creative economy.

1. Benchmarking the Creative
Economy in Rural Ontario
Kevin Stolarick
Building Rural Resilience
Queens/Monieson April 8, 2012

2. Brief Overview
1. Creativity in the Rural Context
2. Regions/Benchmarks
3. Results
4. Summary & Conclusions
2

3. Creative
Economy in
Rural Ontario
3

4. 4

5. 5

6. Central
6

7. 7

8. Central - Overview
• Central region of Ontario has a
population of 8,215,076
• 91% of Region in Metros
– Toronto, Peterborough, Oshawa, Hamilton, St. Catharine’s-
Niagara, Kitchener, Brantford, Guelph and Barrie
• Focus Community: Midland
8

9. Central
9

10. Central
10

11. Central – Selected Observations & Opportunities
• Occupations
– Grow professionals in arts & culture and natural &
applied sciences
– Technical (support) above average.
• “Meds and Eds”
– The problem with “meds & eds”
– Shift away
– Maintain current levels
– Don’t make a focus
11

12. East
12

13. 13

14. East - Overview
• East Region of Ontario has a population
of 1,723,135
• 60% of Region in Metros
– Ottawa, Kingston
• Highest Regional Creative Class Share
• Focus Community: Brockville
14

15. 15

16. 16

17. East - Selected Observations & Opportunities
• Leverage Creative Class Share
– Geographic advantage
– Population position
• Diversity
– Higher scores on diversity indicators
– Build immigrant attraction strategies
– “Steal” from nearby regions
17

18. Southwest
18

19. 19

20. Southwest - Overview
• Southwest region of Ontario has a
population of 1,591,240
• 49% of Region in Metros
– Windsor, London
• Focus Community: Goderich
20

21. 21

22. 22

23. Southwest - Selected Observations &
Opportunities
• Service Class
– High employment
– Good incomes (relatively)
– Higher wage service class jobs?
• Demographics
– Older population
– Opportunity for specialized healthcare services
– Regional leader
23

24. Northeast
24

25. 25

26. Northeast - Overview
• Northeast region of Ontario has a population
of 571,608
• 28% of Region in Metros
– Sudbury
• Focus Community: Temiskaming Shores
26

27. 27

28. 28

29. Northeast - Selected Observations &
Opportunities
• Amenities
– Strong base
– Low crime
– Tourists and new residents
• Farming/Fishing/Forestry
– Small but relatively strong
– Guelph research station
– Natural sciences professionals
29

30. Northwest
30

31. 31

32. Northwest - Overview
• Northwest region of Ontario has a
population of 245,026
• 50% of Region in Metros
– Thunder Bay
• Focus Community: Dryden
32

33. 33

34. 34

35. Northwest - Selected Observations &
Opportunities
• Technology
– Have tech support workers
– Get professionals
• Regional Hub
– Regional hub for extraction companies
– “Toronto of the North”
– Support Services
– Education/Training
• Education
– Improve post-secondary opportunities
35

36. Summary
(228 pages)
Canadian Gothic
36 Artist Ron Simmer

37. Summary
37

38. Conclusions?
38

39. Professional Advice
• Rural opportunities exist
– Tricky to identify
– Emerging creative economy – not just cultural industries
– Jurisdictional considerations
– Alternative opportunities
– Unique local strategies
– Avoiding “death by best practice”
– Generate true regional prosperity
• Report as toolkit
– ED professionals
– Civic and community leaders
– Consultants
39

40. “Urban” Policy
Urban policy
is not
social policy.
40

41. “Urban” Policy
Urban policy
is not
social policy.
Urban policy
is
economic policy.
41

42. “Urban” Policy
Urban policy
is not
social policy.
Urban policy
is
economic policy.
What happens when you’re not “urban”?
What’s your economic policy?
42

43. “Urban” Policy
What about “non-urban” areas??
• ThinkBig
• Look Big
• Use a shotgun, not a rifle
• (Super secret strategy #4)
43

44. Think Big
44

45. Look Big
45

46. Use a Shotgun not a Rifle
46

47. (Super Secret Strategy #4)
47

48. Conclusions (!)
“The key to success in today’s creative economy is for each
region to understand its own strengths and weaknesses.
Commiserating by looking at the challenges other regions are
facing may be cathartic, and looking with envy at other
successful regions may be a palliative, but neither will help the
region succeed. Increasing regional prosperity for any region
requires a clear picture of the current situation and an
understanding of who is leaving the region, who is staying, and
who is moving in. By understanding and leveraging current
strengths, a region can improve its chance of success. It is only
by understanding its unique challenges and opportunities that
any region can advance.”
48

49. Thank You
Kevin Stolarick
kms@rotman.utoronto.ca
www.martinprosperity.org

50. Creative Class
50

51. Who Works in Creative Class?
Creative Class: TAPE
T = Technology and R&D Innovation
A = Arts and Culture
P = Professional and Managerial
E = Educating and Training
51

52. U.S. Creative Class
• 30 (% of the workforce)
• 40 (million people)
• 50 (% of the wages)
• 70 (% of the discretionary income)
52

53. The Rise of the Creative Class
53

54. The Rise of the Creative Class
Creative
Service
Working
Farming
54

55. Share of creativity-oriented jobs is increasing
55

56. Canada & Ontario’s Creative Economy
Creative Service Working
Workers (Talent) 4,874,885 5,788,767 3,333,726
Canada
% of Workforce 35.5% 38.7% 23.0%
Workers (Talent) 2,027,152 2,210,604 1,311,995
Ontario
% of Workforce 33.2% 39.4% 22.7%
56

57. New jobs will be in creativity-oriented and
routine-oriented service occupations
57

58. Nearly 80 percent of jobs in Canada are in
services industries
58

59. Unemployment is higher in routine-oriented
occupations especially in early 90s recession
-59

61. Ontario’s distinctive advantage can be created
through actions on four fronts
61

62. The “4Ts”
Talent
Regional
Growth and
Technology Tolerance Prosperity
(Inclusiveness)
Territory Assets
(Amenities)
62

63. Rural* Context
*Non-metropolitan
63

65. Creativity in the Rural Context
Share of All Share of
Jobs Creative Class Jobs
Metro Ontario 79.6% 85.4%
Rural Ontario 20.4% 14.6%

66. Regions/
Benchmarks
66

67. 67

68. Region/Benchmarks Variables
• Regional Economics
– Population, Income, Housing Value, Population Growth,
Unemployment etc.
• Occupational Classes
– Creative Class, Working Class, Service Class, and Farming, Fishing &
Forestry Class
• Talent
– % of Population 25+ with a BA or above, other education data
• Technology
– High Tech Establishments/High Tech LQ
• Tolerance
– Immigrant and Visible minority population share
• Territorial Assets
– Crime, Voter Turnout, Rec Establishments, Arts & Entertainment
Establishments, Bars & Restaurants
68

69. Other Regions?
So what if my region wasn’t selected?
• Appendix for methodology
– DIY
• Swap: Benchmark Focus
–Really 50 Reports
• Keep to your region
–Or not
• StatsCan – CSD Level
–Region, Rural, Ontario Summaries
–50 potential benchmark regions
69

70. 70

71. Outline
• The objective of this research is to examine the
creative economy in rural communities across Ontario
and produce a document that can then be used by
any community seeking to better understand how to
execute creative economy research and begin to
interpret results.
• We hope to contribute to the existing body of research
on the creative economy in rural communities and
assist in the transfer of that knowledge in an
accessible format to reach and better inform
communities interested in applying the concepts
themselves.
71

72. Selection of regions/benchmarking variables
•5 communities (CSDs) selected for analysis from 5 different regions of
Ontario
• The types of data examined will focus on the occupational structure of the
workforce and attempt to provide measures that characterize a community’s
creative and quality of life assets, including its levels of talent, technology.
72

73. Selection of regions/benchmarking variables
• Peer regions chosen based on population and location within the
economic regions
• The types of data presented depict the occupational structure of the
workforce and provide measures that characterize a community’s level
of creative assets, including its level of talent, technology and tolerance
• Benchmarking & Focus Communities are selected Census
Subdivisions with populations between 5,000 and 20,000
• Metro Ontario is defined as within a census metropolitan area
• Rural Ontario is defined as everything else
73

74. How are the findings applicable to all
communities? Where do they go from here? Why
does it mater?
• The description of the methodology and analytical work done
in the report will ensure that any community can reproduce the
analysis and benchmarking activities
• Will allow communities not only to gauge their own
performance in the creative economy, identifying strengths,
weaknesses and opportunities, but also to better understand
how their community fits within the larger context of the region
in which they exist
• Any region not included in this report can obtain information
about their region from Statistics Canada at the CSD level and
compare their results with the focus and benchmarking regions
reported here.