NWT, Alberta: ‘stunning’ gains from resources

Strong resource prices will carry the Northwest Territories and Alberta to “stunning” per capita nominal incomes in the 2002-2006 period, the Toronto-Dominion Bank predicts.

For residents of the Northwest Territories, the numbers will be breathtaking, soaring to C$112,814 per head by the end of 2006, a gain of 260 percent for the five-year period, and far ahead of the national average C$43,817, reflecting an increase of just C$6,894.

Albertans will end 2006 at C$63,932, a gain of C$15,560 for the five years.

But the report by Toronto-Dominion Bank senior economist Derek Burleton noted that the Northwest Territories’ numbers are distorted by a sparse population and the fact that much of the territory’s output “flows from high-value mining activity.”

Nominal income is based on the total income generated by households, businesses and governments.

Ontario, with Canada’s largest population and considered its economic heartland, will see its per capita nominal income hit C$44,794 at the end of 2006, but Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and British Columbia — three provinces that draw much of their strength from oil and gas activities — are all expected to close the gap on Ontario.

—Gary Park