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From: www.theglobeandmail.com/s...y/National
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Hey, T.O.: Calgary wants you!
Cowtown aims to lasso our workers, ERIC REGULY warns
ERIC REGULY
Listen to the city of Calgary shills who invaded Toronto this week and you'll think you're a genetic mutant because you haven't stuffed the U-Haul and moved to Cowtown.
Calgary, you see, has grown up. It's no longer a roadside steak joint on the oil-soaked edge of the Prairie. It has a museum! And 550 kilometres of "well-groomed walking and bike paths." You can ski and play golf on the same day, or visit the "stunning" Devonian indoor gardens. But what about the rednecks? They're not as thick on the ground as you might think -- Calgary says it's the country's third most ethnically diverse city.
Cowtown boosters had a lot more to say, too, when they rolled into town on Wednesday, fronted by Mayor David ("call me Dave") Bronconnier, to pitch the benefits of doing business in Alberta.
The Calgary pitch, called "Building Connections" and backed by various city agencies, from economic development to tourism, was smoothly packaged and ever so politically correct.
It started with a lunch at Toronto's Sutton Place hotel, where Mr. Bronconnier and WestJet CEO Clive Beddoe spoke of the economic miracle that is Calgary and Alberta (and WestJet, of course). Mr. Beddoe says one of his passengers is a Montreal carpenter who goes to Alberta for three-week work stints and hauls in $5,000 a week. "Bus drivers can make $100,000 a year," he adds. Later, at a variety of "business sessions" at the National Trade Centre, companies and individuals learned about employment and money-making opportunities in industries ranging from aerospace and film to real estate and the vast oil sands, where $60-billion of projects are under way.
The message was politically correct because there was no mention of persuading entire companies to ditch Toronto and reopen in Calgary. "This is not about looting and poaching every company in Ontario," Mr. Bronconnier said. "We'd be happy if you just shipped out people or equipment."
Well, okay, but Calgary would be thrilled if it bagged a few big head offices. When mighty Imperial Oil, Canada's largest energy company by revenue, announced in 2004 that it would abandon Toronto for Calgary, Calgarians danced in the streets. While no big Toronto company has made the move since then, it's not out of the question, given Alberta's considerable tax advantage.
During the last oil boom, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Bank of Montreal considered moving its headquarters to Calgary. The subsequent oil-price collapse killed the idea. Toronto's CI Financial recently considered shifting to Calgary but decided it would be too disruptive to employees.
Not everyone at the business sessions bought the no-looting line. Of course Alberta would love to snatch a big head office, said Kevin Wallace of engineering firm SNC Lavalin. "They're peddling the wealth of opportunities in Alberta, but they're being a bit coy about it."
Joe Cordiano, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development and Trade, said he has no intention of letting big companies slip away. "We're not going to sit back and watch that happen," he said.
But what can he do to prevent an exodus? The minister said the province will rely on improving the skills and education of its work force and building up research capability. He admitted that Ontario is at a disadvantage on the tax front.
Alberta has the lowest tax rates in Her Majesty's dominion. There is no provincial sales tax (it's 8 per cent in Ontario). Gasoline and payroll taxes are lower, as is the top personal tax rate. Alberta's general corporate rate is 10 per cent, versus Ontario's 14 per cent. If you're a small-business owner, the Alberta rate is 3 per cent; Ontario's is 5.5.
Ontario would have more room to reduce taxes if it got better treatment on federal equalization payments. The province, he said, ships about $18-billion more in tax dollars to Ottawa than it gets back. Alberta uses its rich oil and gas royalties to subsidize lower tax rates; its stated intention is to keep dropping them.
It's inevitable that thousands of Ontario workers, skilled and unskilled, will move to Calgary and elsewhere in Alberta, because smart people follow the money. Entire companies may follow. "The opportunities are endless in Calgary," Mr. Bronconnier said.
In other words, move west, keep your paycheque and spend it like a Texan. Never mind that Alberta's superheated economy means you can hose out $350,000 for an uninhabitable bungalow, or that new and used houses are rising in price by 30 per cent a year. Just never mind. Calgary wants you, needs you, will pay you pretty much what you want to fill hundreds of thousands of job positions.
And if you want to stay put, that's fine too, the Albertans said. Just make stuff that Alberta needs, from steel fasteners to truck tires, and ship it west.
"Too often, Ontario wants to look south, to the States, for business," Mr. Bronconnier said. "Why not look west?"
And don't forget, Cowtown has museums and parks too. Honest.
________________
Hey, T.O.: Calgary wants you!
Cowtown aims to lasso our workers, ERIC REGULY warns
ERIC REGULY
Listen to the city of Calgary shills who invaded Toronto this week and you'll think you're a genetic mutant because you haven't stuffed the U-Haul and moved to Cowtown.
Calgary, you see, has grown up. It's no longer a roadside steak joint on the oil-soaked edge of the Prairie. It has a museum! And 550 kilometres of "well-groomed walking and bike paths." You can ski and play golf on the same day, or visit the "stunning" Devonian indoor gardens. But what about the rednecks? They're not as thick on the ground as you might think -- Calgary says it's the country's third most ethnically diverse city.
Cowtown boosters had a lot more to say, too, when they rolled into town on Wednesday, fronted by Mayor David ("call me Dave") Bronconnier, to pitch the benefits of doing business in Alberta.
The Calgary pitch, called "Building Connections" and backed by various city agencies, from economic development to tourism, was smoothly packaged and ever so politically correct.
It started with a lunch at Toronto's Sutton Place hotel, where Mr. Bronconnier and WestJet CEO Clive Beddoe spoke of the economic miracle that is Calgary and Alberta (and WestJet, of course). Mr. Beddoe says one of his passengers is a Montreal carpenter who goes to Alberta for three-week work stints and hauls in $5,000 a week. "Bus drivers can make $100,000 a year," he adds. Later, at a variety of "business sessions" at the National Trade Centre, companies and individuals learned about employment and money-making opportunities in industries ranging from aerospace and film to real estate and the vast oil sands, where $60-billion of projects are under way.
The message was politically correct because there was no mention of persuading entire companies to ditch Toronto and reopen in Calgary. "This is not about looting and poaching every company in Ontario," Mr. Bronconnier said. "We'd be happy if you just shipped out people or equipment."
Well, okay, but Calgary would be thrilled if it bagged a few big head offices. When mighty Imperial Oil, Canada's largest energy company by revenue, announced in 2004 that it would abandon Toronto for Calgary, Calgarians danced in the streets. While no big Toronto company has made the move since then, it's not out of the question, given Alberta's considerable tax advantage.
During the last oil boom, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Bank of Montreal considered moving its headquarters to Calgary. The subsequent oil-price collapse killed the idea. Toronto's CI Financial recently considered shifting to Calgary but decided it would be too disruptive to employees.
Not everyone at the business sessions bought the no-looting line. Of course Alberta would love to snatch a big head office, said Kevin Wallace of engineering firm SNC Lavalin. "They're peddling the wealth of opportunities in Alberta, but they're being a bit coy about it."
Joe Cordiano, Ontario's Minister of Economic Development and Trade, said he has no intention of letting big companies slip away. "We're not going to sit back and watch that happen," he said.
But what can he do to prevent an exodus? The minister said the province will rely on improving the skills and education of its work force and building up research capability. He admitted that Ontario is at a disadvantage on the tax front.
Alberta has the lowest tax rates in Her Majesty's dominion. There is no provincial sales tax (it's 8 per cent in Ontario). Gasoline and payroll taxes are lower, as is the top personal tax rate. Alberta's general corporate rate is 10 per cent, versus Ontario's 14 per cent. If you're a small-business owner, the Alberta rate is 3 per cent; Ontario's is 5.5.
Ontario would have more room to reduce taxes if it got better treatment on federal equalization payments. The province, he said, ships about $18-billion more in tax dollars to Ottawa than it gets back. Alberta uses its rich oil and gas royalties to subsidize lower tax rates; its stated intention is to keep dropping them.
It's inevitable that thousands of Ontario workers, skilled and unskilled, will move to Calgary and elsewhere in Alberta, because smart people follow the money. Entire companies may follow. "The opportunities are endless in Calgary," Mr. Bronconnier said.
In other words, move west, keep your paycheque and spend it like a Texan. Never mind that Alberta's superheated economy means you can hose out $350,000 for an uninhabitable bungalow, or that new and used houses are rising in price by 30 per cent a year. Just never mind. Calgary wants you, needs you, will pay you pretty much what you want to fill hundreds of thousands of job positions.
And if you want to stay put, that's fine too, the Albertans said. Just make stuff that Alberta needs, from steel fasteners to truck tires, and ship it west.
"Too often, Ontario wants to look south, to the States, for business," Mr. Bronconnier said. "Why not look west?"
And don't forget, Cowtown has museums and parks too. Honest.