City among top 10 biz places: Magazine

Author: Glenn Wilkins

Date: Sep 12, 2008

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When it comes to doing business across Canada, fewer cities are better than Barrie, according to a new study by Canadian Business Magazine.

The publication Friday put out its top-40 list of Places to do Business in Canada, citing factors such as socio-economic health, variable operating costs of doing business, cost of living, unemployment and crime rates.

Barrie finished 10th overall, given its 4.9-per-cent annual growth rate, the variety of technical and engineering programs at Georgian College, and its proximity to Highway 400 and Lake Simcoe Regional Airport. The fact that things cost more here than in other centres of similar size prevented Barrie from placing higher.

Three cities in Quebec - Sherbrooke, Levis and Quebec City - topped the list, in that order – with such cities as Kitchener and Hamilton also making the Top 10. Behemoths like Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal and Vaughan did NOT make the top 10.

“I think this is terrific news,” said Mayor Dave Aspden in a press release. “The position of Barrie has been recognized by an outside publication. This is not (a) paid advertisement by the City.

Aspden attributed the ranking to the city “thinking outside of the box, and looking globally, which you have to do today.”

A growing number of firms are attracted to Barrie by its central location, low business costs and excellent labour supply.

According to Barrie Economic Development Director Blaine Parkin, the city is “amongst a very impressive group of the top 10 cities (because) we have made a number of decisions to decrease costs to business and we’re certainly benefiting from these decisions in terms of attracting new businesses to the city and we will continue to do so in the future.”

Moneysense, which, like Canadian Business, also publishes under the Rogers umbrella, reported Barrie faring well in its May 2008 edition. An article entitled Where to Buy Now, notes the city scored an “A-plus” reading in the economic strength category, and an “A-minus” in overall economic outlook.

Other organizations have also recognized Barrie’s attractiveness to companies. KPMG’s 2008 Competitive Alternatives analysis puts Barrie high up the list, with a lower overall cost index than other GTA and Ontario locations, including Toronto, London, St. Catharines-Niagara and Waterloo Region. The comparison looks at after-tax costs of startup and operating a business over a 10-year time horizon.

A recent study by the Canadian Council on Learning ranked more than 4,700 communities across Canada, Barrie tied for fourth place among the smartest and most culture cities.

Canadian Business Magazine’s top-40 list of Places to Do Business in Canada hits newsstands Friday. The complete interactive ranking of the Top 40 Places To Do Business In Canada — with slideshow, sortable tables, downloadable spreadsheets and links to each city — appears September 19, on Canadian Business Online.