Hmm... Not to sure about that. Sure the GTA has a lot of people but it is a manufacturing center. Alberta has the natural resources. They can move manufacturing jobs to Mexico with NAFTA and China.......little harder to put oil there.
People in Alberta really have nothing bad to say about Ontario. We know they're there, but they really don't concern us. Lol
Over the years I have worked in Ontario from tool & die/mould making and at the Chrysler plant in Windsor to Kenora at the MNR Forestry,Forest Fire Fighting departments and also at Hydro One electrical utility.
I have also worked in Edmonton,Alberta at the International Airport and in the oil industry back in my younger days.
What I have noticed in each province is that in Ontario when things start to go down the crapper they really go down the crapper for an extended period of time and the recovery time is much slower,...especially with this current economic downturn.The tool & die/mould making industry is almost at a standstill due to the current state of the automotive industry,...and will become worse due to the parts shortage and Japans unfortunate situation,(I feel sorry for those new Challenger owners who may have to wait for months to receive their orders).Most of the economy in southern Ontario relies on this industry and the spin off businesses are being crippled with good paying jobs going by the wayside leaving mostly Walmart type paying jobs for people to get by on.
In northern Ontario it's the mining,logging and paper mill industries that people rely on and in some fortunate locals tourism.What I have witnessed here is the paper mills closing at an alarming rate due to a shortage of merchantable wood which in turn affects the logging industry.Also,given the current economic situation in the USA and their dollar being worth less than ours tourism to the north by Americans has taken a big hit.Examples of this would be the paper mill being closed and completely dismantled in Kenora which once employed 2000 workers in a town of 10,000 with high paying jobs.The loggers and pulp wood truck drivers were also put out of work.
I know many people who were affected by these situations and many have sold their homes and taken thier families to Alberta where work is plentiful and most tell me they are making more money than their previous sources of income.These individuals range from the automotive and toll & die workers in the south to the people who worked the paper mills and logging industries in the north of Ontario.The people I know who own Fishing/Hunting lodges are not so fortunate as being able to pick up and move,...the ones who are surviving are those with no mortgage to further burden them.
History has shown many times in the last 30 years that Alberta can bounce back much quicker from recessions due to their abundance of natural resources.It will always be that way in such a rich province.They also manage their renewable natural resources much better in comparison to Ontario where I have witnessed such a disregard for good foresrty management by goverments and pulp/paper industries that it has forced the closure of many mills across the north due to a lack of usable wood because of such poor or non-existent reforestation practices for the last 40-50 years(it takes on average 60 years for a tree in the north to grow to a usable size for pulp wood).
Having said all that my money is on Alberta for finacial stability across the board.Canada just needs to start creating more Canadian made based industries.As it stands now American owned industries in Canada highly out number Canadian made/owned industries in Canada.When things get tough in America those owners just close shop in Canada and take care of their own back home,...and who can blame them.
We have an incredible amount of resources here in Canada and if our leaders would get their heads out of their asses we could start mangaging and utilizing those resources which in turn would make us more self sufficient,...and that would give future generations of Canadians something good to look forward to.
Also,convincing Canadian and American politicians and big business to stop sending work overseas would obviously makes matters much better,...as we all know,...easier said then done.They are putting their own people in the poor house.
Yeah,..so anyways,...I'm with you on this one.
PS-contrary to popular belief,...Toronto,GTA and the 'Golden Horseshoe' ,(aka.,the 'Smog Capital of Canada'),are not the 'Centre of the Universe'.You haven't seen the real Canada until you've spent time north of Toronto and to the east and west.