Sustainable Economy

Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada.

Updated December 29, 2023

Economic growth does not automatically translate into better living standards. Achieving greater job quality, reducing poverty, and providing basic affordable housing and food security to individuals and families will raise well-being for everyone. (Government of Canada. Measuring What Matters: Toward a Quality of Life Strategy for Canada)

"Our economy is the result of the decisions we make and the actions we take."

Take Back the Economy
by J.K. Gibson Graham

Page Contents:

Key assets |
Challenges |
Imports / Exports |
Taxation & Utility rates |
Community Vision

Key Assets

PEC Assets

Lifestyle: Rural/small town lifestyle and quality of place. Safe area with low crime. Access to locally grown food. Many no-cost attractions.
Location: Located centrally between the major urban centres of Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Syracuse. Proximity to Hwy 401 (major E/W highway system through Ontario.) Close proximity to markets in Belleville and Kingston that could be leveraged more effectively.
Physical: 800 km waterfront, natural beauty, beaches, varied landscapes.
Transportation: Public transit system. Deep water port at Picton Harbour. Air strip.
Human capital: Large active volunteer base. Inflow of highly experienced and skilled early retirees. Entrepreneurial spirit. A strong network of stakeholders and organizations that are committed to the community’s success.
Arts & Culture: A rich cultural and built heritage. Creative rural economy. Vibrant arts community with national and global profile that has existed for decades, including successful showcase events including festivals. A tangible sense of pride.
Access to Education: Queen’s University, Loyalist College, First Nations Technical Institute, Prince Edward Learning Centre (basic literacy skills, job pretraining and connections)
Health Care: A local hospital and a municipally managed long-term care facility that are being replaced by state-of-the-art facilities. Proactive Family Health Team.
Low Property Tax and Building Permit Fees (BMA Management Consulting Inc. Annual Municipal Study 2020)
Surplus Land & Buildings: An inventory of municipally owned surplus land and buildings that could be used to attract business and investment

Challenges

PEC Challenges

Demographics

Increasing senior population – implications for health care resources.
Decreasing working-age population impacts local labour force.
Changing Sense of Place
Protecting the County’s culture, identity and quality of life

Labour Force

Seasonal employment and short operating season for tourism businesses
Shortage of educated and skilled labour force.

Housing

Lack of housing choice and affordability – the PEC median house price is higher than in neighbouring regions.
One of the lowest vacancy rates in Ontario – competition is short-term accommodation and second homes. Local businesses are short-staffed as a result of housing issues.

Economy

Development and maintenance of a diversified economic base that is inclusive and innovative and does not rely on a single industry or major employer
Retention and expansion of successful enterprises and entrepreneurs based in PEC
Serviced industrial land is inadequate to attract large scale investment
Municipal fiscal and budgetary pressures
Development of a vision of the County that is wholistic rather than divisive.
PEC is subject to low growth projections for population, limited growth potential for the property tax base and limited growth potential from revenue sources other than the local tax base.

Business succession planning

In Canada, 80% of businesses are family-owned and are responsible for 60% of Canada’s annual GDP. 80% of businesses in Canada are expected to change hands in the next 10 years. (Family Enterprise Exchange) With this turnover as older business owners look to exit the market, there is a risk of losing control locally.

Geography

Maintenance of infrastructure: 1,200 km. of roads with a low-density tax base.
Lack of infrastructure including broadband.
Dispersed population results in limited county-wide public transportation system.
Population clusters along the north shore largely support the economy outside of PEC
Remoteness from large urban centres and thus the lack of industry supply chains and employment opportunities.
Protection of primary agricultural lands.

Tourism

Exponential growth for past 10 years.
Over-reliance on tourism-related industries.
Visitation is surging during peak tourism season to levels that stress our destination’s carrying capacity.
Growing discord among residents and visitors with the volume, impact and perceived negative outcomes. Council is responding through Tourism Management Planning and Destination Master Planning.
There are both direct and indirect benefits to tourism in Prince Edward County that are not widely understood or appreciated and do not necessarily benefit everyone.

Loss of farmland and farmers

In the past decade, PEC's cropland acreage decreased by 8.23% or 7,105 acres. (Farmers Forum) Every day Ontario loses 319 acres of farmland to non-agricultural land uses like urban development and aggregate extraction. (Ontario Farmland Trust)
In PEC, the average age of farmers is 58.4 ..... but 63% of PEC farms do NOT have succession plans. (Statistics Canada, Census of Agriculture, 2021) Will this farmland remain in use for agriculture?

Imports/Exports (2020)

Top 3 exports (69% of supply) were: manufacturing, public administration and agriculture.
Top 3 imports (74% of demand) were: manufacturing, public administration and health care and social assistance.
Locally produced & consumed: 26% of demand (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, Lightcast 2023)

Taxation & Utility rates

Taxation rates

Provincial Personal Income Tax
Federal Personal Income Tax
Provincial Corporate Income Tax
Federal Corporate Income Tax
Municipal Tax Rate

Details at townfolio.co/on/prince-edward/taxation

Utility rates

Electricity Rates
Natural Gas Rates
Water & Wastewater Base Rate
Water & Wastewater Consumption Rate

Details at townfolio.co/on/prince-edward/utilities

Community vision

Prince Edward County is facing complex issues that require input from diverse groups, businesses and citizens. THRIVE PEC is a community-led development of a collaborative vision for the future of Prince Edward County. Learn more …

A report by University of Guelph researchers in 2022 observed that:

PEC residents care deeply about the future of their community.
The pace of change in PEC is on everyone’s mind.
Residents acknowledge that new investment and visitors are driving a large portion of the local economy.
Residents want a say in how to sustainably manage change and growth.
Focus should be on striving for balance.

Following is a community vision based on input from 245 residents engaged in asset-based community development (ABCD) sessions, and from in-depth interviews with 18 long-time farming families, newcomers, environmental stewards, local thought leaders, business operators, non-profit leaders, and land developers.

Theme	Details
Affordable	Residents can afford housing and they are food secure.
Quality jobs	Strong workforce with good paying, secure jobs and opportunities for training and development.
Economically diverse	Identifying how new and existing sectors of the economy can help build, grow and sustain the local economy.
Sustainable tourism	Creating policies and programs that promote tourism while protecting the landscape and quality of life of residents.
Climate protection	Developing a pro-active climate action plan focused on mitigation and adaptation.
Arts and cultural heritage	Celebrating and funding the region’s rich arts and cultural scene. Acknowledging and building on its Indigenous history.
Community connections	Building relationships between residents. Promoting diversity and equity. Mentoring and supporting youth.
Social infrastructure	Investment in parks, bike lanes, libraries, meeting places and public transit
Social services	Every resident has access to a doctor, schools and daycare.