If you were looking for a way to quantify how economies in Windsor and London have suffered in the past two decades, a new study by the Fraser Institute makes a clear case.
The study called “Economic Performance in Southwestern Ontario CMAs: A National Perspective 2023 Update” said median before-tax household income in Windsor fell 7.1 per cent between 2005 and 2019.
In 2005, Windsor residents made, on average, just over $62,000 annually, the 11th highest median before-tax household income in Canada. Just 14 years later, that fell to $57,840, the tenth lowest in the country.
Nowhere else in Canada did incomes fall as far.
London’s income growth slipped 0.5 percentage points to $59,510 as the city lost its 13th place in the country and tumbled to the 28th highest median before-tax household income.
“We have shown that London and Windsor specifically had amongst the worst relative economic performances in Canada,” said the report’s authors. “London’s average real household income growth was almost completely stagnant, while Windsor’s was negative. Both jurisdictions went from being in the top third of highest median household income CMAs in Canada to the bottom third.”
The rest of the country had a different experience. Incomes in Ontario grew 5.4 per cent on average, while they were up 11.1 per cent Canada-wide.
The report said the fall began in mid-2005 and heightened during the 2008-2009 recession, which struck the manufacturing sector particularly hard.
“Manufacturing employment peaked in 2004 at 1.1-million jobs. By 2007, that number had declined to 940,300. By 2010, it had fallen further to 766,100,” read the report.
It called growth since then tepid.
“The region’s economic challenges from 2005 to 2019 and its stagnant household incomes have imposed tremendous personal costs and suffering on individuals and families in the region,” continued the report. “These developments should not be viewed simply as a regional problem, but also as a provincial and national problem.”
The report was compiled by Nathan Li, an economist at the Fraser Insitute, and Senior Fellows, Ben Eisen and Steven LaFleur.
