As the NAFTA talks get underway Wednesday, the latest report from the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council suggests that PEI’s economy is on a tear, leading the region.
APEC’s Senior Policy Analyst, Fred Bergman, says PEI is leading the country in retail sales and new home construction and second only to BC in employment growth.
APEC says the growing aerospace sector is helping to advance PEI exports this year, with aerospace exports doubling in value so far in 2017. It adds that early 2017 tourism numbers are positive, with new funding designed to support plans for future growth in PEI and across the Atlantic region. Total housing starts in Prince Edward Island experienced the largest gain in Canada at 70% in the first six months of 2017. This was led by new apartment construction in the Charlottetown area to support a growing population that is being boosted by immigration.
Bergman says the renegotiation of NAFTA is of critical importance to Atlantic Canada, as the region exported $19 billion of goods to the US last year, about 75% of its merchandise exports.