Thunder Bay is headed for positive but modest growth in the year ahead, with The Conference Board of Canada’s
Metropolitan Outlook: Winter 2016 estimating the rate at around 1 per cent, and insurance is one of the drivers of this expansion.
Thunder Bay’s real GDP is forecast to grow by 1.1 per cent in 2016, up slightly from its 2015 gain of 1 per cent. A soft Canadian dollar and healthy U.S. economy should boost Thunder Bay’s forest products sector and the manufacturing industry more generally. Insurance and other non-commercial services, such as finance, real estate sector, and business services – all of which have achieved modest improvements --are also set to help lift total services output by 1.1 per cent in 2016.
Following two consecutive annual declines, employment in Thunder Bay is forecast to bounce back with a 2.5 per cent increase in 2016.
“Thunder Bay faced difficult economic conditions in 2015 and weak resources prices will continue to weigh on [its] economies this year. Though [Thunder Bay] will see positive economic growth this year, it will be modest at best,” said Alan Arcand, Associate Director, Centre for Municipal Studies.
Thunder Bay real estate median prices have been slipping recently according to home price data from canadianrealestatewealth.ca
