A Toronto Star article ("U.S. intolerance gives Ontario an edge"; Nov. 23, 2009), recently reported that the newest asset to Ontario's growing creative economy might be the tumultuous or, at worst, intolerant, socioeconomic climate south of the border. Although the article focuses on a piece of legislation restricting spending on foreigners using work visas in the U.S., this is one of many ways in which Eastern Ontario could capitalize on cross-border advantages vis-a-vis the United States.

Legislative Advantages
A quasi-protectionist provision in some U.S. stimulus funds, says the Star, prohibits spending on foreign-born professionals holding H1-B work visas. Foreign-born people seeking denied job placements in the U.S., including international students, might set their sights on Canada instead, accprding to a report by the provincial Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. To take advantage, Ontario schools like Queen's are encouraged to both attract more foreign postgraduates and ensure that their educational experience prepares them for "the advanced jobs of the near-future." In addition, competitive companies in the region can seize on weakened cross-border rivals affected by both economic downturn and restrictive legislation.

Tax Advantages
Legislative advantages for foreign employment, however, are not the only way in which Eastern Ontario can compete across the border. In fact, they are just one point of departure for thinking about Eastern Ontario as a player in a broader cross-border economy spanning the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. There are several ways in which Eastern Ontario can leverage its advantages.  The harmonization of the GST and PST, the elimination of the capital tax, and the reduction in the general corporate rate are all pro-business measures which can bolster existing firms and attract new ones, fostering a favourable climate for investment.

Social Advantages
Yet another thread in the American socioeconomic climate is the recent concretization of many states’ stances on gay marriage, notably New York, whose Senate failed to pass a gay marriage bill earlier this month, and Maine, which held a referendum to overturn earlier legalization of same-sex marriage. As of 2006, Canadian same-sex couples with at least one partner from the United States represented over 8% of married same-sex households and over 4% of common-law households, figures much higher than those for opposite-sex households. If gay Americans continue to cross the border based on marriage denial, as they appear to have in the past, communities in Ontario, many within miles of New York State, could be a likely destination for skilled, educated, individuals.

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David Phipps  - Director, Research Services & Knowledge Exchange   |2009-12-15 17:10:45 Interesting perspective on brain gain. Kind of like draft dodgers but dodging an intolerant, socioeconomic climate. Is there any evidence that close boarder communities are seeing this gaining trend or is it a prediction? Reply

Nathaniel Lewis  - PhD Candidate, Geography   |2009-12-16 07:54:21 Thanks for the comment! There is a long history of U.S. emigrationn to Canada, from Loyalists, to draft dodgers, to more recent war resisters, to men and women seeking marriage rights. There's some anectodal evidence that suggests that this has been happening more recently (e.g., the prominent cases of war resisters like Jeremy Hinzman or the extensive "I'm moving to Canada" discussions on U.S. political blogs), but this is still just a prediction on my part. Emigrants falling into these categories typically settle in BC and southern Ontario, especially Ottawa and Toronto. But since "money talks" and indeed affects an even wider range of potential emigrants, I would expect that the developments on H1B visa and tax legislation could create even more cross-border movement, and to a wider variety of places--like Kingston or Peterborough. Reply

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