GDP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The Conference Board of Canada forecasts that Regina’s economy will grow on average by 2.85% annually between 2007 and 2012.  Regina is one of the leaders in GDP growth among major Canadian centres and is helping to fuel the rise of the western provinces as national economic leaders.  The industries in Regina expected to continue leading the charge of this stable and sustainable growth include manufacturing, transportation and communication, wholesale and retail trade.

The chart below shows just how far Regina has come in the past few years.  The Regina economy is expecting a GDP of $8.7 billion in 2012 up from $7.7 billion in 2007.  Essentially, these forecasts show that Regina is adding approximately $1 billion in five years.  Based on the number of multi-million and multi-billion dollar projects announced for the Regina region in the next five years, including but not limited to the Co-operative Refinery upgrade, the Harbour Landing residential/commercial development, the Multimodal and Logistics Park development, and the Belle Plaine Polygeneration project, this seems to be a conservative forecast of Regina’s vast potential growth.

GDP per Capita

A good indication of the city’s meteoric yet stable and sustainable growth comes in the form of GDP per capita calculations.  The chart below demonstrates that Regina’s GDP is growing along with its population.  This is one of the general measures used for standards of living.  If the population outgrows the economy, one will find decreases in GDP per capita.  If, on the other hand, the economy grows in concert with the population, one will find – as in the Regina forecasts below – that continued growth in GDP per capita occurs.