City of Pembroke Economic Overview

December, 2008

 

 

2008 has been a year of change – most positive, but some negative – as the City of Pembroke, and indeed all of Renfrew County, began to feel the dramatic effects of globalization and the emerging recession. As the forestry sector was devastated, local companies felt the impact – and employees of Commonwealth Plywood, Smurfitt MBI and ATC Panels have all suffered the consequences of layoffs and closures. 

 

Acting as a buffer from the worst economic downturns, Pembroke’s location 150 km northwest of Ottawa and 200 km southeast of North  Bay has been a blessing for our local economy, as we are too far from either of the larger communities to be considered a part of their commuter sheds. Consequently, we have experienced local growth as we have become a regional centre in our own right. 

 

Continued investment in the Pembroke Regional Hospital, the Superior Court House, the French school board, and both the retail and service sectors has meant more employment opportunities.  The continued expansion of CFB Petawawa and AECL has also contributed very positively to our local economy, creating an increased demand for products and services.

 

 

Construction:

 

Public Projects:                                                                   Permit Values

 

Pembroke Regional Hospital (Expansion)                               $46,000,000

 

Sewage Treatment Facility (Upgrade)                                    $4,500,000

 

Pollution Control Centre (Upgrade)                                        $28,000,000

 

Miramichi Lodge (New Construction)                                    $35,000,000

 

Superior Court (Expansion)                                                   $12,000,000

 

French School Board (New Construction)                             $11,000,000     

 

Total Estimated Expenditure:                                            $136,500,000

 

 

This does not include private sector investment in the past three years in “agglomerated Pembroke” (City of Pembroke and Laurentian Valley), including: new Home Depot, The Brick, Canadian Tire, Boston Pizza, Reitmans, Stinson’s, Fastenal, Shopper’s Drug Mart, Star Set Jewellers, Pharma Plus, Joey’s Only Seafood, Saffron Bistro, and Santa Fe Restaurant – all of which have been built in the past three years, and which are estimated at over $7.5 million in value.

 

Retail Sector

 

In light of the new construction, it is apparent that the retail and service sectors continue to lead the way in job growth. While the overall impact is positive for the local economy, the traditional downtown merchants are being less positively impacted, and therefore a new Downtown Revitalization Strategy is being implemented with the assistance of OMAFRA’s First Impressions program. Still, the retail sales for Pembroke remain at approx. 105% above the national average, as Pembroke continues to draw shoppers in to the City from its central market population of 74,000. Small unique specialty shops are finding a niche market in downtown Pembroke –boutiques such as Tanglewood Tack, Suzanne’s Fashion, SXS Board Sports and Custom Drapery that don’t compete directly with the “big boxes” are enjoying unprecedented success targeting an upscale client base.

 

Commercial-Industrial Sector

 

There has been steady job growth in this sector, particularly with the addition of two new inbound call centres owned and operated by OLS (On Line Support), a Canadian company from Nova Scotia, which has created 600 new jobs since 2005.

 

As well, a fully redundant fibre-optic ring has been installed around the city, providing state-of-the-art connectivity to any company with large band width requirements.

 

Locally operated companies such as, KI, EIP, Allen Vanguard Systems and Eastway Refurb continue to prosper and all have reported growth in the past two years, in spite of some very difficult challenges to the North American manufacturing sector.

 

The forestry sector has faced significant challenges and decline and companies in Renfrew County as a whole have been negatively impacted. There have been job losses in this sector spread over the communities that surround Algonquin Park, most notable in Pembroke has been the downsizing of Commonwealth Plywood, and while ATC Panels is not in Pembroke, its closure meant  approx. 60 local job losses.

 

Health Care

Pembroke Regional Hospital has much to be proud of including the newly-opened William H. Higginson Haemodialysis Unit, and a brand new tower completed in 2005 as part of the expansion. The new tower consists of a new ER, a 10-bed ICU, a 22-bed Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit, a 40-bed Medical Unit, a 19-bed Acute Mental Health Unit, Diagnostic Imaging with CT and Nuclear Medicine and Outpatient Rehabilitation.

PRH continues to embrace new technologies as evidenced by their PACS and wireless computer systems, and a Telemedicine link to the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, CHEO and other healthcare facilities.

Tourism

 

This sector remains one of the prime economic drivers of Pembroke’s economy, and the City has been working to expand it into four year round seasons. With Algonquin College becoming a centre of excellence for eco and adventure tourism courses, in partnership with Wilderness Tours Whitewater Rafting Co., the area has become renowned as an international paddling destination.  As well, we have experienced a growth in motor coach traffic, as the touring product has been expanded throughout the Ottawa Valley. 

 

In terms of festivals and events, the growth of the Waterfront Festival in August (with over 17,000 attendees in 2007) plus the annual Labour Day Step Dancing and Fiddling Competition (7000 attendees) have helped to shape Pembroke as a tourism destination, with additional shoulder season events helping to draw year round traffic to the City. The annual International Silverstick Hockey Tournament is the largest of its kind in North America and has helped to put Hockey Town Canada on the sports tourism map.

 

The City has been participating in the national Communities in Bloom program since 1998, and in 2007 won the national competition in its population category, and the right to claim itself as the Prettiest Little City in Canada. The competition is based on municipal efforts in beautification, heritage conservation, environmental efforts, tidiness, turf and ground cover, urban forestry and community involvement. This program, more than any other, has helped the citizens of Pembroke take exceptional pride in their community.

 

New Growth

 

The expansion of Atomic Energy of Canada and CFB Petawawa is contributing to the growth of the entire region, with over 2200 families re- locating in the Pembroke/Petawawa/Deep River corridor over the next two years.  This in turn will help to create more entrepreneurial and investment opportunities.

 

Algonquin College is also seeking to expand its campus, and has announced  plans to build a new campus at the Pembroke Waterfront. More retail is slated over  the next two years as Pembroke continues to grow as the largest regional service centre between Ottawa and North Bay.

 

Population

 

Pembroke is growing thanks to all of the recent investment activity in and around the City. According to Statcan 2001 the population was 13,490. Ontario East Economic Development Commission projections for 2006 cite the population at 15,037. The same can also be said for our neighbour 10 km west, Petawawa, which has grown from 14,398 (2001) to 15, 398. Combined with our suburb of Laurentian Valley at 7,254 the immediate area population is approximately 38,000. The central market population is approximately 74,000 within a 40 km or 25 mile radius. Pembroke bucked the trend of many small rural based communities in Ontario, with a positive growth rate of 3.6%, rather than a decline in population.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more detailed information, please contact the Department of Economic Development

1-613-735-6821x 1500 or visit our website at http://www.pembroke.ca/