Economic Development and Situational Analysis
Advanced insights. Better decisions
Economic Development and Situational Analysis
We have economic situational analysis reports for all of the 3,573 municipalities in Canada. A situational analysis examines the characteristics of a region relative to its surrounding region and other comparable regions in a variety of metrics across demographics and industry and is often used as the basis for long-term economic development plans and investor site selection purposes.
Our situational analysis reports contain, amongst other things:
- Location quotients: A measure of the concentration of an industry (or other economic measures) relative to a larger region such as its province or country.

- Sector shift share analysis: While the location quotient examines the economy at a point in time, the sector shift analysis examines how various industry sectors in the region are evolving relative to its comparator regions. The combination of industry strength metrics with location quotients yields base and non-base industry metrics that measures industry significance to the local economy.
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Economic resilience metrics
- Measuring diversification through Economic Complexity Indexes: metrics that demonstrate the diversification of industries but also the amount of knowledge embedded in each region
- Income equality: a measure of the distribution of economic resources across a region to determine how economic disturbances can be absorbed
- Housing affordability: Several metrics are available to demonstrate how affordable housing is across the region, particularly across the corridor
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Decentralization and centralization metrics:
- Industry: Metrics that measure the number of establishment and enterprise concentration within an industry
- Spatial industry combinations: It is important to study the way different occupations are spaced across the regions to determine if there are competitive structures or combinations to be identified. This can provide unique insights that the market may not otherwise be familiar with.
More than 400
Leading companies and government institutions
Trust our services for policy and business-critical forward-looking analysis.
Why
CANCEA?
We are trusted. More than 400 leading organizations in Canada and the UK, including governments, associations and businesses trust our services and data products. With over 20 years of critical thinking and analysis across a range of socio-economic and strategic issues, we have a deep knowledge of regional and local communities, their resources and the challenges they face.
All of our socio-economic analysis, across 800 topics and over 56,000 local regions, are modelled as one system in one simulation platform ensuring the quality and consistency of insights generated across all locations and topics.
Our systems approach allows for best-of-class data generation and forecasting from hyper detailed trend and causation analysis.
Regional information that extends beyond traditional data sources to ensure that the best information on local area populations and economies can be utilized.
Hyper detailed information accompanies our insights, predictions and forecasts. Hyper detailed trend and causation analysis is determined by data with little reliance upon assumptions.
The sheer richness of our data and simulation capabilities, both in terms of who, what, when and where and the relationships between them drive an ability to answer many more questions.
As a strictly data-driven firm, we are necessarily apolitical. The consistency of our hyper-detailed local data can be summed and independently verified against official projections by government statistical agencies, central banks and the OECD.
Our dedication to a one-model systems approach with hyper-trend and causal analysis keeps assumptions to a minimum. Any assumptions are shared openly, so you and others can use our results with confidence.
With modern technology, methods and access to data, high-quality socio-economic analysis and data should not cost as much as it does. We’ve made the investments and are keen to disrupt the industry with highly cost-effective services that matter to you.
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