Recapturing economic leakage at Northern Manitoba

By Elijah Osei-Yeboah, 2nd year MDP student

In Manitoba, development is uneven, favouring the south. One strategy the province intends to adopt to correct this imbalance is recapturing economic leakage ― reducing the expenditure on goods and services accessed outside the north. Currently, many countries and communities believe free trade promotes economic growth, therefore, it is impossible to avoid leakage entirely. Hence, the goal is to reduce it. An economic development forum was organized in Thompson April 9 – 10, 2019 for northern development stakeholders like economic development officers, chiefs, councillors and other staff of municipalities. This was seen as an opportunity to gather preliminary data for reducing leakage.

There were 100 respondents. They were given sticky notes to indicate the goods they bought outside the north, why they bought them, if they were accessible online, which new businesses can be easily established and the ones which can quickly accelerate northern economic growth. The sample size and non-probability techniques adopted (convenience and purposive) are not statistically significant but the findings can be a part of preliminary studies to recapture leakage. 

When I started my placement, the data had been gathered. My assignment was to enter and analyze the data and write a report on it. I analyzed the data with Microsoft Excel and presented the findings with charts and tables.  Some of the findings were that the two most accessed goods and services were (a) clothing and accessories, and (b) recreation, entertainment and sports (examples include electronics, events, hunting/ fishing/ camping and recreation vehicles/ equipment). The main justification for shopping outside the north was that the goods they needed were unavailable locally. Less than a quarter (22%) of the respondents purchased their goods online. Online shopping is very convenient but it is fraught with problems including delivering wrong products, items sometimes do not fit well, consumers often pay for shipping, etc. 

Elijah in front of the Manitoba Growth, Enterprise and Trade office