Bas-Saint-Laurent (01) Region - Socioeconomic Profile

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Region and Population

• In 2009, the Bas-Saint-Laurent region was divided into 8 RCMs and comprised 115 municipalities and 16 territories.
• The Bas-Saint-Laurent covered 1.7% of the area of the Province of Quebec in 2009 (22,184.9 km²).
• With a population of 200,756 in 2009, the Bas-Saint-Laurent accounted for 2.6% of Quebec’s population.
• The ISQ forecasts a slight population decline (-1.3%) in the Bas-Saint-Laurent between 2006 and 2031 (+15.8% in Quebec) and significant aging of the population owing to
  • Natural decrease (deaths > births starting in 2011);
  • Inter-regional migration (exodus of young people > arrival of retirees). 
• The ISQ predicts a 14.9-percentage-point decrease between 2006 and 2031 in persons of working age (20-64 years), from 62.3% to 47.4%, which is lower than the Quebec percentage (-9.3 percentage points, from 63.4% to 54.1%).

Distribution of Bas-Saint-Laurent’s population by age

Source: Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).

Bas-Saint-Laurent’s inter-regional net migration by age (2004-2009)

Source: Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ).

Labour Market

• In 2009, there were 91,400 people with jobs in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, a 2.7% decrease from 2008, and the region accounted for 2.4% of people with jobs in Quebec (3,844,200 jobs).
• In 2009, the Bas-Saint-Laurent recorded an unemployment rate that was 0.7 of a percentage point higher than the Quebec average (9.2% vs. 8.5%).
• Bas-Saint-Laurent’s employment and labour participation rates in 2009, 54.5% and 60.1% respectively, were still lower than Quebec rates (59.7% and 65.2%).
• The ISQ anticipates increased labour scarcity in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, forecasting that the labour replacement index will drop from 82% to 53% between 2006 and 2021and then rise to 71% by 2031.

Economic Activities

• In 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices (in current $) was $5,805.8 M in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, accounting for 2% of Quebec’s GDP ($283,217 M).
• GDP per job, an approximation of labour productivity, was $64,225 in 2006 in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, compared with $77,678 for all of Quebec. The Bas-Saint-Laurent’s productivity would therefore be lower than Quebec’s.
• A diversified economic base. Key sectors in the Bas-Saint-Laurent are:
  • Agri-food
  • Green energy (wind power, environmental technologies)
  • Housing and construction
  • Transportation equipment and metal products
  • Forest products
  • Marine resources, sciences and technologies
  • Information and communications technologies
  • Peat and agri-environmental technologies
  • Tourism
• The primary sector accounted for 7.8% of the workforce in the Bas-Saint-Laurent in 2006 (compared with 2.6% in Quebec), the construction sector for 2.6% (2.9%), the manufacturing sector for 13.6% (15.4%), and the tertiary sector for 76.0% (79.0%).

In 2009, tourism in the Bas-Saint-Laurent generated 2,500 jobs and 863 businesses were involved in the tourism sector.

• Bas-Saint-Laurent was visited by 752,000 tourists, who spent a total of $133 M (2008).
• Although only 13.5% of tourists came from outside Quebec, they accounted for 14.4% of total spending (2008).

Businesses

Distribution of businesses by size (2009)

Micro = 1-4 employees, Small = 5-19 employees, Medium = 20-199 employees, Large and very large = 200 employees or more
Source: Statistics Canada, Business Register (June 2009).

• The main non-governmental employers (500+ employees) are:
  • Bombardier (rail equipment manufacturing)
  • Premier Tech (peat products)
  • Telus (telecommunications)
• Entrepreneurship in the Bas-Saint-Laurent is dynamic: the region had 48.8 SMEs per 1,000 residents in 2009, ranking number one out of 16 Quebec regions (average of 37.6 SMEs per 1,000 residents in Quebec).

Exports

In 2007, the Bas-Saint-Laurent had 103 exporting establishments and the value of exports was $856.5 M, accounting for 1.2% of Quebec exports.

• Though 91.3% of the Bas-Saint-Laurent’s exporting establishments were SMEs, they accounted for only 41.0% of the value of exports (2007).
• Despite diversification of its markets, the United States remains the main destination for exports from the Bas-Saint-Laurent (65.5% of the total value), followed by the European Union (16.1%), Japan (4.0%) and South America / Mexico (3.5%) (2007).

Investment, research and innovation

• Public investment increased by 18.2% in 2009 to $473.7 M, accounting for 31.0% of total capital expenditures in the Bas-Saint-Laurent ($1,527.3 M). The region’s public investment comprised 2.4% of Quebec public investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, public investment grew at an average annual rate of 19.1% in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, compared with 12.4% in Quebec.
• Private investment dropped by 16.6% in 2009 to $1,053.6 M, accounting for 69.0% of all capital expenditures in the Bas-Saint-Laurent ($1,527.3 M). The region’s private investment accounted for 2.6% of Quebec private investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, private investment grew at an average annual rate of 8.1% in the Bas-Saint-Laurent, compared with 0.9% in Quebec.

Highest level of educational attainment, 25-64 years (2006)

* Diplomas or certificates from trade schools, nursing schools, community colleges, CEGEPs, university certificate below bachelor’s level, etc.
Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census.

Examples of research, expertise, training and technology transfer centres in the Bas-Saint-Laurent:

• Centre de recherche sur les biotechnologies marines
• Institut de technologie agroalimentaire (ITA)
• Institut des sciences de la mer de Rimouski (ISMER)
• Centres collégiaux de transfert de technologie (CCTT):
  • Biopterre - Centre de développement des bioproduits
  • Centre spécialisé de technologie physique du Québec
  • Innovation maritime - Centre de recherche appliquée en technologies maritimes
  • Optech - Centre collégial de transfert technologique en optique-photonique
  • Service de recherche et d'expertise en transformation des produits forestiers

Economic Well-Being

• In 2008, the per capita GDP in the Bas-Saint-Laurent was $28,732, that is, $7,810, or 21.4% below the Quebec average ($36,542).
• Personal disposable income per capita for the Bas-Saint-Laurent was $21,979 in 2008, that is, $3,525, or 13.8%, below the Quebec average ($25,504/resident). The Bas-Saint-Laurent ranked 16th out of the 17 regions.
• In 2008, per capita government transfers in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region ($6,528 $/resident) were 18.2% higher than the Quebec average ($5,523 $/resident).
• The percentage of the population in a situation of low income after tax was lower in the Bas-Saint-Laurent (13.6%) than in the province as a whole (15.2%).