Gaspésie-îles-de-la-Madeleine (11) Region - Socioeconomic Profile

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Region and Population

• In 2009, the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine was divided into 6 RCMs and comprised 44 municipalities and 10 territories.
• The region covered 1.5% of the area of the Province of Quebec in 2009 (20,272.2 km²).
• With a population of 94,067 in 2009, the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine accounted for 1.2% of Quebec’s population.
• The ISQ forecasts a slight population decline (-1.3%) in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine between 2006 and 2031 (+15.8% in Quebec) and significant aging of the population owing to
  • Natural decrease (deaths > births since 2006);
  • Inter-regional migration (exodus of young people > arrival of workers and retirees).
     
• The ISQ predicts a 15.4-percentage-point decrease between 2006 and 2031 in persons of working age (20-64 years), from 62.4% to 47.0%, which is lower than the Quebec percentage (-9.3 percentage points, from 63.4% to 54.1%).

Distribution of the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine’s population by age

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

The Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine’s inter-regional net migration by age (2004-2009)

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

Labour Market

• In 2009, there were 35,100 people with jobs in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, a 3.6 decrease from 2008, and the region accounted for 0.9% of people with jobs in Quebec (3,844,200 jobs).
• In 2009, the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine recorded an unemployment rate that was 7.2 percentage points higher than the Quebec average (15.7% vs. 8.5%).
• The Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine’s employment and labour participation rates in 2009, 43.5% and 51.5% respectively, remained lower than Quebec rates ( 59.7% and 65.2%).
• The ISQ anticipates a labour scarcity in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, forecasting that the labour replacement index will drop from 64% to 43% between 2006 and 2021 and then rise to 56% by 2031.

Economic Activities

• In 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices (in current $) was $2,125.1 M in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, accounting for 08% of Quebec’s GDP ($283,217 M ).
• GDP per job, an approximation of labour productivity, was $64,501 in 2006 in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, compared with $77,678 for all of Quebec. The Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine’s productivity would therefore be lower than Quebec’s.
• The key sectors in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine are:
  • Agri-food and bio-food
  • Sustainable development and green energy (wind power)
  • Marine resources, sciences and technologies
  • Natural resources
  • Tourism
• The primary sector accounted for 6.5% of the workforce in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine in 2006 (compared with 2.6% in Quebec), the construction sector for 2.7% (2.9%), the manufacturing sector for 10.2% (15.4%), and the tertiary sector for 80.5% (79.0%).

In 2009, tourism in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine generated 1,300 jobs and 1,472 businesses were involved in the tourism sector.

• The Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine was visited by 559,000 tourists, who spent a total of $203 million in the region (2008).
• Although only 34.1% of tourists came from outside Quebec, they accounted for 41.2% 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 (200+ employees) are:
  • Construction LFG inc. (construction)
  • Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien (transport)
  • Dégust-Mer (food processing)
  • Gagnon & Fils (food processing)
  • LM Wind Power Canada (wind turbine components manufacturing)
  • Pêcheries Marinard (food processing)
  • Unipêche M.D.M. (food processing)
• In terms of entrepreneurship, the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine had 48.7 SMEs per 1,000 residents in 2009, ranking 2nd out of 16 Quebec regions (average of 37.6 SMEs per 1,000 residents in Quebec).

Exports

In 2007, the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine had 33 exporting establishments and the value of exports was $105.8 M, accounting for 0.1% of Quebec exports.

• Though 93.0% of the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine’s exporting establishments were SMEs, they accounted for only 48.8% of the value of exports (2007).
• The United States was the main destination for exports from the G.-Î.-M., Nord-du-Québec and Côte-Nord (49.7% of the total value), followed by the European Union (27.2%) and Japan (3.0%) (2007).

Investment, research and innovation

• Public investment increased by 39.4% in 2009 to $383.9 M, accounting for 56.7% of total capital expenditures in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine ($677.2 M). The region’s public investment comprised 1.9% of Quebec public investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, public investment grew at an average annual rate of 21.2% in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, compared with 12.4% in Quebec.
• Private investment dropped by 27.9% in 2009 to $293.9 M, accounting for 43.3% of all capital expenditures in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine ($677.2 M). The region’s private investment accounted for 0.7% of Quebec private investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, private investment grew at an average annual rate of 9.2% in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, 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 de of research, expertise, training and technology transfer centres in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine:

• Centre aquacole marin de Grande-Rivière
• Centre maricole des Îles-de-la-Madeleine
• Centre technologique des produits aquatiques
• Maurice-Lamontagne Institute of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
• Service de recherche et d'expertise en transformation des produits forestiers
• Centres collégiaux de transfert de technologie (CCTT):
  • CCTT des pêches
  • TechnoCentre éolien

Economic Well-Being

• In 2008, the per capita GDP in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine was $22,433, that is, $14,109, or 38.6%, below the Quebec average ($36,542).
• Personal disposable income per capita for the region was $21,213 in 2008, that is, $4,291, or 16.8%, below the Quebec average ($25,504/resident). The Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine ranked last out of the 17 regions.
• In 2008, per capita government transfers to the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine ($8,477 $/resident) were 1.5 times higher than the Quebec average ($5,523/resident).
• However, the percentage of the population in a situation of low income after tax in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine (15.0%) was close to that of the province as a whole (15.2%).