Lanaudière (14) Region - Socioeconomic Profile

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Region and Population

• In 2009, the Lanaudière was divided into 6 RCMs and comprised 59 municipalities and 13 territories.
• The Lanaudière covered 0.9% of the area of the Province of Quebec in 2009 (12,313.3 km²).
• With a population of 457,962 in 2009, the Lanaudière accounted for 5.8% of Quebec’s population.
• The ISQ forecasts the strongest population growth (37.9%) in the Lanaudière between 2006 and 2031 (+15.8% in Quebec) and aging of the population owing to
  • Positive natural increase;
  • Favourable inter-regional net migration.
     
• The ISQ predicts a 9.3-percentage-point decrease between 2006 and 2031 in persons of working age (20-64 years), from 63.1% to 53.8%, which is close to the Quebec percentage (-9.3 percentage points, from 63.4% to 54.1%).

Distribution of the Lanaudière’s population by age

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

The Lanaudière’s inter-regional net migration by age (2004-2009)

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

Labour Market

• In 2009, there were 232,700 people with jobs in the Lanaudière, a 5.7% increase over 2008, and the region accounted for 6.1% of people with jobs in Quebec (3,844,200 jobs).
• In 2009, the Lanaudière recorded an unemployment rate that was 0.3 of a percentage point lower than the Quebec average (8.2% vs. 8.5%).
• The Lanaudière employment and labour participation rates in 2009, 62.2% and 67.8% respectively, were still higher than Quebec rates (59.7% and 65.2%).
• The ISQ anticipates increased labour scarcity in the Lanaudière, forecasting that the labour replacement index will drop from 92% to 69% between 2006 and 2021 and then rise to 82% by 2031.

Economic Activities

• In 2008, the gross domestic product (GDP) at basic prices (in current $) was $10,028.2 in the Lanaudière region, accounting for 3.5% of Quebec’s GDP ($283,217 M).
• GDP per job, an approximation of labour productivity, was $72,787 in 2006 in the Lanaudière, compared with $77,678 for all of Quebec. The Lanaudière’s productivity would therefore be lower than Quebec’s.
• The region’s industrial structure has greatly diversified over the years. Industrial activity varies throughout the region (north: development of natural resources / south: manufacturing). The key sectors in the Lanaudière are:
  • Agri-food (pork and market gardening)
  • Plastic and rubber
  • Furniture – secondary and tertiary processing
  • Metal products
• The primary sector accounted for 3.7% of the workforce in the Lanaudière in 2006 (compared with 2.6% in Quebec), the construction sector for 4.7% (2.9%), the manufacturing sector for 16.3% (15.4%) and the tertiary sector for 75.3% (79.0%).

In 2009, tourism in the Lanaudière generated 5,900 jobs and 1,279 businesses were involved in the tourism sector.

• The Lanaudière was visited by 1,388,000 tourists, who spent a total of $123 M in the region (2008).
• Although only 3.6% of tourists came from outside Quebec, they accounted for 10.8% 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:
  • General Dynamics Produits de Défense et Systèmes Tactiques (explosives manufacturing) 
  • Olymel (slaughterhouse)
  • PR Maintenance (janitorial services)
  • Kruger (paper manufacturing)
  • Electrolux Canada (household appliance manufacturing)
• In terms of enqtrepreneurship, the Lanaudière had 35.1 SMEs per 1,000 residents in 2009, ranking 15th out of 16 regions of Quebec (average of 37.6 SMEs per 1,000 residents in Quebec).

Exports

En 2007, the Lanaudière had 249 exporting establishments and the value of exports was $1,235.6 M, accounting for 1.7% of Quebec exports.

• Though 96.0% of the Lanaudière’s exporting establishments were SMEs, they accounted for only 44.9% of the value of exports (2007).
• The United States was the main destination for exports from the Lanaudière’s (90.0% of the total value), followed by the European Union (2.4%), South America (0.5%) and Japan (0.2%) (2007). 

Investment, research and innovation

• Public investment dropped by 4.9% in 2009 to $459.2 M, accounting for 17.0% of total capital expenditures in the Lanaudière ($2,707.5 M). The region’s public investment comprised 2.3% of Quebec public investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, public investment grew at an average annual rate of 14.7% in the Lanaudière, compared with 12.4% in Quebec.
• Private investment dropped by 12.0% in 2009 to $2,248.4 M, accounting for 83.0% of all capital expenditures in the Lanaudière ($2,707.5 M). The region’s private investment accounted for 5.6% of Quebec private investment in 2009. Over the period of 2004 to 2009, private investment decreased at an average annual rate of 3.1% in the Lanaudière, compared with 0.9% growth 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 Lanaudière:

• Centre d’innovation en transformation des aliments de Lanaudière
• Carrefour industriel et expérimental de Lanaudière
• Centre d’excellence en fabrication métallique

Economic Well-Being

• In 2008, the per capita GDP in the Lanaudière was $22,142, that is, $14,400, or 39.4% below the Quebec average ($36,542).
• Personal disposable income per capita for the Lanaudière was $24,399 in 2008, that is, $1,104, or 4.3%, below the Quebec average ($25,504/resident). The Lanaudière ranked 10th out of the 17 regions.
• In 2008, per capita government transfers to the Lanaudière region ($5,150/resident) were 6.8% lower than the Quebec average ($5,523/resident.).
• The percentage of the population in a situation of low income after tax was lower in the Lanaudière (12.2%) than in the province as a whole (15.2%).