Mr. Speaker, jobs, growth and long-term prosperity are all evident in Sault Ste. Marie. I am pleased to speak today about a recent survey published in The Financial Post entitled, “Communities in Boom: Canada's Top Entrepreneurial Cities”. The survey was conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, and it ranked my riding of Sault Ste. Marie second in Ontario and 23rd in the country. The survey, based on entrepreneurial rankings, studied things such as business-hiring growth, overall state of business, industry diversity and life satisfaction.
In the last year, Sault Ste. Marie has climbed in its entrepreneurial ranking from 49th to 23rd in Canada, one of the biggest increases in the “Communities in Boom” rankings. The economic health and growth of a community correlates with the life satisfaction of those who live and work there. In the study, Sault Ste. Marie scored exceptionally high in the life satisfaction component.
Saultites are proud of their city, and I am extremely honoured to represent them here today.