The Contribution of Commercial Aviation to the Economy of Manitoba: An Economic Impact Assessment

摘要

The advent of powered flight a century ago changed forever the way we travel and trade, and the frequency with which we now cross borders so readily. The ease with which modern transportation overcomes previous severe limitations often induces an underestimation of transportation activity, or leads to the assumption that it is the domain of a few large firms. While it is true that it is an industry of extremes, the multitude of small firms sum to provide a significant output. Another easy assumption is that the firms are self-contained. The reality is that a large and diverse support industry exists. The 217 Manitoba commercial aviation entities that were included in this study had a continued effect in direct economic activity combined with the indirect and induced effects of over $580 million, or 1.67% of Manitoba's GDP in 2001 (Statistics Canada, 2003a and Statistics Canada, 2003b). The continued effect of direct economic activity combined with the indirect and induced effect was total employment of 9,257 person years, or 1.66% of Manitoba's total employment in 2001 (Statistics Canada, 2003c). Commercial aviation in Manitoba contributed $372 million, or 2.09% to total Manitoba labour income (Statistics Canada, 2003d) and 31.1% to Manitoba transportation and storage labour income (Statistics Canada, 2003e).