Commercial Activity Index

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Abstract

The commercial activity index is a summary measure of the attraction of urban places as locations for commercial activity. The index compares the actual commercial employment to the employment predicted on the basis of population. Thus it captures both the variation in income per capita (the attractiveness of the local market), and the centrality, as the ability to reach service areas outside the city. In combination, the variation in income per capita favours the industrial towns of Ontario, while the measure of centrality favours the smaller centres of western Canada. The small resource centres, especially in the Atlantic region or Quebec have the lowest values. For a commercial service firm the index is a valuable indicator of the potential of a city to generate sales beyond the level indicated by its size; and for public institutions, that are less sensitive to variations in level of income, the index measures the ability of the city to reach a larger population.

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The Commercial Activity Index compares the actual commercial service employment of a city to the total employment predicted on the basis of its population. Commercial services include all market activities that perform tasks for business or consumer, as opposed to those activities that provide goods. The commercial activity index combines the effect of both income per capita and centrality. The highest ranking locations are largely the same cities as for centrality, where the places that score worst in the commercial activity index are the more isolated cities in the poorer regions of the country. From point of view of consumers or businesses the index identifies the places that are most (or least) attractive places to locate relative to their population size. The index can be interpreted as the ratio of the city's service employment to the average for all cities.

Geographical Description

Consistently high values of the commercial activity index in the Prairie region contrast with the more varied values in southern Ontario, and southern Quebec. Quebec cities have generally lower values, as do many places in the Atlantic region due to low levels of income. High values reflect city size (hence higher incomes) and specialized roles in wholesaling or recreation. The larger cities are surrounded by many smaller centres which support services in the big cities.

To properly interpret this map, please consult the text Data and Mapping Notes.