Canadore and Nip U are big spenders ... in a good way: combined schools make $172 million local impact.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: NORTH BAY

Post-secondary institutes in North Bay have a value beyond just a diploma. An impact study by Nipissing University economic professor Chris Sarlo says the combined economic impact of the university and its cross-campus neighbour Canadore College made a $172 million local impact last year. The economics professor attributes it to a mix of new construction, institutional procurement, employee wages, student and visitor spending.

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In recent years, both schools have become a magnet for government dollars.

In the next three years, there's $66 million in capital projects on the books including a new library, student and media centres, a research and academic wing along with upgrades to Canadore's Commerce Court campus, a new residence and a renovated athletics facility. Sarlo says those projects will inject about $100 million into the local economy.

The schools are North Bay's third largest employer with the combined payroll of the 827 full-timers amounting to $35.2 million. Both the college and university spend $25.3 million on local purchases.

More significantly, student spending is $47.5 million with campus visitors spending $3.6 million. "The spending of students is perhaps the most significant portion," with 4,500 full-timers at Nipissing, and 3,500 at Canadore, paying for food, accommodations and entertainment.

Within two years, the total economic impact of the two schools could jump to $200 million annually. The influx of students arriving each September bumps North Bay's population by 10 per cent, something that's most noticeable in a town of 54,000.

For Sarlo, known most for his studies on poverty, determining the schools' impact for an economic snapshot involved a complex methodology, but also a straight-forward approach from a reverse angle.

"If Canadore and Nipissing were to disappear, how much would be lost to the local economy?

No doubt, attaching dollar figures on an institution's economic impact certainly helps in capital fundraising campaigns like the $7 million new Learning Library.

Overall, post-secondaries have benefited because of government's commitment to education, as well as the two schools expanding their programming in education...