The Economy

Kingston is one of Canada´s top 25 cities and has much to offer potential investors - a strategic location with access to markets, cost competitiveness, brain power, bilingual capability, and perhaps most important is the stable and diversified economy.

With a healthy balance between public and private sector employment, Kingston's unemployment rate is consistently one of the lowest in the country. 

Our relative diversity in dominant industries also helps shelter the city from economic downturns in specific sectors.

Dominant Industries

^{* Source - Conference Board of Canada, Metropolitan Outlook Summer, 2009}

For a list of Kingston's major public and private sector employers, please click here.

City's Financial Rating Remains At A+

Standard & Poor's announced that Kingston's financial rating will remain A+ with a "positive" outlook.

Standard & Poor's describes Kingston as being a relatively stable economy with healthy liquidity, an adequate operating performance and a rising-but-manageable debt burden.  "Kingston is better positioned, compared with most other Ontario municipalities, to weather the current economic downturn. It's very well-established and large public-sector entities offer stable employment and also give impetus to retail and real estate activities. Kingston's private sector is relatively small, but it is growing."  

Standard & Poor's also cites recent infrastructure investment, Kingston's advantageous location and the potential of its research resources to generate knowledge-based industries as pluses. "In particular, Kingston's research, strength in life sciences and growing focus in alternative energy have good prospects given the rising importance of these areas," says the rating's report.

• Community Profile
• The Economy
• Major Employers
• Labour Force
• Access to Markets
• Enviable Lifestyle