A chance to reflect on the past and look ahead to the future

YEAR END is traditionally the time to reflect on the goings-on of the past year — good and bad — and to contemplate what the new year has in store.

The Burlington Chamber of Commerce is no different. We host events that are designed to do just that — reflect on the past and contemplate the future.

Earlier this month the chamber hosted its annual economic Forecast. The event featured a unique combination of high-profile speakers — an economist and a magazine editor.

RBC’s chief economist, Craig Wright, presented his analysis of trending economic factors, the impact of the U.S. election (the “Trump bump”) and what the Canadian and Ontario economies have in store for 2017.

The term Craig used was “disappointingly normal.”

This is not a bad thing, really just staying the course.

The presentation was a classic example of looking at the past to predict the future, something economists are very good at.

Mark Brown, senior editor at MoneySense magazine, told us what it takes to be a “best city” and why MoneySense magazine currently ranks Burlington as the second best city in Canada.

It’s impressive how much data is involved in generating the MoneySense analysis.

After learning about what made Burlington a “best city” in 2016 (and the best Canadian mid-size city in which to live), the audience was clearly thinking about how we will rate in 2017 and what we need to do to maintain that status.

Not surprisingly, Mark did not comment on Burlington’s place in the 2017 Best Cities rankings.

On Jan. 25, the chamber is hosting the Mayor’s State of the City Address. Mayor Rick Goldring will outline the achievements of the past year and priorities for the upcoming year; essentially, it is his forecast of what the city plans to accomplish in 2017. This event has grown in popularity over the past several years, with 500 people attending last year’s address.

These two events are among the most popular in the chamber lineup, likely, I think, because so many of us are interested in hearing a forecast of our collective futures.

The audience was clearly thinking about how we will rate in 2017 and what we need to do to maintain that status.