Now and then

There is an old, much-used saying about real estate, “The three most important things are location, location, location.” The same rule applies to businesses, cities and countries – location is critical. Take, for example, the case of two different islands. Island number one is large and blessed with a tropical climate along the coast with cooler, temperate farmland in the interior. Its farms produce valuable crops like coffee, vanilla, sugar, cocoa, spices and livestock. In addition, the island possesses natural resources like coal, petroleum, bauxite, chromate, graphite, semiprecious stones and salt. Island two is half the size of island one. It is cool, damp and mountainous throughout much of its interior. Except for the southernmost portion, much of its agricultural land is only suitable for sheep and barley. It also has some petroleum and coal, along with some metals like iron, lead, tin and zinc. Both islands have deep-water ports to access abundant fisheries and trade routes. Both are far enough from the mainland to be secure against invasion, but close enough for easy coastal trade. If one were to pick a natural winner based on those descriptions, island one is the clear favourite. Except island one is Madagascar and island two is Britain. Britain’s location just off the coast of Western Europe positioned it strategically to become the most powerful colonial and maritime trading empire the world has ever seen. Britain’s prosperity was not fueled by natural resources, but by trade and the industries brought by it. Even today, long after Britain’s heyday, the country’s population of 63 million enjoys a high standard of living with a GDP of $2.28 trillion

But just like England did in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, we’ve got plenty of big competitors looking to eat our share of the pie.

($36,500 per capita). Madagascar, off the coast of southeastern Africa in the Indian Ocean, is far from the major trade routes. The flow of goods between Asia and Europe first went through the Middle East, then later sailed by in European ships rounding the horn of Africa. South Africa became the layover for the Europe-Asia shipping trade, and Madagascar was bypassed. Today, Madagascar’s population of 22 million generates a GDP of $22.64 billion (a mere $900 per person). Despite centuries of systemic social issues and upheaval, South Africa still has twice the population and more than 20 times the economy Madagascar does. Yes, location, location, location really are three most important things – but it’s not that simple. Canada happens to have the best possible location in the world. We’re exactly halfway between the old economies of Europe and the rising economies of Asia – and we’re joined at the hip with the preeminent current world power, the U.S. Within Canada, Prince George is also well placed. We’re along what could become a major east-west trade route from China via Prince Rupert to Chicago. But just like England did in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, we’ve got plenty of big competitors looking to eat our share of the pie. We’re not the only ones in the geographic sweet spot. For Prince George to succeed we need to outhustle and outmanoeuvre the competition. We need to go where the customers are and knock on doors – and we need to do it first. If we wait until the customers come looking for trade partners, it’ll be too late. So, if you’re wondering what city council and Mayor Shari Green are doing travelling to Jiangmen, China, they are there to make Prince George’s hard sell pitch. You just can’t do that over the phone or the Internet, especially in China where you need to build a relationship before doing business. It’s exactly the kind of hustle Prince George needs if we don’t want to be like Madagascar: watching the wealth of the world sail on by.