Doug Ashbury
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 23/98) - Yellowknife, just like Ontario. How can this be?

Demographics, says David Foot, co-author of the book Boom, Bust & Echo, a book on how to profit from understanding Canada's aging population.

The book has proven popular with all kinds of age groups, selling 250,000 hardcover copies.

"Yellowknife has a boom, bust and echo. It looks just like Ontario (demographically)," he said.

Foot, a University of Toronto Economics professor, spoke Tuesday at the Prospects North conference. His presentation here is one of about 100 talks he will give this year.

Boom, bust and echo refer to population numbers. The book shows how to use demographics -- population statistics -- as a tool for understanding the future and making business decisions accordingly.

Yellowknife's population pyramid shows a baby boom and the subsequent baby bust followed by a baby echo. The latter group are the children of the baby boomers.

Foot suggested a decline in Japanese tourism is one of the changes Yellowknife could face in the coming years.

Demographics of Japan show the number of young Japanese people is declining. So the number of Japanese couples is apt to decline as well.

The good news, Foot said is that Yellowknife has time to prepare for this changing tourism sector.

Japan's boom, bust and echo is ahead of North America's. That means in five to eight years the Japanese newlywed tourist business will slow.

There is a "window of opportunity to decide on an alternate strategy and alternate marketing."

He also said when Canada's baby boomers needed jobs there was a national employment effort from 1965 to 1985.

"This was brilliant."

Because, said Foot, if a country does not create jobs for its young people, those same young people will leave or tear a country apart. He cited Eastern Europe as an example.

He also said there is a conflict emerging in Canada when it comes to marketing -- between aging baby boomers who want a relaxing day of fishing, and the baby echo group, who want to be out on the same lake on jet skis.

Baby boomers are after quality and service while their children are seeking cheaper goods.

But as these two groups duke it out for demographic supremacy, the NWT-wide picture reflects a completely different story.

The greatest challenge for the North will be to educate its very young population, then find jobs for them.

Or, he emphasized, the young people will leave or tear society apart.