By Jim Simmons and Shizue Kamikihara

This research report provides further evidence of the spatial concentration of the Canadian marketplace - as the country converges into a small number of regional megamarkets.  Using data from the 1991 and 2001 Census of Population, along with population projections up to 2026 provided by Statistics Canada, the report highlights the changes that have occurred in these megamarkets and the directions of change over the next two decades.  The implications of these changes for the commercial landscape are both significant and far-reaching, with increased polarization between the growing and declining markets.  Based on current projections, a small number of megamarkets will control the lion's share of the national market, with smaller marginalized markets competing to maintain population, jobs and services.  The challenge for major retail and service chains will be to identify opportunities within the sub-markets of the megamarkets regions, which will become increasingly diverse.