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A City Divided by Political Philosophies: Residential Development in a Bi-Provincial City in Canada
American Journal of Economics and Sociology, The, Jan, 2001 by Gura Bhargava
The rate of production of single-family residences, as measured by building permits issued by the City of Lloydminster for such construction in both provinces, elucidates the pattern of bi-provincial differences (Table 2). Until 1972, the rate of production was greater in Saskatchewan than in Alberta. However, this changed in 1973, when the balance tilted towards Alberta, and has continued to date. Exceptions occurred in 1980 and 1986. In 1980, but much more significantly in 1986, the construction activity on the Saskatchewan side outpaced considerably its Alberta counterpart, presumably due to programmes introduced by the government to invigorate the sagging housing market in the province of Saskatchewan. 25 This externally-stimulated market declined continuously in the following years. In 1991, however, when Lloydminster faced a vacancy rate of nearly zero percent, 26 almost 99% of the new construction occurred on the Alberta side, thus polarizing the city's residential growth in an unprecedented way. Appa rently, this situation of scarcity of accommodation corresponded with the construction of the Bi-Provincial Upgrader (BPU), [27] which accounted for the huge influx of construction workers in the city. The BPU also created a sizable permanent workforce, some of whom originated from, and preferred to live in, Alberta. Approximately 85% of those employed at the BPU have chosen their residence on the Alberta side, [28] despite the fact that BPU is situated in Saskatchewan. Furthermore, addressing the disparity in the bi-provincial demand for the construction of single-family residences in 1991, an area newspaper [29] noted a City of Lloydminster official observing that the city has divided more land into lots on the Alberta side than it has on the Saskatchewan side. In 1997, the phenomenal boom in the agriculture and energy industry coincided with a zero vacancy rate and an invigorated construction of single-family residences. [30] The construction activity on the Saskatchewan side picked up at this time, althou gh Alberta still enjoyed a high 73% of this activity. This improvement in the demand for the construction of single-family residences in Saskatchewan uncannily coincides with an image-lifting experienced by that province since 1997. [31] The spatial disparity in the single-family residences is not only indicated in magnitude, but also in quality, as reflected in the value of permits used for such construction. The values are based on the estimates of the construction costs, which imply the same cost for contracting, labour, hardware, and other material. The variation is accounted for by the lot size, design, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, double/triple garage, jacuzzi, ensuite and walk-in closets, and fireplace.
Table 3 presents the average value of permits issued by the City of Lloydminster for single-family residences from 1970 to 1999. On average, the value of these residences has been consistently higher in Alberta than in Saskatchewan for each year since 1971. Even in 1986, when 67% of permits were issued for Saskatchewan locations, the average value of a permit was $18,000 less than its Alberta equivalent. This difference has increased over time; in 1999, the average value of the permits issued for Alberta was $44,940 higher than those in Saskatchewan. An average single-family residence in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan is built on a smaller lot and seems to have been designed to serve basic needs and the goal of affordability. In contrast, an average single-family residence in Alberta is built on a relatively large lot, increasingly by those or for those who are moving up, with a view to realizing their consumption dreams and to building equity by allocating large income shares to homes.
