Economic Leakage Studies: Helping First Nations Communities Identify Opportunities For Economic Growth

Many First Nations communities across Canada are taking a longer-term, more strategic approach to economic development. To form an effective strategy for fostering economic growth, a community must first understand its starting point.

For many First Nation Economic Development Officers (EDOs), the first question they need to answer to guide economic development activities is "How big is our local economy?" The second question is "How much of our income is being spent outside the community?"

An economic leakage study can help answer both of these questions.

What Is an Economic Leakage Study?

An economic leakage study quantifies the level and type of spending that occurs outside the geographic boundaries of a specific community by its residents. Leakage refers to money that "leaks out" of the local economy through expenditures on goods and services.