Apology SM, for replying as if it was your idea. Perhaps you agree with it, in some ways I do (actually wish it could be ) alas many years ago some Ontario ministries were moved to Sudbury and Thunder Bay, perhaps as a trial, but it turned out to be impractical. Am writing from a faulty retiree's memory, so if anyone knows actual facts please add/correct them.

The population of northern Ontario is also distributed along it's southern border (North Bay to Thunder Bay) so it also suffers from same symptom as does the whole Ontario. I suspect the proportion of population distribution north to south for N.Ontario may even be worse (Timmins, Hearst & possibly Kenora being about the only sizable towns far from the southern border, so where can we find any power base that is not along the southern border?).
The problem would be transferred but not solved.

I only want to say that academics do not always walk toe to toe with practicality, even when they comment about practical matters.