MARATHON — The head of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association says he’s optimistic a refreshed federal “prosperity and growth” strategy targeting northern Ontario will pay dividends, calling it “a great step forward.”
Rick Dumas, the president of NOMA, said he’s intrigued by what the plan could mean for the region.
“We're excited about this because in Northwestern Ontario specifically, we have a lot of potential with the mining sector, the forestry sector and overall economics that are great for our communities,” he told Newswatch in an interview.
“But we need, sometimes, some assistance from our federal and provincial partners, and these are the kind of things that we like to hear announced.”
Patty Hajdu, the minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario, or FedNor, was in Thunder Bay on Thursday to promote the new strategy, alongside another announcement of money for tourism industry projects.
The plan focuses on three “priority actions” — helping communities respond to economic challenges and opportunities, aiding businesses in being drivers of regional economic growth, and strengthening the region’s innovation sector to support business and productivity.
“We're hoping that we can announce, through joint partnerships with municipalities and corporations, the mining companies, the forestry companies and saying, ‘hey, we have these great plans,’” Dumas said. “We can create these great jobs for the future for our communities within the Northwest.”
“Let's all work together and let's see how those dollars go and how far they can go.”
Background information included in the new plan says the prosperity and growth strategy for northern Ontario initially launched in 2018, and “has helped to drive federal investments in the region and accelerate economic development.”
A refresh started last year, the document says, “to establish a new and ambitious direction, focused on maximizing the economic potential of the region.”
In addition to the three overarching priorities, the plan includes five “guiding principles,” among them being to “ensure Indigenous-led economic development is a central component of all initiatives.”
The document also points to “far-reaching and complex external factors” impacting the region’s economy, including global trade conflicts which it says have driven up inflation, raised interest rates, challenged labour markets and disrupted supply chains.
Dumas said, given the ongoing tariff war with the U.S., having a plan that keys on the regional economy is crucial.
“As we all know, there's been a lot of pushback from the tariffs and our neighbours to the south in regards to how do we benefit (from) the resources we have — the forestry, the mining, the critical minerals, manufacturing.”
“I'm hoping … we're going to all be excited about the great opportunities from the federal government.”