Economic Development
The Economic Development Department endeavors to position the community as an attractive investment centre through the implementation of various marketing and promotion initiatives. The office maintains accurate and current data on the economic development performance of the community. This information is utilized by various organizations and businesses for both business development and promotional purposes.
In addition to the attraction component of economic development, the office has increasingly directed more energy in recent years towards the retention and solidifying of its existing economic base. Various cooperative and partnership agreements with business and community organizations have occurred over the past few years. This approach provides both a stronger and more efficient basis for fostering economic growth with less contribution from the public sector sources.
Economic Development Reports and Studies
Business Retention and Expansion Project Report and Action Plan
Following the announcement in 2017 of the closure of Brockville’s Procter and Gamble site, affecting all of its 480 employees, the City worked closely with the company, local stakeholders and Provincial ministries to provide assistance to their employees and to look at programs which can reduce the impact of the closure.
The three primary outcomes for the project were:
- A final recommendation report on actions that the community can take to mitigate against the impact of the closures and to support future economic and labour growth.
- Identify employment opportunities for displaced employees.
- Assist local businesses including former suppliers of P&G, Transcom and Sears to identify new opportunities to stabilize and grow their businesses and in turn, their workforce.
Click here to read the Business Retention and Expansion Project: Final Report and Action Plan (report starts on page 29)
Local Labour Market Planning Report
The Eastern Workforce Innovation Board produces an annual report that highlights key statistics, trends, and areas of growth for our region, including industries on the rise and data from conversations with area employers.
Click here to read the current edition of the Local Labour Market Planning Report
Corridor 2030 Report
The goal of the strategy presented in this report is to create opportunities for displaced workers and grow the overall quality of jobs in the regional economy. The region needs to focus on activities that leverage the human knowledge and knowhow potential in the region, creating more complex products, higher in the value chain.
“The Electrical Component Manufacturing industry is the industry neighbourhood to focus on to achieve incremental and sustainable economic growth. There are several competitive advantages for a company in that neighbourhood to relocate to the region, with the largest being knowledge through talented employees.”
Corridor 2030 Report
Click here to read the Corridor 2030 Report and recommended actions.
Brockville Tourism Strategy and 5 Year Action Plan
This report offers Brockville Tourism three components on which to base its future planning and development efforts:
- An overarching Tourism Strategy for the development of tourism in Brockville
- A Five-Year Action Plan to be considered in conjunction with key stakeholders and industry partners
- Implementation considerations to improve service delivery and the customer experience
Brockville First Impressions Report
In 2016 Brockville participated in the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs “First Impressions Community Exchange,” a program that sees communities of similar size and demographics exchange unannounced visits. The program helps communities to see themselves the way tourists, prospective businesses, relocating families, and non-local shoppers might see them. The exchange paired Brockville with Pembroke and produced a report on how Brockville is perceived from an outside perspective, providing a list of items that Brockville does well, and areas that we can improve.
View the slides from the First Impressions Community Exchange Report
Toolkit for Attracting Immigrant Entrepreneurs to Small City Canada
Rural communities in Ontario, and many across Canada, find themselves in a complicated situation when it comes to population growth and the City of Brockville is no exception. With a population that has been staying relatively neutral since 2006, Brockville finds itself among the many municipalities across Ontario that seek to create innovative ways of attracting residents and investment, both meant to ensure the long-term viability of the City.
The toolkit provides an action plan that the City of Brockville and other small municipalities can employ to attract, welcome, and retain immigrant entrepreneurs.
Click here to download the Toolkit for Attracting Immigrant Entrepreneurs to Small City Canada.
Play Works Youth Friendly Designation
A Youth Friendly community is one that actively supports and provides opportunities for the growth and development of youth aged 13 to 19 through play. Play Works defines play as anything a young person does in their free time that has elements of choice, leads to satisfaction, and encourages positive learning and enjoyment.
Play can include any of the following:
- recreation
- sport
- arts and culture
- drama
- dance
- music
- volunteering
- leadership development
In early 2019, the Brockville Youth Advisory Committee applied to Play Works in order to be designated as youth friendly. Brockville received Bronze level designation, certifying that 7 out of 10 criteria were met for opportunities for youth play.
Click here to view Brockville’s 2019 Play Works application.
Brockville Economic Development Strategic Directions Updated Report
In 2015 a facilitated workshop was conducted with Brockville’s community and business leaders to determine where future strategic directions are required to continue Brockville’s economic development growth. The results were captured and incorporated into the strategic update in addition to reviews of progress since the previous strategy and socio-economic data from Statistics Canada. This strategic update contains three primary components:
- Beyond the 2009 Economic Development Strategy is a chapter dedicated to reviewing some broad directions of the previous strategy and a discussion of key activities undertaken by the City to move economic development forward in Brockville since 2009
- Where is Brockville Now? Section provides a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis and competitive advantages and disadvantages analysis to identify Brockville’s current assets, challenges or barriers, and competitive positioning
- Where does Brockville Need to Go? Section translates the results of the preceding analyses into a series of opportunities and action areas, accompanied by performance measures, the role played by the local economic development office, and potential partners to help translate actions into outcomes.
Click here to review the Brockville Economic Development Strategic Directions Updated Report.