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Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Daily Update: September 27, 2024

In this edition:

  • Niagara Falls Innovation Hub to receive $97,650 through Rural EcDev Program
  • Sales at car dealers take lead in July economic growth
  • Governments of Canada and Ontario invest $1.5M in international agri-food workers
  • Port Colborne readies development charges hike
  • Focus on Finance & Economy

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(From Left to Right): Michael Warchala, Acting Manager of Business Development at the City of Niagara Falls; Dan Bordenave, Chief Executive Officer of the Niagara Falls Innovation; Emma Eldon, Marketing and Communications Manager at the Niagara Falls Innovation Hub; Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West; Steve Pinsonneault, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Rural Affairs; Morgan Mattern, Director of Communications at the Office of the Minister of Rural Affairs; Fred Davies, Executive-in-Residence at the Niagara Falls Innovation Hub, and Marco Marino, Associate Director of Economic Development at the Regional Municipality of Niagara | Photo credit: Sam Oosterhoff

Niagara Falls Innovation Hub to receive $97,650 through Rural Economic Development Program

Today, Sam Oosterhoff, MPP for Niagara West, announced that the Niagara Falls Innovation Hub will receive up to $97,650 in funding through the latest intake of the Rural Economic Development Program. The Rural Economic Development Program supports projects that diversify and grow local economies, build community capacity and address barriers to economic development and labour force challenges.

Click here to read more.


Photo credit: Nomad_Soul / Adobe Stock

Sales at car dealers take lead in July economic growth

The retail trade sector (+1.0%) was the largest contributor to overall growth in July, Statistics Canada has recorded, recording a second consecutive increase and the sector’s largest monthly growth rate since January 2023. Most subsectors expanded in July 2024 with motor vehicles and parts dealers (+2.8%) contributing the most to growth, driven by higher retailing activity at new car dealers which more than offset the previous month’s decline. Overall, real gross domestic product (GDP) was up 0.2% in July, following essentially no change in June.

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NC’s Vice President, International, Sean Coote and Associate Director, Economic Development & Planning, Lyndon William Ashton | Photo credit: Niagara College / supplied

Niagara College wins global award for applied research and innovation

Niagara College’s excellence in applied research and innovation has been recognized on the world stage. On September 25, the College received a silver award in the category of Applied Research and Innovation by the World Federation of Colleges and Polytechnics (WFCP)’s Awards of Excellence.

The Applied Research and Innovation Award Category honours an institution or institutional association that has demonstrated excellence in addressing real-world challenges through applied research. The award has three levels of accomplishment: gold, silver, and bronze.


Photo credit: @Nailotl / Adobe Stock

Governments of Canada and Ontario invest $1.5M in international agri-food workers

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $1.5 million over four years to create a more welcoming environment for international agri-food workers (IAWs) who work in Ontario’s $51 billion agri-food sector and provide them with stronger supports during their stay here. These include translation supports, expanding or introducing transportation services, and supporting cultural and recreational activities.

Click here to read more.


Photo credit: zephyr_p / Adobe Stock

Port Colborne readies development charges hike

The amount the city charges to developers to help recover the cost of infrastructure is set to more than double.

On Tuesday, Port Colborne council held its statutory public meeting for its development charges study, which, when passed next month, will set the rates for the next 10 years.

Click here to read more.


Did you know?

Convenience store giant 7-Eleven is on the verge of being purchased by Quebec firm Alimentation Couche-Tard, which started with one store in 1980.


Focus on Finance & Economy

As some Ontario plants hit the brakes, are Canada’s EV ambitions under threat?

The plant was expected to produce batteries for a million electric vehicles a year. Once up and running, it was supposed to create hundreds of permanent jobs in a small southeastern Ontario municipality.

It was, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time, “big news” that Belgium-based Umicore chose Loyalist Township for its battery component production facility — evidence, the federal and provincial governments said, of success in the quest to make Canada a global electric-vehicle production hotspot.

But two years later, spending on the construction of the Umicore plant has been delayed in what the company calls a “significant worsening of the EV market context.”

Click here to read more.


Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.


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