Regional economic development receives big boost from Bruce Power in 2017

It was an eventful first year for regional economic development and the Bruce Power and County of Bruce’s Nuclear Economic Development and Innovation Initiative.

The Bruce County–Bruce Power partnership has redefined how the public and private sectors can collectively work together to achieve a common goal and help secure the long-term success of an industry and a region.

“Our collective efforts across the region have helped establish a common vision and goal for economic development as it relates to the nuclear industry,” said county warden Paul Eagleson. “We have seen a significant amount of engagement and interest from our municipalities and partner counties over this past year. I look forward to leading the county into 2018 as we build on these partnerships and advance our collective vision.”

The innovative initiative was made possible through close integration with Bruce Power’s execution of its Life-Extension Program, which commenced in 2016.

“The Bruce, Grey and Huron region is very quickly being recognized, globally, as a nuclear industry centre of excellence," said Mike Rencheck, president and chief executive officer of Bruce Power, "and by working together, our region will not only be a source of low-cost electricity for decades but will be a source of good jobs and a bright future for our entire region.”

Key successes in 2017 include:
 

• Secured the expansion of 12 of Bruce Power’s major suppliers into the region, more than doubling the existing local supply chain companies in the area.
• Welcomed a new Bruce Power supplier who established a manufacturing facility in Paisley.
• 70,000 square feet of under-utilized, existing space collectively secured (office, warehousing, manufacturing).
• As a result of these new expansions, an additional 250 jobs added to the local economy in the next few years.
• More than 80 coupons posted by local businesses since the launch of couponcountry.ca, Oct. 23. The new website helps raise awareness of the breadth of services and products available across Bruce, Grey and Huron counties to support increased local spending.
• Launched www.greaternuclearenergyarea.ca - a welcome website for prospective and new residents. The website helps prospective and new residents become familiar with the breadth of services and amenities offered in the region and connects them to municipalities, school boards, recreational services, and hospitals.

To help support the initiative, many municipalities have made great progress within their own communities this year by: hiring dedicated economic development officers to advance business retention and expanded support services to local businesses; servicing land to become more investment ready; and engaging in ongoing dialogues with their development community to better plan and prepare for future growth.

In addition to jointly leading this initiative, Bruce Power has taken a leadership role in local economic development by announcing the construction of an off-site office and training complex in Kincardine.

As 2017 wraps up, the Initiative officials are setting priorities for 2018 priorities, which include: continuing to advance expanding the local supply chain base, enhancing local training opportunities across the region, and continuing to work with partners across the region to help ensure this growth is sustainable.

The economic development initiative will continue to be advanced in 2018 with oversight from a Nuclear Industry Regional Advisory Committee, including municipal, county, provincial, union and local leaders, co-chaired by Bruce County chief administrative officer Kelley Coulter, and James Scongack, vice-president of corporate affairs and environment for Bruce Power.