In 2022, Council approved the 2022-2026 Economic Development and Tourism Strategy (EDT Strategy). It set the stage to guide programming and investment in Economic Development, Tourism, and the Guelph Junction Railway (GJR). The EDT strategy has six goals, namely:
- To expand support for existing business
- To attract targeted investment
- To champion an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem
- To advance talent attraction and skill development
- To build a must-see visitor destination in Ontario
- To enhance Guelph’s unique brand for business, talent, and visitors
In 2023, the City took steps to realize the strategy’s goals. As part of the strategic initiative, the City has continued the development of a comprehensive business database to support economic development efforts, inform growth planning, and facilitate targeted business engagement. Notably, the City of Guelph’s Employment Survey, now in its second year, has successfully catalogued 3,505 business establishments within the industrial, commercial, and institutional zones. The expansion of this database is set to continue in 2024, further enriching the City’s business intelligence.
The City developed a formal Business Visitation Program in 2023. Scheduled for implementation in 2024, this program is designed to deepen relationships with key local employers and gather valuable intelligence about Guelph’s critical economic sectors and clusters.
More work to build awareness and support our industry clusters continued with industry roundtables in 2023. The culmination of these efforts will help expand the City’s growing economic data portfolio, informing programming and service delivery.
Our community celebrated significant investment activity in 2023, with commitments exceeding $200 million. These investments represent the promise of hundreds of good jobs and pave the way for a future post-secondary campus in our downtown.
This overview only covers some of the 2023 initiatives, but it exemplifies the City’s commitment to improving Guelph’s economy and the impact of the EDT strategy.
