Message from Fred Eisenberger appears in Economic Report Inside the Globe and Mail
Hamilton, like communities throughout the world, has been challenged by the pandemic, and yet there are strong signs that Hamilton is emerging stronger than ever before.
Employment in Hamilton actually grew by about 10 per cent over the past year. No doubt part of the reason is that Hamilton issued more than $2 billion worth of building permit so far in 2021, an historic high and astounding given the pandemic.
Hamilton’s John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport has emerged as the busiest overnight express airport in Canada. Indeed, the first COVID-19 vaccines to land in Canada did so at our airport.
Add to the mix our port, the busiest by tonnage on all the Great Lakes, our 400 series highways, rail links and proximity to both Toronto and the U.S. border, Hamilton is truly a multi-modal city.
Hamilton is also now receiving all-day, hourly GO train service which links us by rail to the entire Greater Toronto Area. Also, the federal and provincial governments have committed to fully fund a 14-kilometre Light Rail Transit (LRT) system which promises to rejuvenate our downtown like never before while creating thousands of jobs.
Steel-making is still, of course, important to Hamilton, and indeed, our two steel makers make more by tonnage than ever before, but with fewer workers due to advances in technology.
That encouraged Hamilton over the years to diversify into other sectors. Indeed, the Conference Board of Canada has named Hamilton as the most diversified economy in Canada.
We are also one of the most innovative, driven in part by research at McMaster University, Mohawk College, and McMaster Innovation Park (MIP). Hamilton was also designated as a Top7 Intelligent Community several times competing against hundreds of other municipalities world-wide.
This environment is no doubt part of the reason that Hamilton has also recently welcomed large companies such as Amazon, L3Harris and Bridgestone to the community.
Our restaurant and cultural scene are vibrant and our natural environment, ranging from the waterfront to the escarpment to rural vistas, with an extensive network of cycling trails and bicycle paths, are attracting young talent who come here to work but also to enjoy Hamilton’s lifestyle.
