The Town of Tecumseh is going to use new provincial funding to examine the needs of investors to attract more development in rural parts of the community.
Windsor-Tecumseh Conservative MPP Andrew Dowie announced Tuesday a $50,000 investment from the province to support economic and long-term growth, with the town providing another $50,000 in matching funding to retain a consultant to work with local officials.
The funding will be used for the Tecumseh Economic Development Strategy, a framework for long-term economic growth focused on attracting and expanding industry, strengthening the local economic development ecosystem and advancing key economic initiatives.
Director of Development Services Brian Hillman says they will look at opportunities to broaden the town’s economic base.
“Look at ways to really open up the dialogue around what the needs of our economic development investors are and come forward with a project that really has an opportunity for a lot of input, and present the document to council for their consideration, probably sometime in 2027,” he says.
Hillman says they know they have a strong economic base in the Oldcastle area, with the tool and die industry serving as the backbone.
“It also has evolved into aeronautics and other specialty areas. We will want to engage with the people who have invested in that area now to see what their needs are and try to understand how that works with the town’s own strategies and the projects that we undertake and how we can help them meet their investment goals,” he says.
Hillman says you can see from the federal level that there are strategies being undertaken to look at new opportunities beyond the automotive sector.
“Along with working with our regional partners, we’ll work with federal partners, people who are involved with the economic development strategies and the province, to make sure we’re aligning with their objectives and meeting both their needs and the local and regional needs as well,” he says.
The provincial funding is through the Rural Ontario Development (ROD) program, a $20 million investment by the province.