While the focus in the city has shifted over time, from
rail, to automotive assembly and parts manufacturing, and
now to advanced manufacturing, he says the city has al-
ways quickly adapted thanks in part to a solid, well trained
and available labour force with access to multiple univer-
sities and colleges with excellent training programs. “Our
available, reasonably priced land and buildings within easy
reach of Highways 401, 402 and 403 and an evolved solid
supply chain that supports multiple industrial sectors, have
also factored in.”
Dyke says many unique products and technologies are
developed each year through local industry, “from auto
body panels formed using a sheet metal hydroforming
process that creates shapes previously thought to be im-
possible, to technology that allowed the relighting of the
Statue of Liberty after it was extinguished in a hurricane,
to robot lines that make cherry picking easier and more ef-
ficient for farmers, to military products that keep us safe,
to trout processing and award winning beer.”
He says that the city anticipates continued industrial
growth, with major recreational and infrastructure projects
underway that follow recent institutional investments,
which included new and renovated elementary schools, a
provincial government investment in the city’s courthouse,
and a major redevelopment of the western portion of the
downtown. “The new outdoor recreation complex that will begin de-
velopment this year will improve the community’s access
to quality sports fields and outdoor activity areas and con-
tribute to an even better quality of life in the city.”
A major expansion to the St. Thomas Elgin General Hos-
pital, the addition of a new seniors’ facility, a new police
station, and the addition of new paths and trails throughout
the city are also underway. “We also have on the books a
new memorial park to honour our veterans and the private
development of Canada’s first Elevated Park.”
The EDC is also responsible for the Elgin St. Thomas
Small Business Enterprise Centre. This, he says, has given
the organization the ability to operate at far more of a
grassroots level and has been a real driver for the
#stthomasproud campaign.

“Our team at the St. Thomas EDC is small but mighty,
with only a general manager, economic development offi-
cer, enterprise centre manager, business advisor and
tourism co-ordinator to run all of the programs that we do
here. This team has been very successful in the last few
years and I am personally extremely pleased to be working
with such a passionate and effective group of people.”
Over the last year and a half, the EDC has received sev-
eral key awards, including the Free Enterprise Award of
Merit from the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Com-
merce, a silver award for Video/Multimedia Promotion
from the International Economic Development Council
(IEDC), a Marketing Canada Award from the Economic De-
velopment Association of Canada (EDAC) for Online Com-
munity Outreach, and an Award of Excellence from the
Economic Developers Council of Ontario for Technology
and New Media. “We are especially proud of being recog-
nized with the Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Marketing
Excellence in Ontario – truly a “best in class” award in the
province. All of these awards came as a result of our
team’s hard work on the #stthomasproud campaign.”
For more information, visit http://st-thomas.org.

The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Spring 2017 – 41