In his speech at the New Year’s Levee, Mayor Steve Ferguson detailed a laundry list of large ticket infrastructure investments made by the province over the last couple of years. One doesn’t have to look to far to see those investments being realized.

A new Long Term Care home, the $27 million Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital build, and the start of the County Road 49 rehabilitation project are all just a stone’s throw away from Rotary Hall.

The province has also invested $18 million for a new water treatment plant in Wellington that will unlock future housing developments. 

The Mayor noted his appreciation for the Province of Ontario and Bay of Quinte MPP Tyler Allsopp for “their belief and support of this municipality and for the investments they have committed to this year and last.”

Rising geopolitical tensions are creating the most challenging economic period in recent history for Ontario as for Canada.

“The COVID-19 pandemic altered the world in ways
we are still grappling with.
We’ve been pushed even further into a state of flux by the Trump administration.
“We must – and will prepare for more flux,
unpredictable threats and uncertainty in the future.”

Mayor Steve Ferguson

“The COVID-19 pandemic altered the world in ways we are still grappling with. We’ve been pushed even further into a state of flux by the Trump administration.

“We must – and will prepare for more flux, unpredictable threats and uncertainty in the future,” the Mayor said. 

For his part, Mr. Allsopp admitted that if his cell phone is ringing, there’s a good chance Mayor Ferguson is on the other end of the line.

“He’s my most frequent caller and with good reason,” said Mr. Allsopp. “Prince Edward County has huge opportunities from tourism, agriculture, housing development and business growth standpoints. We recognize good infrastructure is the way to unlock all of those things so we’re here to be a partner to help support those goals.”

In the face of tariffs at the US border, MPP Allsopp underscored one of North America’s largest economies will need to keep pivoting. Ontario’s annual GDP makes up nearly 40 percent of Canada’s total. How Ontario manages its challenges in the coming year is central to how Canada does.

The province has offered about $30 billion in provincial supports to businesses under threat in the steel, lumber and auto sectors while they reroute supply chains and develop new trading partners.

Those supports include a $5 billion Protect Ontario Financing Program that provides immediate relief for Ontario businesses facing tariff-related working capital challenges, such as utility payments, payroll, and lease payments.

“We’ve made a billion dollars of that available right now for liquidity for some of those larger employers, but we are creating two additional streams through the Protect Ontario’s Financing Program. We’ll start to see that filter down into other small and medium-sized enterprises until the impacts being felt by the tariffs are relieved. This investment lessens those pressures across the economy,” said Mr. Allsopp.

“He’s my most frequent caller and with good reason.
Prince Edward County has huge opportunities from
tourism, agriculture, housing development and business growth standpoints.
We recognize good infrastructure is the way
to unlock all of those things so we’re here to be a partner to help support those goals.”

—MPP Tyler Allsopp

Ring of Fire

Meanwhile, the federal government and the province recently came to an agreement to fast track mining operations at the Ring of Fire, a 5000 square km site near James Bay rich with critical minerals, including chromite, nickel, copper, platinum group elements, gold, zinc, and palladium. Proponents say an unlocked Ring of Fire project would generate $22 billion in economic benefits and create up to 70,000 jobs.

“They’re called critical minerals for a reason. Everybody needs them for technology and defence, and the Ring of Fire is one of the main advantages we have in this negotiation that we’re going through with the United States. We have a lot of what they need,” the MPP said.

The province has invested $500 million through its Critical Mineral Processing Fund to help with building roads into the remote area. Ontario has also set aside $3 billion to develop Indigenous partnerships with communities within the Treaty 9 territory.

“This is a vital project for Ontario’s prosperity. We’re ensuring First Nation communities are brought in and that there’s benefits for their communities as well. This is going to be something that’s going to help lift the whole Canadian economy and we’re very excited to see how it develops,” the MPP added.