Government’s Investments are Building Up Northern Ontario

August 10, 2016

NOHFC Programs Strengthen and Diversify the North’s Economy

Through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC), Ontario is making strategic investments to help expand economic opportunity and create or retain thousands of jobs across the North.

Premier Kathleen Wynne will attend the NOHFC board meeting in Kenora this evening and highlight the government’s support for Northern economic development — part of her week-long trip to more than a dozen communities across the region. Through its five funding programs, the NOHFC is supporting businesses across the North in a wide array of sectors — from mining to craft brewing, tourism to film and TV production, health care to food processing.

Since 2013, the NOHFC has invested $406 million in projects in the North, leveraging over $1.2 billion in direct economic activity in Northern Ontario that has created or retained 9,179 jobs. Its recent investments include:

• $27 million in film and TV projects, including $2.3 million to support five film and TV productions shooting in Sudbury
• $5 million over seven years for a project to improve the success rate in locating ore bodies for future mine sites
• $4 million for port development projects in Kenora as part of a downtown revitalization plan
• $2.5 million for the development of an industrial park to help attract businesses to Timmins.

The NOHFC’s programs are strengthening the North’s economy by:

• Helping Northern communities attract new businesses through opportunities and events that promote long-term growth
• Funding infrastructure that will advance economic development and investment
• Supporting the development and commercialization of new technologies by fostering collaboration among businesses, academic institutions and research facilities
• Attracting and retaining college and university graduates by providing one-year internships with businesses in a number of key industries
• Providing funding to help promising startups launch — and successful businesses expand.

Investing in local Northern economies is part of the government’s economic plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes helping more people get and create the jobs of the future by expanding access to high-quality college and university education. The plan is making the largest infrastructure investment in hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit in Ontario’s history and is investing in a low-carbon economy driven by innovative, high-growth, export-oriented businesses. The plan is also helping working Ontarians achieve a more secure retirement.

QUICK FACTS

• Since 2013, the province has invested nearly $10 million through the NOHFC in 59 projects in Kenora, which has sustained 383 jobs.
• The NOHFC uses its $100 million in annual funding to partner with Northerners to develop innovative technologies, invest in infrastructure, bolster collaboration and build economic development capacity.
• The NOHFC’s board of directors meets about six times per year, alternating among Northern cities to showcase each community’s unique place in the Northern Ontario mosaic.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• Growth Plan for Northern Ontario
• Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation