Written by Kieran Delamont, Associate Editor, London Inc.

Fate of laid-off CAMI workers part of upcoming GM-Unifor negotiations

Unifor, the union representing Canada’s auto workers, began contract negotiations with GM this week. For laid-off workers at the CAMI plant in Ingersoll, this round of bargaining carries with it a lot of uncertainty, with the future of the former BrightDrop plant still largely up in the air — leaving the union in a tough negotiating position. “Nobody knows what’s going to happen, but this is definitely the worst position we have been in headed into negotiations,” said one worker at the plant, Peggy Falkingham, speaking to the Detroit Free Press. “When we went on strike (in 2017), at least we had a profitable vehicle we were making at the time. The fact we don’t have anything, they could do whatever. We have nothing to fight back with. It is extremely scary right now.” A report in the industry blog GM Authority suggested the plant will need “substantial changes” in order to produce any future vehicles, likely meaning (if a deal is ever struck to build a new vehicle there) heavy capital investment and another lengthy retooling process. As of yet, there’s still no plan for the plant in place, and reports earlier in the year that GM was exploring a sale to the Belgium-based Dumarey Group haven’t progressed.

The upshot: For this round of bargaining, CAMI is not considered part of the “Master Agreement” with GM, and will instead negotiate an independent agreement. This isn’t a new development, and stems from CAMI’s origins as a joint venture with Suzuki, but it does complicate things given the plant’s status. “This round we will be bargaining a standalone collective agreement with General Motors,” reads a post on the Unifor 88 website. “Cami members will hold a separate, independent, vote for the CAMI Collective Agreement. Our members will not vote to accept or reject the GMCC master agreement. Our vote will not affect their acceptance percentage, and their vote will not affect ours.” GM hasn’t said much yet about the plant’s future, saying only that they are continuing to assess their options. The rest of the Ingersoll community will be watching the negotiations closely as well. “These people have been through hell, to be honest,” Ingersoll mayor Brian Petrie told the Detroit Free Press. “The local grocery store has seen a hit, and the restaurants, when the plant’s not running. If they’re not making investments in those vehicles, we all suffer for it.” 

Read more: Unifor 88 | GM Authority

Railway City Brewing returns to local ownership

St. Thomas’ Railway City Brewing has signed a deal to return the brewery to local ownership, the company announced this week, ending a stretch under a U.S.-based parent company. The new ownership group includes founder Paul Corriveau, Bryan and Becky White and current employees Darin Tucker and Jeremy Tokarcyzk. Previously, the brewery had been owned by Entertainment Arts Research Inc., a U.S. beverage and media company, which bought the brewery in 2022. “This relaunch is about so much more than beer,” Corriveau said in a press release. “We saw an opportunity to honour that history while creating a fresh new chapter for the brewery and the community around it.” The new ownership group said it wants to take a more local-focused approach to running the company. “Railway City Brewing has been part of the fabric of St. Thomas for nearly two decades,” said Bryan White. “We’re excited to build on that foundation and help ensure Railway City Brewing remains an important part of the St. Thomas community for years to come.” The brewery will mark the change with an event dubbed the Back on Track Relaunch Celebration on August 22, featuring a new Back on Track Golden Ale. The deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.

The upshot: The new ownership deal is an interesting development in Ontario’s craft beer and alcohol industry, cutting in the opposite direction from the consolidation and acquisition trend that we’ve seen over the last few years. (In addition to Entertainment Arts Research Inc.’s purchase of Railway City, you might recall Toronto-based Steam Whistle Brewing’s 2022 acquisition of Beau’s, for instance, or London’s Equals Brewing Company’s acquisition of Side Launch Brewing Company in 2025.) But a return to independence isn’t entirely without precedent in the craft beer space either, with some brewery operators looking to claw their operations back out from under large parent corporations, with nods to things like culture and independence that distinguished the craft beer industry’s growth in the early 2010s. In 2023, Appalachian Mountain Brewery’s founders bought their brewery back from Anheuser-Busch InBev. And last month, just months after it was bought by Canadian cannabis brand Tilray, the former owner of Scottish brewery BrewDog, James Watt, announced that he was trying to buy his company back, saying “the punks and the crew built this company, and BrewDog deserves to belong to them once more.” 

Read more: St. Thomas Today | Railway City Brewing

New home sales jump in London following HST cut

London homebuilders say sales of new homes have more than doubled since the province and federal government cut the HST on new homes this spring, a jump provincial industry data backs up. According to data from the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, new home sales in Ontario rose 130 per cent year-over-year in the second quarter to 8,410 units, up from 3,645 new homes sold in the same period last year. “I was surprised, because before that it was significantly slow,” said Hesham Soufan, vice-president of London-based Origin Homes, speaking to CTV News London. “It just translates to more jobs, more opportunities and a lot better market for not just builders, but suppliers and trades as well.” Jared Zaifman, CEO at the London Home Builders’ Association, echoed the enthusiasm expressed by his provincial counterparts. “This is literally the best time to buy,” he said, adding the rebate has turned “tire-kickers into motivated buyers.” Realtors seem to agree, with one telling CTV “buyers [are] realizing how much they can save instantly.”

The upshot: Some took a slightly more skeptical view, doubting the OHBA’s claim that the entire increase in sales this year versus last year should be credited to the HST cut. “I have not had a single person contact me and use the word HST,” one Toronto broker, David Fleming, told CBC. “Of course, [the Building Industry and Land Development Association] is going to say that sales are happening, but we’re still double from an all-time low; you can make numbers say anything you want.” It’s a fair point: this time last year was arguably the height of tariff- and trade-war-related anxiety, and the housing market was almost at a standstill. The HST cut very likely is making a difference, but the turnaround in new home sales might also be the result of a mosaic of policies (including development charge cuts and overall inventory-boosting) aimed at lowering prices and selling homes. But, to borrow some sports vernacular, it all looks the same on the scoreboard. 

Read more: CTV News London | CBC News

5,000-unit York Developments subdivision clears committee

London's planning committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to approve the zoning application for a new subdivision in the city's southwest end. The proposal, being brought to the city by York Developments, hopes to build more than 5,000 residential units near the intersection of Bostwick, Wonderland and Wharncliffe roads, comprising a mix of low-rise homes, apartments and high-rises. It’s another major proposal for the southwest end of the city, which has attracted more than one of these types of mega-development proposals over the last few years, including roughly 4,000 units council approved nearby on Pack Road last year. Accordingly, much of the committee’s discussion centred on infrastructure concerns. Chief among them was the Bradley Avenue extension planned to run through the site, which councillors deferred until 2035 earlier this summer, but which some councillors would like to see expedited. "I have to concur with the view that Bradley has to be expanded sooner rather than later," said Councillor Paul Van Meerbergen. “You see the vast amount of development going on in the southwest. It clearly has to be done, and sooner than the better part of 10 years from now.”

The upshot: It’s not all surprising this application was approved — in a softening construction market, if someone shows up wanting to build 5,000 homes in an underdeveloped part of the city, few committees would say no. City politicians will need to keep the degree of development slated for the southwest corner of the city in mind going forward though — infrastructure in the area will have to be significantly upgraded in order to accommodate what is likely to be a fairly rapid increase in the population if and when these projects come to fruition. Ward 9 Councillor Anna Hopkins, who isn’t on the committee but was in attendance, pushed successfully to have the area considered for improved transit service in the city's next Mobility Master Plan. “It is a lot of growth in this area,” she said. “I think the number of units and population growth in this area explains why we need to look at transit in this area.” The zoning still needs to pass a final council vote later this month.

Read more: CBC News London

London hits federal housing targets ahead of deadline

London has hit its three-year Housing Accelerator Fund target a month ahead of the September 7 federal deadline, the city announced this week. According to the city’s data, it has recorded 11,966 new housing units in the past three years, surpassing the 11,803 units set out as a target for the city by the feds. The prize is a nice chunk of federal funds. “We will unlock additional funding for the municipality. I think it's upwards of $20 million," said Mayor Josh Morgan, who indicated that the money could go toward the city's ongoing housing initiatives, such as “very successful programs like the office-to-residential conversions, or the transit-oriented development programs that we know are oversubscribed and run out of money,” he told CTV News London. “I want to thank our staff who are working very hard on this, but also those who submit the applications, pull the permits and build the housing in our community.” City staff also celebrated the news. “This milestone represents an extraordinary amount of work by people across the corporation and throughout London's building and development industry,” said Scott Mathers, deputy city manager of housing and community growth. “Our builders and developers continued to bring projects forward and turn approvals into new homes.”

The upshot: Is it maybe just a little bit of convenient timing for an incumbent mayor (and council) to celebrate a major milestone on housing, arguably the defining issue of this council’s term? You could say that. But you can forgive a little bit of back-patting, too — while the housing file hasn’t been perfect, London has done pretty much exactly what upper levels of government have asked of municipalities — it was the first city in Canada to receive funding through the program, and it has hit every target since. “This progress didn't happen by accident. It is the result of deliberate choices, a focused approach to getting housing built, and policies that have removed barriers and accelerated approvals,” Morgan said in a press release, before indulging in a bit of politician-speak: “It is the decisions we have made here in London that are turning that investment into real homes and real results. As we look ahead, Londoners should know that the work is not finished, and that staying focused on building more housing, creating affordability and keeping our city moving forward will require steady leadership and a willingness to keep delivering.”

Read more: CTV News London | City of London

Dispatch: August 14, 2026

A summary of recent business appointments and announcements, plus event listings for the upcoming week.

View listings here

MORE FROM LONDON INC.