Invest Durham Enews

Invest Durham 2022 Annual Report

The Region of Durham’s Economic Development and Tourism division (Invest Durham) is responsible for supporting the growth of our region’s economy through creating and retaining jobs. To do this, Invest Durham promotes the region as a great place to do business; provides business services to attract new investment; enables a vibrant tourism industry; and provides agricultural and rural economic development programming in the northern townships.

The 2022 Economic Development and Tourism Annual Report captures a high-level summary of the activities undertaken by Economic Development and Tourism to inform the local community on important economic development initiatives—including an economic snapshot, entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives, sector developments, awards and recognized achievements, and partnerships.

Key highlights include:



• The launch of Ready Set Future: A PLACE Blueprint for Durham, a five-year strategy for Economic Development and Tourism.
• The launch of Growing Agri-Food Durham, an action plan that focuses on advancing agri-food as a priority cluster for the Region of Durham.
• Teaming up with Durham Region’s local innovation community to showcase our exciting development potential to businesses and investors at Collision Conference.
• Organizing investment tours, agri-food webinars, and supported tourism events.

The annual report was created to raise awareness of the activities of economic development and the importance of its role in our community.

Funding Opportunity

Boost Your Business Technology Grant

Get up to $15,000 to boost your business technology. Looking to increase productivity? Need to consolidate your back-office software? Need better cybersecurity tools? With a plan tailored to your business, Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada can help with your digital transformation.

This grant helps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs):

• reduce overhead costs
• speed up transactions
• respond to clients more quickly
• manage inventory more efficiently
• improve supply chain logistics

You are ready to apply if you are an owner or director or your business:



• is Canadian owned
• is for-profit
• has one to 499 employees
• had at least $500,000 in annual revenue in one of the last three years

Events and Partnerships

Business Count

As part of an annual project to gather employment statistics and build a stronger local economy, businesses in Durham Region should expect a knock on their door this season. The Region of Durham is conducting a Business Count to gather statistics from local businesses about their operations.

Between May and August, the Region’s Business Count team is scheduled to visit all business establishments in Durham Region to gather basic information about the nature of the company, the number of employees, plans for growth, floor space and location. The Business Count team will be recognizable by their navy-blue Region of Durham shirts and photo ID cards.

Due to risk of spreading avian flu between poultry operations in Ontario, surveyors will not be visiting farms in-person. Farm owners will be contacted via phone and email to complete the survey and are encouraged to complete the survey online.

In addition to in-person visits, businesses—including home-based businesses and non-project organizations—have the option to complete the 2023 Business Count online. 

Durham Accessibility Conference

Abilities Centre, in partnership with the Region of Durham, invites the business community, Durham Region employers and those interested in exploring the power of inclusion in the workplace, to attend the free Durham Accessibility Conference via Zoom.

The theme for this year is Power of Inclusion: Moving Accessibility from awareness to action. Attendees will hear about the value that inclusion brings when we practice disability inclusion in the workplace and leave with practical tips on embedding accessibility throughout the employment cycle.

This conference will support creating and maintaining a diverse workforce, and an inclusive work environment—a place where each person can contribute to and benefit from the organization’s collective success. Real time captioning and American Sign Language interpretation will be available.

Building Resilient Communities Through Film:

A Reelworld Event

Join in for a night of community to explore the changing neighbourhoods around us. Through the power of film, conversations will be sparked about how we can support each other during these uncertain times.

Reelworld invites you to a screening of short film On the Fence and feature-length film Unarmed Verses, followed by an informal discussion about important topics such as housing, home-ownership and community. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect with your neighbours and learn from each other.

Hosted at the Biltmore Theatre in Downtown Oshawa.

North Durham Business Toolkits

The Townships of Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge are communities that offer lifestyle and tourism highlights like walking trails, farm-fresh food, historic sites, and lakefront settings—but they also offer quick access to Toronto's economy and consumers, business parks, and great opportunities for entrepreneurship.

Together with the Invest Durham Rural and Agricultural Economic Development team these communities recently launched business toolkits, which provide those looking to start, grow, or expand their business in Brock, Scugog or Uxbridge a directory of information they will need.

Explore the toolkits for each community:

• Township of Brock
• Township of Scugog
• Township of Uxbridge

These three companies are in the business of creativity

Whether you are looking for a marketing agency, photography studio or video production, these businesses have you covered. Meet the founders of some of Durham Region’s first-class creative services businesses—Brand Ambition, Velvet Season Studios, and Forest City Films.

Read the story at the Invest Durham blog

A recent land sale in Pickering is expected to bring 3,000 new jobs to the city

The City of Pickering and Province of Ontario recently completed the sale of 151 acres of provincial lands in Pickering’s Innovation Corridor to FGF Brands for the development of a high-tech, food manufacturing campus, which will be known as the Wonderbrands Innovation Business Park.

Learn more about this exciting investment

What do Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sarah Polley and 'Jack Reacher' have in common?

Durham's film industry, of course. Many production companies that have established headquarters in Toronto enjoy the convenience of filming on location in Durham. In the past 10 years since the Durham Region film office was formed, there has been a 165 per cent increase in film and television production.

Read the story at DurhamRegion.com

Contact Us

Toll-free: 1-800-706-9857

www.investdurham.ca 

As a contact of the Region of Durham's Planning and Economic Development Department, you have been added to our mailing list. If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please use the unsubscribe link located at the bottom of this e-newsletter.

If this information is required in an accessible format, please contact the Planning and Economic Development Department at 905-668-4113 ext. 2619 (toll-free at 1-800-706-9857).