Hamilton residents are being asked to weigh in on the city’s economic future as the Economic Development Office begins work on a new action plan covering from now until 2030.
The city launched consultation on their Engage Hamilton platform, inviting residents to share their perspective on the city’s local economy and what priorities should be over the next five years.
The survey can be accessed here and runs until September 15, 2026.
The new plan will build on the results of the outgoing 2021-2025 Economic Development Action Plan, which the city credits with helping diversify and grow the local economy over that time.
The city celebrated a number of major successes between 2021 and 2025, including more than 7.7 million square feet of new industrial and commercial development from major national and international companies such as Airwise, Amazon, Atlantic Packaging, AtomVie, Continental Tire, DHL Express, IKEA, OmniaBio, Parrish & Heimbecker, Porter Airlines, Stryker, and UPS.
The city also reported roughly $2.5 billion in building permit values and an estimated 11 per cent increase in jobs, bringing total employment within city limits to an estimated 308,140.
The Hamilton Business Centre, the city’s hub for entrepreneurs, fielded close to 70,000 questions from residents over the same period and says it helped create more than 1,000 new jobs.
Tourism and culture also featured prominently in the outgoing plan’s results.
Officials say that the city attracted more than seven major events in the last few years, including the 2023 Grey Cup and 2026 Juno Awards, generating over $180 million in combined economic impact.
More than $3 million in revenue has been generated for the City of Hamilton over that time from film productions and the city has invested $3 million in tourism-related funding requests through the Municipal Accommodation Tax.
The city’s partnership with Oak View Group, which redeveloped what is now TD Coliseum, is also cited as a recent win for downtown entertainment and tourism.
The city says that the new Economic Development Action Plan will “help to create new jobs, sustain existing employment, provide incentives for business growth, and offset residential tax increases through the generation of additional industrial and commercial tax revenues.”
Once consultation closes, the city plans to develop a draft report before presenting the finished plan to Hamilton City Council for approval between April and June 2027.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
