County of Simcoe + Amazon = North of Ordinary

MIDHURST, ON, Oct. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - The County of Simcoe is open for business and received support from the Government of Ontario towards the County's efforts to secure the development of Amazon's newest North American facility within Simcoe County borders.

Amazon, which currently has Canadian locations in Toronto and Vancouver and employs more than 380,000 people around the globe, recently sent out a request for proposals to identify a location and partner municipality for its newest North American facility. The proposal states that Amazon HQ2, the moniker that Amazon has given, would generate up to 50,000 local jobs for the successful location.

As part of the County's economic development strategy to attract, grow and support our economy and labour force, the County has identified potential locations and worked with the towns of Bradford West Gwillimbury and Innisfil, as well as development partners, to submit a strong proposal to Amazon to make Simcoe County the home of Amazon HQ2 and ultimately generate high-paying, quality jobs in our communities.

Leading with the tag line "North of Ordinary", the proposal highlights our region's many value propositions and strengths, including our lifestyle opportunities, high quality of life, growing communities, affordability, attraction of newcomers, proximity to GTA, access to major highways, transit and international airports, strong talent pool, focus on research and development, access to health care, and an opportunity for Amazon itself to help shape the surrounding community by working with the County and host municipality as potential development occurs.

The County anticipates that it will hear back from Amazon in 2018.

To bolster provincial competitiveness and increase our labour force, the Government of Ontario announced Wednesday that it plans to increase the number of post-secondary students graduating in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, including artificial intelligence, by 25 per cent over the next five years. This initiative will boost the number of STEM graduates from 40,000 to 50,000 per year and position Ontario as the number one producer of postsecondary STEM graduates per capita in North America. Locally, Georgian College and Lakehead University are recognized as leaders in many of these disciplines ? with Georgian College in the process of developing a new state-of-the-art Advanced Technology, Innovation and Research Centre.

Simcoe County has impressive qualifications, including:        

• a 40 per cent population growth rate forecasted
• home to 16,000 businesses
• a growing available workforce of approximately 230,000 people
• creation of 14,000 new jobs in last 5 years
• a wide variety of development options ranging from major industrial greenfield opportunities to waterfront and downtown mixed use and commercial development
• a competitive advantage with close proximity to GTA ? 9 million people within an one-hour drive and that number grows to 130-million within a one day drive
• access to international markets through the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport in Oro-Medonte, Billy Bishop and Pearson International Airports
• being known for its high quality of life, welcoming more than 9-million visitors each year to experience area amenities and attractions

Visit our website at simcoe.ca.

Quotes:

"The County of Simcoe is open for business and offers an experience truly north of ordinary. Our communities provide affordable lifestyles with an abundance of infrastructure, transportation, amenities, services and an educated, hardworking and growing workforce. We have one united goal to foster an environment that provides the absolute best opportunity for Amazon and all our businesses to thrive."
Gerry Marshall, County of Simcoe Warden

"The Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury and the County of Simcoe are growing in population and opportunity. With access to major highways, airports, commercial space and lifestyle services, our community is an increasingly attractive location for businesses and organizations to build and grow."
Rob Keffer, Mayor of the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury and County of Simcoe Councillor

"Our region and Town prides itself on the affordable lifestyle we offer our residents and the economic advantages we offer our business partners. We are proud to work in close partnership with the County on many economic development initiatives that benefit our community and our businesses and we're hopeful that our region will be considered as a destination for the Amazon HQ2 facility."
Gord Wauchope, Mayor of the Town of Innisfil and County of Simcoe Councillor

SOURCE The County of Simcoe