BRAMPTON, ON (April 22, 2022) – The Brampton Economic Development Office continues to lead the way in establishing Brampton as a leader in innovation and prime location to invest, developing local talent and supporting entrepreneurs, and moving the city forward as it recovers from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Building on this Term of Council’s Priorities, the transformational initiatives underway and foundational relationships staff continue to build and maintain are helping to create complete communities, unlock economic potential and reinforce Brampton’s unique position on the Innovation Corridor.
Highlights include:
Support Local
- In May 2020, the City launched its “Support Local” campaign to encourage residents to shop, eat, gift and support local.
- The Support Local campaign was a key initiative of the City’s Economic Recovery Strategy, a plan to support businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and restart the City’s economy.
Innovation District
- The City of Brampton continues to revitalize and unlock the economic potential of its downtown by building an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem: the Brampton Innovation District.
- With agreements starting in 2019, the City has committed to investing approximately $20.5 million in its Innovation District, with an additional approximately $55.2 million in investments being drawn in by Innovation District partners.
- From 2019 to 2021, six new partners have established their presence in the Innovation District. Partners in the Innovation District include the Brampton Entrepreneur Centre, BHive Brampton, the Ryerson-led Venture Zone, Altitude Accelerator, the Founder Institute, Algoma University, and the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst Headquarters and Accelerator. Sheridan Edge, the Brampton Board of Trade and Downtown Brampton BIA are also key partners in building the Innovation District.
- In March, the City of Brampton won an Economic Developer’s Association of Canada (EDAC) Marketing Canada Award for its Innovation District video.
Downtown Brampton
- The City continues to take steps to improve its downtown with the launch of the 12-month Welcoming Streets Pilot Program. The Program aims to provide targeted street outreach services to individuals in Downtown Brampton, addressing the needs of local residents and businesses and helping to improve safety.
- Since opening the Brampton Entrepreneur Centre Co-working space on George Street in 2019, staff have been dedicated to supporting local entrepreneurs, resulting in the creation of nearly 2000 new jobs.
The team has responded to over 44,000 inquiries, conducted 5,299 small business consultations, delivered 2,851 seminars and events to 44,193 participants, issued Summer Company Grant funding to 102 Youth totaling $306,000, and issued Starter Company Grant funding to 175 businesses totaling $731,000. - In 2021, the Brampton Entrepreneur Centre collaborated with the Emergency Management Office, to provide small to medium-sized businesses in Brampton with free COVID-19 rapid screening kits.
Foreign Direct Investment
- As part of the Council-approved strategy for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the Brampton Economic Development Office launched branding and marketing for FDI attraction efforts for Invest Brampton and Brampton Means Business Now in 2019.
- Mayor Brown and Members of Council have led more than 10 international missions, resulting in five new businesses landing in Brampton and five business retention and expansion projects being identified.
- The City of Brampton launched BHive Brampton, a soft landing pad for international entrepreneurs in Brampton’s Innovation District. Since its launch, 38 new businesses have been accepted into BHive.
Business Rentension and Expansion
- The Brampton Economic Development Office has assisted businesses to create and retain approximately 2,500 jobs since 2019.
- The 2,500 jobs created and retained does not include Amazon’s presence in the city, which grew throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Amazon’s footprint now includes six facilities in Brampton, employing almost 8,000 people.
- In March, the City announced that MDA Space selected Brampton as the location for its new purpose-built global headquarters and Centre of Excellence for Space Robotics. The new state-of-the-art facility will be home to Canadarm3 and over 700 highly-skilled employees.
More information on the City’s Economic Development results can be found in a presentation here. Read more on the Brampton Economic Development Office here.
Quotes
“Brampton is in the midst of an exciting transformation, and throughout this Term of Council, we have developed our city into a major innovation and education hub, created skilled jobs of the future, and retained renowned global companies right here in our city as well as helped them expand. Brampton means business, and when our businesses and entrepreneurs are successful, our entire community benefits.”
– Patrick Brown, Mayor, City of Brampton
“We are now more than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, and our business community has been greatly impacted – but Brampton Council and our dedicated Economic Development team have been there for our local businesses and entrepreneurs every step of the way. We continue to establish Brampton as a prime location to invest, and with a focus on our Economic Recovery Strategy, are moving our city forward from the impacts of the pandemic.”
– Martin Medeiros, Regional Councillor, Wards 3&4; Chair, Economic Development, City of Brampton
“Building on this Term of Council’s Priorities, the transformational initiatives underway in Brampton are helping to create complete communities, unlock our city’s economic potential and reinforce Brampton’s unique position on the Innovation Corridor. Brampton Council and staff are committed to continuing to unlock our city’s economic potential to benefit our students, entrepreneurs, businesses and the entire community.”
– Paul Vicente, Regional Councillor, Wards 1&5; Vice-Chair, Economic Development, City of Brampton
“City of Brampton staff are dedicated to delivering on the Term of Council Priority: Brampton is a City of Opportunities, and unlocking the economic potential of our community plays a key role in this. Our team has done an incredible job establishing Brampton as a prime location to invest and developing Brampton into an education and innovation hub, and will continue to move our city forward by delivering on our Economic Recovery Strategy.”
– Paul Morrison, Interim Chief Administrative Officer, City of Brampton
About the City of Brampton
As one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada, Brampton is home to 700,000 people and 100,000 businesses. People are at the heart of everything we do. We are energized by our diverse communities, we attract investment, and we are embarking on a journey to lead technological and environmental innovation. We partner for progress to build a healthy city that is safe, sustainable, and successful. Visit brampton.ca to learn more.
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