Editor’s note: This is Part 2 in the Windsor Star’s contribution to Postmedia’s national series “How Canada Wins.” Over five weeks we are chronicling our community’s place in the country, the promise of greater prosperity, and the blueprint to get there. See the series intro here.
Peering into the future for the area’s pathway to prosperity, Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce CEO Ryan Donally believes it’s already laid out like a road map.
An expanding network of electric and natural gas lines that serve as the arteries feeding an economy expected to enjoy the highest average annual GDP growth in Canada over the next four years is fanning out across Essex County and southwestern Ontario.
Demand for electricity in the region is expected to increase by more than 400 per cent by 2035. A major new gas line has been built to feed the historic expansion of the manufacturing and agricultural industries which are fuelling record levels of population growth in the area.
“Our economic growth has drawn attention from up the 401 highway,” Donally said.
“Windsor-Essex is seen as the place to be, a place to grow. That’s not something we’ve seen before.”
Donally admits the dark clouds of tariff uncertainty hang heavy on the horizon, but he remains optimistic the trade turbulence will pass with a North American economy too entangled to unwind without unbearable political and financial costs for U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
He shared with the Star the business community’s vision on what the region’s pathway to prosperity is expected to look like.
Where we are now
“We’re in a much better place than we were in the financial crash in 2008,” Donally said.
“I think the last 10 to 20 years, the biggest shift we’ve seen is how relevant Windsor-Essex has become on the provincial stage.
“In the past couple of years, we’ve added more people than in the previous two decades. Our population has grown 12 per cent faster than the provincial average and 20 per cent faster than the national average.”
What is the vision for the community
Looking past what he feels are Trump’s opening moves to force an early renegotiation of the USMCA trade agreement, Donally said he sees the area’s future remaining to be centered on manufacturing and agriculture. Essex County is home to the second largest collection of greenhouses in the world after the Netherlands.
“I expect a large continuous growth as a place that makes things,” Donally said. “We’re not going to all of a sudden become Silicon Valley North.
“There’s value in what we already are ⎯ world-class in manufacturing and agriculture. We have built decades of world-class knowledge, experience and talent.
“We don’t walk away from that. We build on that, expand it and transfer that to other areas of our economy.”
In addition to manufacturing, electric vehicles, batteries and agriculture, the region is also home to the largest collection of industrial automation firms in Canada.
It’s there that Donally sees an opportunity to blend all three sectors to create a new economy.
He said the addition of NextStar Energy has also created an entirely new strand to the local economy that is spinning of huge supply opportunities and making Windsor a centre of battery and electric vehicle research and development.
How will tariffs affect that vision?
Donally admits should tariffs become a long-term problem, there will be no escaping the devastating impacts on the community.
“I don’t think a 25 per cent tariff can be a long-term resolution for the U.S.,” Donally said. “I do see the next three or four years, with this president, that the U.S. will be more protectionist.
“Damage is already being done.”
How realistic is it to diversify our markets
Donally said local businesses have been trying to diversify their customer base, but and it may be easier to try and diversify their supply chains to source from non-U.S.-based companies.
Retailers, grocers and some manufacturers are going to find that easier to do than the auto industry.
“Our prosperity, regrettably with tariffs, is tied to access to U.S. market and the success of the U.S. If the border thickens, there’s huge risk for Windsor-Essex.
“We can try to diversify our markets and we will, but there’s no getting away from the north-south relationship, particularly the U.S. Midwest.”
What forces are shaping our vision
Donally said there’s a number of key players that will go into forming the future economy starting with education.
“Going back to when I was involved in direct foreign investment, every single company, one of the first questions they ask is about your university and college systems,” Donally said. “It’s table stakes for growth and we’ve got two strong institutions here.”
Donally said the creativity and resilience of the business community is another strength.
“If you look at Windsor-Essex, we’re a lot of second-generation owners of business,” Donally said.
“I’m thinking of our tool and mould shops are second generation with a lot of them starting in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
“One of the forces is that next iteration of entrepreneurs or intreprenuers looking at the next iteration of their industries. Lets call it internal business creativity where a business is doing what they’re doing but exploring what the future looks like.”
Donally thinks climate and water will also factor into the equation for businesses in the future.
“Long term, we are at the core of the Great Lakes system, so we have an abundance of water,” Donally said. “Thirty, 40, 50 years down the road, water might be a commodity that is of absolute importance.
“Access to water long term can be one of the new currencies.”
What can we learn from business success stories
“There is a tenacity in Windsorites and an entrepreneurial spirit,” Donally said. “There’s a great desire, passion and energy to be the best.”
Donally said the greenhouse and the tool and mould making sectors are prime examples, along with businesses such Hiram Walker’s distillery, Green Shield, Freed’s, Tepperman’s Furniture and Atlas Tube.
He added several of those small tool and mould shops, manufacturers and greenhouse operators have grown into top 10 largest firms in their field in North America.
A cultural success story has been the growth of the Windsor International Film Festival into the largest independent film festival in Canada.
“Many of these businesses have not only grown here, they’ve spun out and have a global reach,” he said.
Business needs for the future
Donally said local businesses are too modest about their successes.
“Amplifying our success is important,” Donally said. “We need to do a better job telling our story.”
On the government side, Donally said the focus should be on what we can do to get this project going not what do you need to do to not get a no on this project.
“We need to remove barriers for expansion, so our current employers can grow,” Donally said. “Economic growth creates demand for residences. We need affordable places for all the people coming for these jobs to live.”
He added all levels of government need to continue to incentivize a competitive business environment.
Beyond reasonable tax levels and improving the focus on productivity, he said growth will require tax breaks, community improvement plans and the targeted injection of interest free loans and grants into small and medium businesses.
Challenges facing business
Aside from tariffs, Donally said the most crucial issue in the region’s economic development will be ensuring there’s enough shovel-ready industrial land available.
“Business needs it available now, not four or five years from now.”
He added improving the zoning process and considering a more collaborative approach on industrial park development are also necessary steps.
A critical piece of the puzzle is having enough employees and ones with the right skills to thrive in a local economy that is demanding an increasing level and variety of talents.
Though Trump’s deliberate sabotaging of the electric vehicle market will slow the transition, Donally said the rest of the world and automakers have already determined their future pathway includes EVs.
“Thankfully, we’re in a position that Stellantis can produce internal combustion engine and electric vehicles at Windsor Assembly,” Donally said. “We’re positioned well.”