Economic Development Blog

Ontario’s new GIS system now complements legendary incentive programs

By Ray Lancashire, Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Trade

Hollywood may be the most visible consumer of Ontario, Canada’s legendary economic incentives – but highly competitive packages are available for many other business sectors, particularly those that create jobs. Now it’s even easier to navigate what’s available for your client or corporation – thanks to the province’s new Graphic Information System (GIS) that makes life easy on site selectors, whether you are a corporate real estate end user or a consultant.

At the recent Economic Developers Council of Ontario’s 53^rd Annual Conference, Sandra Pupatello, Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Trade, introduced Select Ontario, the first GIS system offered in a Canadian province.

Select Ontario uses data from more than 500 Ontario communities to assist site selectors and potential investors in locating areas where their investments will flourish. Normally, site selection takes up to eight weeks of scanning hundreds of communities over the internet. However, Select Ontario is an all-encompassing resource that allows investors, corporations and consultants to search through statistics in a much smarter and timelier manner.

Select Ontario offers region-specific wage data, lists of businesses with 10 or more employees, graduation and enrollment levels, satellite imagery and a list of Economic Development Officers.

According to Minister Pupatello, a bit of Select Ontario investigation will show that this province is already “the place to be with respect to its highly educated population, highly skilled workforce, and highly accessible business environment.” Investing wisely is a matter of narrowing down an Ontario community that meets your needs.