Boosting Vaughan’s growing economy

Supporting Vaughan’s thriving businesses is central to the work of the City of Vaughan’s Economic Development department. The City’s best-in-class, award-winning economic development initiatives include strategic services, programs and partnerships that foster the growth of the local business community and attract new businesses and talent to Vaughan.

Want to learn more? An overview of the team’s initiatives and achievements is outlined in the Business Retention, Expansion and Attraction: Economic Development 2022 Year in Review (PDF) – which was recently approved by Vaughan Council.

Here are some of the 2022 economic highlights:

• Corporate Calling Program: Economic Development staff completed nearly 50 corporate calls offering advisory support to businesses in advanced manufacturing, professional services, construction, and food and beverage, among other key sectors.
• Business Events: Economic Development staff hosted two major events – the Vaughan Business-to-business (B2B) Industrial Tour and the Business After Five event.
• Economic Intelligence: the Economic Development team launched an Insights and News page,  which featured topics including recent census highlights, macro and microeconomic trends, local investment highlights, building business resilience, and market trends and opportunities.
• Talent City Vaughan: Talent City Vaughan disbursed more than $60,000 in funding to seven social and community service organizations to host training programs for more than 140 Vaughan residents.
• Site Selection Assistance: Economic Development facilitated a total of 34 pre-qualified site selection inquiries and secured seven new investments. In the current investment pipeline, a total of 57 site selection opportunities and vacant land directory requests remain open with the potential to create more than 3,400 new jobs.

The Economic Development team remains committed to maintaining the competitiveness of the local economy. Looking ahead, the department will continue to support high-impact projects, such as a refresh of the vaughanbusiness.ca website, the creation of key opportunity areas and sector profile marketing collateral, development of the automotive and agri-food and food processing sector, continued business development events, the 2023 Talent City Vaughan Program and the newly created Economic Development LinkedIn platform.

QUOTES

“The City of Vaughan is committed to building a world-class city where residents and businesses can thrive. We are focused on keeping taxes low and creating a culture of continuous improvement by focusing on innovation and technology. We are committed to business excellence and building on our position as an economic leader in the GTA. Vaughan has become the economic engine of York Region, accounting for more than one-third of all economic output and employment in the regional municipality. Our city is home to more than 19,000 businesses; the entrepreneurial spirit thrives here. With a wide array of services dedicated exclusively to supporting businesses of all sizes, Vaughan is a great place to start or grow your company. The City is fortunate to have a talented Economic Development staff. The results of their work are summarized in this report, and I look forward to their future accomplishments.”

  -  Mayor Steven Del Duca

“The City of Vaughan’s Economic Development department remains dedicated to working with all levels of government to support entrepreneurs and small business owners, with a focus on maintaining the competitiveness of the local economy. As the go-to source for insight into Vaughan’s economy, the team supports the business community with economic, real estate and demographic information, highly customized end-to-end site selection assistance, zoning, planning and by-law information, and much more. Their work contributes to one of the department’s goals of providing businesses with a climate for growth and improving residents’ quality of life and standard of living. I am pleased to congratulate the Economic Development team on the initiatives outlined in this review.”

  -  Nick Spensieri, City Manager

“Our team is committed to undertaking projects that create business opportunities and attract talent in Vaughan. The 2022 Business Retention, Expansion and Attraction Year in Review provides a snapshot of the transformative, ambitious and purpose-driven initiatives that support the growing economy of our world-class city. I want to congratulate the entire Economic Development team on the successes achieved and I look forward to many more accomplishments in the year ahead.”

  -  Raphael Costa, Director, Economic Development

QUICK FACTS

• The Economic Development team undertakes strategic services, programs and partnerships that foster the growth of the local business community and attract new businesses and talent to Vaughan.

• The Business Retention, Expansion and Attraction: Economic Development 2022 Year in Review showcases an overview of the City’s economic development initiatives and achievements, and outlines plans for 2023.
• Connect with the Economic Development team in person at City Hall, 2141 Major Mackenzie Dr., by email at ed@vaughan.ca or by phone at 905-832-8526.

LEARN MORE

• Economic Development’s Business Retention, Expansion and Attraction 2022 Year in Review (PDF)
• Economic Development’s webpage
• Economic Development department’s eNewsletter
• Economic Development LinkedIn