Blake Landry says investors keep looking at the Niagara region
The Niagara Region's economic development manager is looking to manufacturing, agriculture and tourism to pull the region though an expected economic slowdown.
Blake Landry is not only hoping tourism picks up, but he says he's seen a 21% increase in agricultural exports for the region.
"I work with investors looking to come to the region. I've been doing this for about 17 years, and right now I've never seen so much activity. The market is here in Niagara," he says.
The economic developer adds the anticipated slowdown will be relative to what he calls a booming last six years for Niagara. However, he admits income in Niagara is not keeping up with the Ontario rate, and inflation. So even though the economy is performing relatively well, income and affordability is still a challenge in Niagara.
He's also feeling good about exports when it comes to analyzing numbers.
Landry tells us exports went from $4.7-billion at the start of the pandemic, to 6.5-billlion in 2021, in spite of global supply chain issues. "A lot of different countries and other firms from other countries look to Niagara to source materials and products. We've actually seen substantial growth, our export and trade position has never actually been this strong."
He says the region imported about $2.8-billion, so there's about $3.8-billion worth of net money in the economy.
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