Hyper Local: Economic Development

In this episode of the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series: A Deep Dive, host Mason Ainsworth sits down with Laura Thompson, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Town of Innisfil, to talk about the Innisfil Heights Investment Readiness Initiative.Innisfil Heights is a provincially recognized Strategic Employment Area with huge potential — and a set of real barriers that were slowing industrial development. Laura walks through how the Town built a collaborative, low-cost action plan to remove those barriers, stand up a Site Selection Team, and turn investment inquiries into real projects.The conversation covers the work behind major wins like Northern Transformer’s $207 million facility and 150+ jobs, a stronger approach to leads and landowners, and what other communities can take from Innisfil’s investment-readiness model.This series was made in partnership with the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO). Thank you to the incredible staff and the Board of Directors for making this series possible.Thank you to our Series Sponsor:A special thank you to Peacock Tariff Consulting for sponsoring the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series. With deep expertise in tariff strategy, customs compliance, and international trade, Peacock Tariff Consulting helps businesses navigate complex global trade challenges with clarity and confidence. We’re grateful for their support of conversations that strengthen Ontario’s economic development community.Learn more at peacocktariffconsulting.com.Thank you to our Podcast Partner, Michelle Samson of Storied Places Media.Storied Places Media specializes in producing audio and video podcasts for economic development organizations. It's long-form content that busy people will actually consume. They can support your vision or take care of the whole process: hosting, interviewing, editing, and distribution on all major streaming platforms. They also advise on strategy and promotion to help it reach as much of your audience as possible.Learn more at storiedplaces.ca#EDCO #EconomicDevelopment #EcDev #Ontario #HyperLocalPod

In this episode of the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series: A Deep Dive, host Mason Ainsworth explores Interprovincial Export Circles, the winning project from the 2025 EDCO Bright Ideas Competition. With Sushmitha Thirumalaivasan (Downtown Development Officer, City of Kitchener), Lauren (Cutler) McEachern (Senior Economic Development Officer, City of Vaughan), and Jessica Rhynas (Rural Economic Development Specialist, Invest Durham). They explain their practical, peer-led model designed to help Ontario SMEs better understand and overcome the challenges of doing business across provincial borders.The conversation dives into the problem the team set out to solve, the research and stakeholder engagement that shaped the final model, and how Interprovincial Export Circles uses a cohort-based approach to bring businesses together to learn from one another, navigate interprovincial trade barriers, and identify new opportunities across Canada.We also go behind the scenes of the EDCO Bright Ideas Competition itself: from forming a team and selecting a topic to conducting the research, developing the report, and presenting the final idea. The episode explores what worked, the challenges encountered along the way, lessons for future Bright Ideas participants, and what winning the 2025 competition has meant for the team and the project.Most importantly, the team has developed a ready-to-run toolkit and framework that economic development offices, chambers of commerce, and regional organizations can adapt to launch their own Interprovincial Export Circles. We discuss what it would take to pilot the model, where it could go next, and the opportunity to scale the approach across Ontario and beyond.Whether you work in economic development, business retention and expansion, trade, entrepreneurship, or small business support, this episode offers practical ideas for helping local companies look beyond provincial borders and a great example of how research through EDCO Bright Ideas can turn into something communities can actually use. This series was made in partnership with the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO). Thank you to the incredible staff and the Board of Directors for making this series possible.Thank you to our Series Sponsor:A special thank you to Peacock Tariff Consulting for sponsoring the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series. With deep expertise in tariff strategy, customs compliance, and international trade, Peacock Tariff Consulting helps businesses navigate complex global trade challenges with clarity and confidence. We’re grateful for their support of conversations that strengthen Ontario’s economic development community.Learn more at peacocktariffconsulting.com.Thank you to our Podcast Partner, Michelle Samson of Storied Places Media.Storied Places Media specializes in producing audio and video podcasts for economic development organizations. It's long-form content that busy people will actually consume. They can support your vision or take care of the whole process: hosting, interviewing, editing, and distribution on all major streaming platforms. They also advise on strategy and promotion to help it reach as much of your audience as possible.Learn more at storiedplaces.ca#EDCO #EconomicDevelopment #EcDev #Ontario #HyperLocalPod

In this episode of the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series: A Deep Dive, host Mason Ainsworth sits down with Kait Topham (Events Coordinator for the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc) and Lauren Huston (The Wright Family Performing Arts & Entertainment Centre Foundation) to talk about their Canvas & Culture Night Market, which won them the Visitor Attraction & Tourism Product Development - Rural award.This rural visitor attraction initiative brought thousands of people into downtown Strathroy for a night that mixed local business, food, art, music, and community. Kait shares how the event was built with the Downtown Strathroy BIA, The Wright Place, and a wide range of community partners. It speaks to why inclusion, participation, and a strong sense of belonging were just as important as the numbers.From sold-out restaurants and packed vendor spaces to drum circles, live mural painting, and cultural performances, this conversation looks at how a small-town night market can become both an economic driver and a celebration of the people who make the community.This series was made in partnership with the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO). Thank you to the incredible staff and the Board of Directors for making this series possible.Thank you to our Series Sponsor:A special thank you to Peacock Tariff Consulting for sponsoring the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series. With deep expertise in tariff strategy, customs compliance, and international trade, Peacock Tariff Consulting helps businesses navigate complex global trade challenges with clarity and confidence. We’re grateful for their support of conversations that strengthen Ontario’s economic development community. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gQes432e.Thank you to our Podcast Partner, Michelle Samson, MAES, Ec.D. of Storied Places Media.Storied Places Media specializes in producing audio and video podcasts for economic development organizations. It's long-form content that busy people will actually consume. They can support your vision or take care of the whole process: hosting, interviewing, editing, and distribution on all major streaming platforms. They also advise on strategy and promotion to help it reach as much of your audience as possible.Learn more at storiedplaces.ca#EDCO #EconomicDevelopment #EcDev #Ontario #HyperLocalPod

In this episode of the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series: A Deep Dive, host Mason Ainsworth is joined by Garrett Harvey (Bay of Quinte Regional Marketing Board), Luisa Sorrentino (City of Quinte West), and Victoria Watts (City of Belleville) to talk about the Work in Quinte Career Fair and WorkinQuinte.ca local jobs website that won them the EDCO Award for Workforce Development & Talent Attraction (Rural, under 100,000 population).This collaborative initiative brings together municipalities and the regional marketing board to connect local employers with job seekers and make it easier to find and keep good jobs in the Bay of Quinte region. The conversation covers how the Career Fair and the redesigned local jobs website work together, the power of multi-community partnerships, what it takes to bring employers and employees together for the long term, and how other communities can adapt similar approaches.Whether you work in economic development, workforce attraction, or community marketing, this episode offers practical insights from a winning rural talent strategy.This series was made in partnership with the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO). Thank you to the incredible staff and the Board of Directors for making this series possible.Thank you to our Series Sponsor:A special thank you to Peacock Tariff Consulting for sponsoring the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series. With deep expertise in tariff strategy, customs compliance, and international trade, Peacock Tariff Consulting helps businesses navigate complex global trade challenges with clarity and confidence. We’re grateful for their support of conversations that strengthen Ontario’s economic development community.Learn more at peacocktariffconsulting.com.Thank you to our Podcast Partner, Michelle Samson of Storied Places Media.Storied Places Media specializes in producing audio and video podcasts for economic development organizations. It's long-form content that busy people will actually consume. They can support your vision or take care of the whole process: hosting, interviewing, editing, and distribution on all major streaming platforms. They also advise on strategy and promotion to help it reach as much of your audience as possible.Learn more at storiedplaces.ca#EDCO #EconomicDevelopment #EcDev #Ontario #HyperLocalPod

In the first episode of our Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) Awards Series: The Deep Dive, host Mason Ainsworth sits down with George Borovilos, recipient of the prestigious Joseph A. Montgomery Economic Development Achievement Award.With a distinguished career spanning municipal, county, and provincial roles, including senior leadership at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs, the City of Kitchener, Northumberland County, and most recently as Manager of Economic Development for the Township of Centre Wellington. George has spent decades shaping stronger, more resilient communities across Ontario.In this conversation, George reflects on what true leadership in economic development looks like, the importance of putting people and collaboration at the centre of the work, the lessons learned across different levels of government, and what the next generation of economic developers can take forward.Whether you’re an economic development professional, a community leader, or simply passionate about how Ontario’s towns and cities grow, this episode offers thoughtful insights from one of the province’s most respected voices in the field.This series was made in partnership with the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO). Thank you to the incredible staff and the Board of Directors for making this series possible.Thank you to our Series Sponsor:A special thank you to Peacock Tariff Consulting for sponsoring the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series. With deep expertise in tariff strategy, customs compliance, and international trade, Peacock Tariff Consulting helps businesses navigate complex global trade challenges with clarity and confidence. We’re grateful for their support of conversations that strengthen Ontario’s economic development community.Learn more at peacocktariffconsulting.com.Thank you to our Podcast Partner, Michelle Samson of Storied Places Media.Storied Places Media specializes in producing audio and video podcasts for economic development organizations. It's long-form content that busy people will actually consume. They can support your vision or take care of the whole process: hosting, interviewing, editing, and distribution on all major streaming platforms. They also advise on strategy and promotion to help it reach as much of your audience as possible.Learn more at storiedplaces.ca#EDCO #EconomicDevelopment #EcDev #Ontario #HyperLocalPod