If necessity is the mother of invention, then survival may be the mother of reinvention.
It’s fascinating to reflect on the evolution of so many communities in Eastern Ontario.
Take Cornwall. Seems to me the city was once best known for the pervasive stench that accompanied its industrial economy. It was a blue-collar town of hard-working folks who often found themselves at the mercy of the ups and downs of the economic cycle. It’s amazing to see the transformation. Now, Cornwall is about to welcome one of the largest tourist attractions the region has ever seen. It’s home to a giant logistics and distribution facility belonging to one of the world’s biggest companies. And it continues to push into areas such as agritech, with a view to sustainability and climate change.
The story of Smiths Falls is also inspirational. Many of us remember the huge blow the town was dealt with the
closure of the Hershey facility. Then, hope glimmered on the horizon with the arrival of the cannabis industry, surely one of the “new economy’s” shining stars. Well, that hasn’t turned out quite the way anyone would have liked. Still, with the Hershey experience under its belt, the town has built a resilience and tough-mindedness that’s hard not to admire. Indeed, town officials seem to welcome the opportunity to open their community to new and different businesses, knowing they have the ability to weather whatever comes their way.
Then there’s Kingston. It’s a city that has led a somewhat privileged life thanks to the academic component. However, it’s fascinating to watch how it is bringing together players large and small that will be instrumental in the evolution of the electric vehicle market. In the process, Kingston is carving a niche for itself in what is destined to become a major ecosystem in the province. What a productive blend of private, public and academic smarts.
In many ways, each of these communities is learning from the past, seeing into the future and identifying what will drive their economies. So kudos to the planning and development officials that are making it happen.
One thing that remains constant across Eastern Ontario is an intricate web of transportation and logistics. From air to water and from rail to road, we were all reminded of the importance of these functions when we desperately needed them to keep going during the pandemic. When you get your head around it, it’s easy to see how even one small glitch in the system can have a huge ripple effect.
In some form or other, transportation and logistics have written the history of the region and will certainly shape its future. We hope you enjoy our deep dive into this important sector — one that is unexpectedly rich in advanced technology and sustainability — in this issue of EOBJ.
Finally, it’s always a joy to shine a spotlight on some of the awesome businesses that call Eastern Ontario home. Our “Companies to watch” feature captures just a few of these businesses; ones that have caught our eye, although there are numerous others.
All told, the innovation, creativity and sheer doggedness that is omnipresent in this region bode well for a prosperous future, no matter the economic cycle.
Anne Howland Editor in Chief
The Eastern Ontario Business Journal is a sister publication to the Ottawa Business Journal, building on that outlet’s 25-year history of covering business in the National Capital Region. For readers, EOBJ contains news and information about people and businesses from across Eastern Ontario. Our advertisers can explore the competitive advantages, market opportunities and major employers from across the region on the following pages.
Great River Media PO Box 91585, Ottawa, ON K1W 1KO obj.ca
TELEPHONE
Phone: 613-696-9494
News Fax: No faxes, email editor@obj.ca
PRESIDENT
Michael Curran, 613-696-9491 publisher@obj.ca
PUBLISHER
Terry Tyo, 613-601-9734 terry@greatriver.ca
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Anne Howland anne@obj.ca
NEWS RELEASES
Please e-mail to editor@obj.ca.
ADVERTISING SALES
General Inquiries, sales@obj.ca
Wendy Baily, 613-696-9483 wbaily@obj.ca
Eric Dupuis, 613-696-9485 eric@obj.ca
Victoria Stewart, 613-696-9484 victoria@obj.ca
CONTENT MARKETING MANAGER
Lisa Thibodeau, 613-696-9482 lisa@obj.ca
CONTENT AND CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR
Paula Clark, 613-696-9495 paula@obj.ca
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Tanya Connolly-Holmes, 613-696-9487 creative@greatriver.ca
DESIGN DEPARTMENT
Celine Paquette, 613-696-9486 celine@greatriver.ca
Deborah Ekuma, 613-696-9493 deborah@greatriver.ca
FINANCE
Cheryl Schunk, 613-696-9490 cheryl@greatriver.ca
PRINTED BY Transcontinental Transmag 10807 Rue Mirabeau, Anjou, QC H1J 1T7
Eastern Ontario Business Journal is published by
All content of Eastern Ontario Business Journal is copyright 2023. Great River Media Inc. and may not be reproduced in any form without permission of the publisher. Publisher’s liability for error: the publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher’s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of monies paid for the advertisement.
A guaranteed minimum of 20,000 copies are printed and distributed.
From whiskey to radio and from herbs to concrete, there are so many inspiring stories about companies operating and thriving in Eastern Ontario. At EOBJ, we’re lucky to be able to tell these stories and play our part in the continued economic growth of the region.
For our spring edition, we thought it would be fun to highlight some of the companies that are on our radar for 2023. Some are expanding, others are introducing new products, and still others are making advances in sustainability. All have great stories to tell. Thanks to Phil and Catherine Gaudreau for their help in compiling the information.
So, while it’s not scientific in any way and there’s no particular order, we hope you enjoy our picks for companies to watch in Eastern Ontario. One thing I can say, it was hard to narrow the possibilities down to just this list.
It’s not every day the prime minister shows up to announce your new manufacturing plant. But it’s also not every day a $1.5-billion project gets announced in Loyalist Township, population 17,000.
Since that July 2022 event, all eyes have been on Umicore, a Belgian materials technology company that is opening a first-of-its-kind plant just west of Kingston. The plant will manufacture cathode active materials and precursor cathode active materials, key components in electric vehicle batteries.
Once in full operation and staffed with up to 1,000 people, the plant will produce enough materials to manufacture one million electric vehicle batteries, supporting up to one-fifth of estimated North American EV production by 2030.
Construction on Umicore’s 350-acre site gets underway this year and is expected to conclude in 2025.
In addition to supporting the burgeoning EV market in North America, augmenting other automotive parts investments in Ontario, and creating a critical link between Northern Ontario mining and Southern Ontario automotive manufacturing, the opening of Umicore’s plant will instantly make the company one of the largest private sector employers in the area.
The plant, which is intended to be carbon neutral, received support from both the federal and provincial governments.
When you think of cars, all the physical parts that go into a vehicle might come to mind.
But modern vehicles, especially electric ones, are increasingly computerized. Everything from navigation systems to self-driving and assisted driving technologies rely on a mix of on-board and cloud-based software and hardware.
It takes a lot of raw computing power to make it all work. That’s where Kingston-based Distributive has made its mark on Project Arrow, the recently unveiled effort to create a Canadian electric vehicle.
The software, called Distributive Compute Protocol (DCP), helps organizations balance the computational workload across all devices. Rather than relying on servers based in the cloud, which may be vulnerable to cybersecurity issues, DCP essentially creates a local cloud, harnessing and redistributing idle computing power.
The technology has dual applications as far as cars are concerned. The software could help manage the cloud-based computerized resources needed to keep the cars running. However, cars are usually not driven around the clock they experience downtime. Distributive wants to harness that latent computer power within Project Arrow cars to solve other real-world problems, such as medical research.
Distributive’s tech has proven popular in hospitals seeking to maximize their technology use and manage their scheduling. In fall of 2022, another of Distributive’s products, Osler OR, was used to help several Ontario hospitals optimize surgical scheduling through predictive analytics. The company is working on a version of this software for diagnostic imaging departments.
The creative minds behind Artist in Residence (AiR) Distillerie aren’t satisfied with making perfect drinks, they are intent on creating spaces where partakers can raise a cheer to perfect experiences as well.
Since the company’s founding in 2016 in Gatineau, Pierre Mantha and his team have been busy expanding to Hawkesbury and setting the groundwork for expansion into Western Canada, the U.S., Colombia and Mexico. The Hawkesbury project was hit with construction delays, but is expected to open in late summer, with expansion continuing for a few more years over eight phases.
Each of AiR’s facilities is more than a distillery of spirits such as craft gin, vodkas and liqueurs. The company’s Gatineau location includes a boutique as well as a lounge for “spirits enthusiasts” to test products. From this one 40,000-squarefoot operation, AiR produces 50 alcohol brands distributed in Quebec.
The Hawkesbury facility, which will be five times larger, includes plans for a
restaurant as part of Mantha’s vision to make it a “destination store, restaurant and lounge” in the years to come. In addition, it will add whiskey to the company’s roster and help AiR get its product onto LCBO store shelves. It will be initially staffed by five employees before growing to 50.
Once the Hawkesbury facility is profitable, Mantha says he will seek investors to help with an international expansion.
It has taken a lot for transportation companies to keep on truckin’ through the pandemic. Supply chains have been a mess, it has been hard to hire and retain drivers, and costs to keep trucks on the road — ranging from insurance to gas — have fluctuated considerably.
Despite these challenges, some companies have thrived over the past few years.
Smiths Falls-based Wills Transfer remained busy during the pandemic. It sold its intermodal drayage (the use of multiple modes of transportation, such as trucks and trains, to move containers) division to Prescott-based Kriska and began work on a recently completed 155,000-square-foot warehouse in Ingleside, near Cornwall. Wills is on track to expand its brand new facility to 680,000 square feet in the next five years while adding 10 new hires.
The $25-million warehouse is one of six distribution centres operated by the company in Eastern Ontario, which collectively serve the corridor from Toronto through western Quebec. This latest addition already has three customers lined up, including its neighbour, Lactalis Canada, and will help to increase the speed of goods flowing from the plant while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
But the family-owned company doesn’t appear to be done growing, as it has also purchased land in Carp for further expansion. All this while retaining their Best Managed Gold Standard company honours from Deloitte, which renewed in 2021.
Wills Transfer will mark its 80th anniversary in 2025.
In 2022, Renfrew-based My Broadcasting Corporation expanded its broadcast area by buying a pair of Welland-based stations from Wellport Broadcasting. My Broadcasting Corporation now owns 20 stations across southern Ontario focused primarily on small and medium-sized markets.
“Combined with our existing portfolio and significant presence across Ontario, we believe these assets will enhance our ability to deliver high-quality, engaging local content and multi-platform marketing solutions,” company president Jon Pole said of the Welland expansion. “This strategic acquisition demonstrates our continuing commitment to investing in our local media business and more importantly a great local radio team. We look forward to continuing to build on an already amazing operation.”
The company also added four stations in 2021, including Perth-based Lake 88.1 FM, while selling six in southwestern Ontario. As it integrates these new properties, the company’s plans involve a look to the U.S.
In late 2022, My Broadcasting Corporation cofounders Pole and Andrew Dickson jointly purchased Border International Broadcasting, an Americanbased company that owns KiSS 102.7, an American station broadcasting to Kingston and the surrounding area. While the station isn’t joining My Broadcasting Corporation’s portfolio, Pole indicated there will be partnership and synergies between it and properties in Napanee and Gananoque.
What a difference a couple of years can make.
Cornwall-based SigmaPoint Technologies is a manufacturer of components for nuclear power plants, internet service providers and ventilators. It’s that last product that has helped make the company especially busy and attractive to investors in recent times. Within months of COVID-19 being identified in North America, the company was hard at work supporting a large-scale Canadian effort to make 10,000 ventilators for intensive care units across the country.
Skip ahead to spring 2021 and SigmaPoint announced a FedDev Ontario investment intended to help it improve the efficiency of its operations and expand the workforce. The investment spurred the company on to further growth. By spring 2022, SigmaPoint had swelled to a staff of 280 and an annual sales target of US$100 million.
That was when German electronics manufacturing services firm KATEK announced its intent to purchase the company. The deal was finalized last fall. The acquisition has helped SigmaPoint’s operations continue to scale while achieving synergies in sales and manufacturing. The acquisition may also open up new markets for SigmaPoint, such as defence.
Despite the purchase by KATEK, two things aren’t changing for SigmaPoint: the local management team and the company’s name.
New methods could mean more homes, faster Construction is hard work these days. Where do you find skilled workers? How do you keep up with material costs, transportation costs and quality assurance? 3D printing is exciting, but the scale isn’t there yet to replace traditional building.
Anchor Concrete has an intriguing solution: modular building units it calls Lodestar Structures. Unveiled in summer 2022, the patent-pending idea is a precast concrete floor with four concrete pillars. The Lodestar unit forms the basis of a structure, instead of traditional wood framing. Anytime more floor space is needed, just add another unit beside an existing one or stack one on top to go multi-storey.
Anchor claims using Lodestar in place of wood can trim as many as 20 days off the construction time of a traditional wood-framed detached house. There’s also no on-site assembly, minimizing the staff required, and no material waste.
And they’re not just useful for housing. Lodestar structures have already been deployed in commercial construction, storage, recreational buildings, short-term construction projects, remote outpost buildings, shelters from severe weather, and more. The company says it has already seen demand from 24 countries and it’s working the trade show circuit this year to promote the product.
St. Francis Herb Farm laid down strong roots during the pandemic and is reaping the harvest now. Canada’s largest dedicated plant medicine facility opened its doors in 2021 in Barry’s Bay, as part of the company’s expansion. The new site, which involved a move from neighbouring Cormac, combined all of 35-year-old operations under one roof, expanded manufacturing capacity and warehousing, and grew its staff complement by 12 to 50.
The growth of the company from a small home-based business was supported through a $1-million grant from the Eastern Ontario Development Fund. It was also helped by the recent cold and flu season and shortages of pharmaceuticals.
St. Francis is building on that momentum by getting the neighbouring farm up and running, where it will be growing various hard-to-find herbs, as well as developing a botanical education garden.
The company’s products, which include more than 100 herbal blends and supplements, are currently available through a variety of locations nationwide including Shoppers Drug Mart, grocery chains like Sobeys, independent local natural food shops, and online portals including Well.ca. As part of this expansion, St. Francis is currently looking to further grow its sales through export opportunities to the U.S. and other international markets through Amazon and Fullscript, an Ottawa-based online supplement platform.
A year after groundbreaking, Fortier Stark Industrial (FSI) has finished construction and is working to fully operationalize its new 7,200-square-foot facility in Winchester. The recent investment of more than $1.5 million makes it possible for the company to grow its capacity to manufacture stainless steel tanks and process piping skids for the food, dairy and beverage industries.
While most of its clients are located within 90 minutes of Winchester, co-founder Curtis Fortier says the company is exploring the possibility of international exporting by the end of 2023.
The company provides custom fabrications, designs, and builds, and specializes in high-pressure pipe welding and fabrication, mobile welding and millwright services. Winchester provides a central location for all FSI’s current clients, making it easy to transport people, equipment and parts to job sites.
Now in its sixth year, FSI has doubled in size in the last 12 months thanks to strong industry interest. It is currently recruiting for several technical roles including welders, pipe fitters and millwrights.
“My business partner Joseph Stark and I are proud of what we have accomplished so far,” says Fortier. “We have a great team and look forward to using our new technologies and exploring new product offerings in the coming months.”
There has been a lot of attention in recent years on how emissions from farms contribute to environmental damage, with fertilizer and methane emissions getting most of the bad press.
One major food producer in the region is trying to do something about it.
In 2022, Burnbrae Farms, which has two facilities in the Brockville area and additional operations in southern Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba, released its first public sustainability report and announced its intention to become carbon neutral by 2050.
The commitment follows the company’s efforts, which started in 2016, to track emissions. It also follows Burnbrae’s purchase of two solar fields one in 2019 and the other in 2021 aimed at reducing the company’s greenhouse gas emissions and increasing its use of renewable energy.
The company’s sustainability plan, which has 28 goals, includes a mix of new and existing objectives. It plans to promote water conservation within its facilities, support innovation and clinical research trials on egg nutrition, and transition its chickens out of traditional housing by 2036. It also sets a waste diversion goal of 100 per cent by the end of 2025, up from the current 92 per cent.
In addition to operating five of its own farms, along with distribution and production facilities, Burnbrae partners with 400 Canadian farmers across the country.
Sprague Foods, which cans organic and natural food products in the Bay of Quinte Region, has used a $500,000 provincial grant to support a $5.6-million expansion. Growing its Belleville operations is enabling Sprague to rapidly increase distribution to the United States and across Canada.
A $4.1-million investment from FedDev Ontario will help Les Ateliers Beau-Roc purchase and install new manufacturing equipment and expand a new, energy-efficient factory. Boosting production will enhance Beau-Roc’s sales across Canada and the U.S., cut delivery lead times and create more than 30 skilled jobs in Eastern Ontario. Les Ateliers Beau-Roc is a woman-owned and -led, francophone manufacturer of custombuilt dump truck bodies and accessories.
When Canada’s fleet of F-35s takes to the skies, it will do so with hardware made in Canada. Magellan Aerospace, a Canadian company with international operations, maintains manufacturing facilities in Haley Station, just northwest of Renfrew, among other Ontario locations. The company has built “complex structural assemblies and other components for the global F-35 program since the initial system design and development phase.” Jet deliveries are expected to start in 2026, with the full fleet ready by 2032.
Aprikose
Sustane Technologies
Aliments Matrix
Belong Sharbot Lake
MetaLinga
Vance Motors
Truss Beverages
Ontario Truss and Wall Ltd.
Biscuits Leclerc
Ford Canada
Potter Settlement Artisan
Winery
Tulmar Safety Systems
DART Aerospace
Ross Video
MetalCraft Marine
SnapCab
Frulact
Empire Life
Octane
Cyclic Materials
L’Orignal Packing Ltd.
Avenue 31
Latham Pools
Alaboard FCR Corp.
Forfar Dairy and Sunflower Bake
Shop
The Perth Cheese Shop
Perth Brewery
Summerhill Resorts
Kick & Push Brewery
The Artesian Market
Land Ark Developments
Founded in the mid-1800s, Smiths Falls has long been home to various manufacturing enterprises. More recently, the town has undergone an economic renaissance, with growing sectors such as tourism, logistics, services and unique retail, adding welcome diversity to the commercial base.
It’s a fitting time to shine a spotlight on Smiths Falls, says Julia Crowder, Manager of Economic Development and Tourism, who says the town is poised to make gains in new sectors as development and redevelopment opportunities unfold. “Innovation has been a constant factor here for over 175 years and we are primed and ready to play a role in new industries such as green energy,” she adds. “It’s also exciting to think about the possibilities for agrifood-production or the eco and sustainability industries. These are emerging sectors that we would like to grow.”
An ideal location
Part of what makes Smiths Falls ideal for a wide range of businesses is its strategic location close to Ottawa, Kingston and Brockville. The town has a VIA Rail passenger station plus CP Rail cargo spurs as well as easy access to the 401 and Highway 7 corridors, making it easy to move goods and people to Toronto, Montreal and beyond. “Railways have always played a key role in Smiths Falls’ economic development and this will be a big part of our continued growth,” notes Crowder.
The town’s 2021 business survey found that 19 new businesses opened that year with only a few closures while 2022 saw 24 new business openings plus a number of expansions and successions. The numbers demonstrate that owners are reinvesting in their companies and in the community. Smiths Falls is currently home to approximately 375 businesses and their significance is indisputable according to the World Trade Organization, which calls small to medium sized enterprises the backbone of a stable economy.
A healthy retail sector is another key element. Clothier Michele Baitley recently expanded her eight year old boutique, Michele’s Doorway to Splendour, assisted by a grant from the My Main Street Local Accelerator program. The money – as well as data analysis and market
research the program provided – supported the launch of Men’s Splendid Apparel, “literally from the foundation up,” says Baitley. A thriving and growing arts and culture scene also contributes in many ways. Brian Adams purchased and refurbished a derelict main street building to house his growing training company, allocating part of the available space to house an Artisan Village of maker-focused businesses. This enhances Smiths Falls’ retail landscape while also fuelling the tourism sector. “This is a great place to do business primarily due to the supportive, knowledgeable individuals at our Town Hall who are very invested in seeing Smiths Falls grow and thrive,” notes Adams.
“We are a strong and resilient community, and the numbers prove it,” says Crowder. “We have been through many challenges and obstacles over the years but Smiths Falls as a community rallies together and we continue to grow and prosper. it’s an exciting time to be in Smiths Falls and so will the future as we continue to invest in Business and Community.”
BY HEDDY SOROUR news@obj.ca
Avenue 31, the Ottawa-based real estate and development company behind the National Capital Business Park, is launching a new project dubbed Camino-Long Sault, a proposed multimodal logistics village near Cornwall.
“Camino is a brand we want to grow to develop a series of inland ports in Canada,” Michel Pilon, CEO of Avenue 31, told EOBJ. “Our vision with Long Sault is to develop an inland port with rail access and the ability to cater to the shifting needs of large companies involved in consumer products, or a whole range of commodities and goods.”
The company has secured 675 acres on Hwy. 401 at Moulinette Road in Long Sault, west of Cornwall. The site has nearly two km of frontage on Hwy. 401 and three km of double CN rail line to the south, which is certified by Canadian National Railways as rail-ready.
“This project will attract huge investments to the Township of South Stormont,” said Tara Kirkpatrick, manager of economic development with the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry (SDG). “When complete, it is expected to create more than one thousand new jobs, which will stimulate our local economy and put SDG counties on the map as a top region to invest in.”
Camino-Long Sault addresses a Canadawide scarcity of modern warehousing and logistics spaces. In a recent report, global real estate and investment brokerage CBRE says that availability of industrial space has been at all-time lows in the region, with rental rates rising every quarter for the past three years.
“(Hwy.) 401, a major transportation route to begin with, has seen significant interest for that reason and with transportation costs the way they are, anything along rail lines can carry a huge premium as well,” said Steve Piercey, vice-president of advisory and transaction services with CBRE.
In some small towns along Hwy. 401, Piercey says older buildings have been turned into warehouse spaces. However, he adds, there’s little inventory to choose from now and rental rates have doubled in the past three years. For example, rental rates in Brockville used to average four dollars per square foot but are now more than eight dollars per square foot
Avenue 31 is approaching the Camino-
Long Sault project with a sustainability lens, taking advantage of the topography of the property and the availability of rail.
“From the beginning, we really looked at the natural features of the site and used them in the design,” said Jennifer Murray, vicepresident of land development at Avenue 31. There are 80 to 100 acres of woodland and wetland in the middle of the property that Murray says will provide natural drainage for
the site. The company also plans to build a county road through the site using existing topsoil to plant trees and build berms.
The Camino-Long Sault project is at the draft plan of the subdivision application process and construction could begin this year.
Avenue 31 is already in talks with potential anchor tenants. Aiming for larger volume warehouses, the company says it plans to provide 36- to 50-foot clearances on a portion of the total square footage, but ultimately that will depend on the needs of users.
Officials at all levels are welcoming the new development.
“Avenue 31 are great to work with, they’ve had public meetings to ensure the public has a say, they’ve been forthcoming since the commencement of discussion with the township and staff, and we can’t say enough about how accommodating they are as we are to them,” said South Stormont Mayor Bryan McGillis.
“This project, strategically located along the international border, along the rail corridor, as well as (Hwy.) 401, will be sure to garner interest,” said Nolan Quinn, MPP for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry.
“I am happy to see that South Stormont is recognizing the potential along this important corridor and are working on site plan logistics to make this happen. Our region can and should play a key role in easing the strains on national supply chains,” said Eric Duncan, MP for Stormont-DundasSouth Glengarry.
From Pilon’s point of view, the Camino-Long Sault project is the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Sometimes in a career you know you find something as a land developer, you find a piece of land where the story unfolds and you can’t believe how much potential it has and you just run with it,” said Pilon, adding that the name is inspired by the Camino trail in Europe. “This is the first of a network of multimodal logistic villages across Canada.”
BY HEDDY SOROUR news@obj.ca
The Great Wolf Lodge planned for Cornwall will have a far-reaching economic impact that could extend well beyond the city, says Cornwall Mayor Justin Towndale.
“This will change the face of Eastern Ontario, not just Cornwall, I would argue Ontario as a whole,” Towndale told EOBJ. “It will also give us one of the premier tourist attractions not only in this area, but in the entire province.”
American company Great Wolf Resorts has entered into an agreement of purchase and sale for 40 acres of land along Hwy. 401 at the northern extension of Nick Kaneb Drive in Cornwall. The site is the planned home for a US$350-million indoor water park and resort that would be constructed over the next few years.
Once complete, it is expected to draw visitors from Ontario, Quebec and northern New York.
“They’re expecting 670,000 visits a year and that’s unlike anything this region has
ever experienced,” said Bob Peters, manager of economic development with the City of Cornwall.
The project also adds a nice lift to Cornwall’s economic diversification plan.
“We’re one of the oldest communities in Eastern Ontario and Canada and throughout our history we were primarily a manufacturing centre,” said Peters. “Which meant when the economy boomed, we
boomed, and when the economy went into depression, we led the way.
“Over the last 15 years plus, Cornwall has been diversifying into other sectors. So, from an economy point of view, this puts another very strong foundation in our economic diversification program.”
When complete, the resort is projected to create 500 new jobs, in addition to 2,500 construction jobs in the near term.
Peters said local businesses stand to benefit, too. “(Great Wolf Resorts) data shows that they actually push hotel rooms to other area hotels, they don’t take away from the community, they don’t compete with the local environment.”
Operating in more than 20 locations in North America, Great Wolf Resort’s signature attractions are its indoor water park and large family guest rooms. The Cornwall facility will include an indoor activity centre featuring rope walks, mini golf and arcade games, as well as the brand’s signature interactive adventure game, MagiQuest.
As pleased as the municipality is to welcome Great Wolf Resorts, Peters says geography and location take much of the credit.
“They were looking for a spot in Canada and Cornwall sits in a perfect triangle between Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa along (Hwy.) 401. So, they approached us. They needed 40 acres for their lodge development and we had land available,” Peters said.
“It won’t be far from (Hwy.) 401 at all, you’re talking a couple of hundred metres at most. It will be very visible, very noticeable from the highway,” said Towndale.
To seal the deal, the city has to extend the road and municipal water and sewer network to that plot of land.
“The sale is completely dependent on our timeline for the road construction, which was already in our 2023 road construction budget,” said Peters.
There is an existing Great Wolf Resort in Niagara Falls, but it’s owned and operated by a separate company. The Cornwall facility will be managed by Great Wolf Resorts.
“It’s my understanding that the Niagara location is the only Great Wolf Resort not owned by Great Wolf. And it happened at the beginning of the Great Wolf journey and is not a model that they’re pursuing anymore,” said Peters. “Right now, they’re looking to expand their business outside the U.S. and are looking at other countries, including the U.K. and Mexico, in addition to other locations in the U.S.”
Mayor Towndale believes this is a oncein-a-lifetime investment for the region.
“It’s a significant show of faith in the City of Cornwall from Great Wolf Resorts and it’s created a great buzz in the community and beyond. It’s not just the fact that it’s a substantial investment with jobs, it’s also the fact that it provides activities for families who already live here to do.”
Three companies in Eastern Ontario have received almost $12 million to expand their production capabilities as part of a $16.5-million package announced by the federal government.
Leclerc Foods received $5 million, the largest amount among a varied list of recipients, to install manufacturing equipment that will allow the company to meet a growing demand for peanut-free products.
In January 2022, Leclerc acquired the former Procter & Gamble factory in Brockville from Broccolini in a deal expected to create more than 100 jobs and pump millions of dollars into the local economy.
Company officials said at the time that the purchase was part of a plan to invest more than $100 million in the facility over the next five years. Leclerc specializes in snack foods, including Célébration chocolate cookies, and exports its products to more than 30 countries.
Also on the list, Les Ateliers Beau-Roc received $4.1 million to boost production of its multi-purpose heavy duty and stainless steel dump truck bodies, allowing the company to cut delivery lead times in half.
“This funding will support … development of our new, additional manufacturing facility, designed to meet the demand of our products across Canada and the United States. This expansion project will create 30 jobs and provide economic and social benefits to the local community,” said
Nathalie St-Pierre, general manager of BeauRoc, a manufacturer of custom-built dump truck bodies and accessories.
Fieldless Farms received $2.5 million to deploy a produce-growing system and develop an automated in-house processing and packaging line for environmentally sustainable, leafy-green food products at its Cornwall facility. Fieldless sells hydroponically grown produce through grocery stores across the country, including more than 40 Farm Boy stores in Ontario and Massine’s Your Independent Grocer and McKeen Metro Glebe in Ottawa.
In July 2022, Fieldless finalized a $17.5-million series-A funding round led by Forage Capital Partners, a Calgarybased VC, along with Farm Credit Canada and the Business Development Bank of
Canada. Founder and CEO Jon Lomow said at the time that the capital would allow the company to boost production capacity tenfold while adding new products to its lineup.
“We import $60 billion of food a year, and that’s a bit of a risk. We’re starting to wake up to the fragility of supply chains and how those kinds of disruptions to supply chains can create inflation pressures on food,” Lomow said.
In total, 30 projects received funding, including two at the City of Cornwall and 25 others at various townships and municipalities in the region.
The projects will create more than 150 jobs, according to the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, or FedDev Ontario.
AToronto-based real estate firm is making its first big move into the Eastern Ontario market, acquiring a major automotive distribution centre for more than $116 million.
Nexus Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust finalized an agreement earlier in March to buy a newly constructed class-A, 532,000-squarefoot industrial building in Casselman from Quebec-based property developer Rosefellow for $116.8 million.
Located just south of Hwy. 417 about 56 kilometres southeast of Ottawa, the facility is slated to open this spring and will serve as a parts distribution
warehouse for Ford Motor Co., which has a 15-year lease on the property.
“It becomes one of our trophy assets,” Nexus CEO Kelly Hanczyk said.
It’s also the first significant addition to Nexus’s portfolio in the eastern part of the province. Created in 2017 from the merger of Toronto’s Edgefront REIT and Montreal-based Nobel REIT, Nexus has an ownership stake in about 115 office, industrial and retail properties across Canada with a total footprint of more than 113 million square feet.
Most of its holdings, however, are in the Greater Toronto Area, southwestern Ontario and southern and eastern Quebec. Before the Casselman deal closed, Nexus’s portfolio included just two properties in Eastern Ontario and Western
Quebec — a 38,000-square-foot industrial building in Cornwall and a 68,000-squarefoot office building on Laval Street in Gatineau.
“It breaks us into the Ottawa (regional) market a little bit,” said Hanczyk. “It kind of spreads us right across the Ontario market.”
Ford recently told EOBJ the Casselman warehouse will store up to 45,000 automotive parts and serve 154 dealerships in Eastern Canada. The automaker has the option to order more industrial space at the 35-acre site should it be required.
“It really depends on whether they need to expand in the future,” Hanczyk said.
Now that it’s established a bit of a
beachhead in the region, Nexus plans to keep looking for other potential acquisition targets in and around the nation’s capital, the CEO added.
While Ottawa’s industrial availability rate ticked up nearly a full percentage point in 2022, average rents continue to rise and the region remains a hotbed of e-commerce warehousing activity due to its easy access to major highways and close proximity to Toronto and Montreal.
“Ottawa is a fairly major centre,” Hanczyk said. “Overall, with the warehouse distribution demand, some of the smaller markets, like Ottawa and London, are having their moment and I think they’ll continue to stay strong. It would be a good market for us to grow in, for sure.”
When Jeremy Mykytyshyn opened Evolution Games & Trading Cards in Kemptville, he was looking for a way to keep busy during the winter months. But in just two weeks of operation, Mykytyshyn has seen success that has him second-guessing what his career might look like.
Born in Western Canada but raised in Kemptville, Mykytyshyn is a rural Ontarian at heart and has been operating a contracting business working on everything
from renovations to decks, out of the area for about 10 years. But in the colder months when contract work dries up, Mykytyshyn decided to follow his other passions and open a store dedicated to the hobbies that occupy his winters – trading cards, board games, comic books and collectibles for every hobbyist.
“I do a lot of hobbies in the winter and I’ve graded and collected sports cards my whole life,” Mykytyshyn, 36, told EOBJ. “A game store is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Once he had the savings in his pocket, Mykytyshyn, with the support of his
Opening one Main Street storefront would be an accomplishment for most entrepreneurs. Stacey Bonfield has opened three in less than six years.
It all started when she found herself on maternity leave at age 23.
“I’m not very good at sitting still, so I decided to start Flint and Honey, a women’s clothing and gift store, as a popup shop in 2017,” she says. “After three months of my pop-up, my landlord had a space available, so I decided to move onto the main street of Perth.”
All three of her stores are now located on Gore Street in Perth. She opened Fawn+Fox, a children’s and maternity store, in the summer of 2020, and Dawn and Dusk, specializing in self-care, in November 2022.
A single mother of two girls, Bonfield
says it can be tough juggling children and work. She employs six sales staff, one fulltime and five part-time, between her three businesses.
While the pandemic was challenging, the current economy is scarier, says Bonfield.
“Even including the pandemic, this winter has been the slowest winter any of my businesses have seen and a lot of the other businesses in town as well are saying the same,” says Bonfield.
Another challenge is getting people through the doors of her businesses.
“That’s key, because once they come in and feel the environment and can see and feel the product, they’re working with the salespeople one on one, it’s a whole different experience than seeing it online,” says Bonfield.
She also has to keep up with social media posts for three stores. Coming up with regular, original and interesting posts
wife, started looking for a storefront in Kemptville. He picked a recently vacated spot at 1-10 Prescott St. It’s a prime location, said Mykytyshyn, with lots of foot traffic from the nearby public library and schools, and was more affordable than units in the newer parts of Kemptville.
Finding the space was the easy part. There are “lots of hoops to jump through” to supply the hobby shop, since distributors of products like trading cards have strict guidelines, he said.
“Setting up wasn’t easy. To get this product, you can’t be within an hour or 50
km between any other store like this so you don’t compete and you have to put together a store before making a deal,” he explained. “So you have to save about $20,000 before you even get the product.”
“But once you get the product you’re set,” he laughed. “It’s so allocated so you’re not competing, the competition is in Brockville or in Ottawa.”
Mykytyshyn isn’t too worried about competing.
“Kemptville hadn’t had a hobby store for a while,” he said. But even he couldn’t have guessed at how big the market was in the rural town for unique collectibles and graded trading cards.
“It was a big risk, 100 per cent,” he admitted. “It’s incredible, we’ve put more than $100,000 into the store, maybe double that. I’d hate to add it all up.”
Since opening on March 27, Mykytyshyn has been nearly run off his feet. He reported about $2,000 in sales on opening day and about $1,000 nearly every day since.
is draining, she says, but she’s working on sharing the load with her employees.
“I actually have a training session for all my employees coming up in March just to stay on top of social media and know how to post properly and consistently so it’s the same kind of vibe that we’re giving across all the stores,” says Bonfield.
Bonfield started out with no business background and nobody in her circle with business experience. She enrolled in the Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Starter Plus Company program in 2018.
Her success in the program netted her a $4,000 grant that she put toward her first street sign for Flint and Honey, along with some advertising.
“I was able to create a business plan which I wouldn’t have known where to start originally, and talking to small business owners, getting ideas and recognizing the importance of being involved in the community, were great lessons,” says Bonfield.
Since then, Bonfield has parlayed a love of retail she discovered as a teenager working at local stores into a career she enjoys, finding products and interacting with customers.
His lowest revenue day, he said, was $500. The revenue sometimes comes from single purchases — Mykytyshyn sells everything from 50-cent figures to $10,000 trading cards. The valuable cards have been graded, which means they’ve been authenticated and preserved, skyrocketing the value.
He said customers have been flocking to MTG, a collectible card game, Pokemon cards, and Warhammer, a “build-and-play” battle game that Mykytyshyn called the “most expensive hobby in the world.”
His shop also sells board games, action figures, collectible figurines and comic books for the casual hobbyist or collector. Mykytyshyn has seen customers of all ages interested in his wares.
“Seriously, from a little kid right up to older adults,” he laughed.
If the success of the store continues, Mykytyshyn already has a game plan – one that involves him never leaving the shop. He’s hiring extra staff for his construction company, so he plans to spend his days among the comic books and card stacks. And he’s already planning upcoming Dungeons and Dragons events and MTG game nights to bring out any shy enthusiasts.
“There’s no better feeling. You never know if anyone’s going to show up, but everybody showed up,” he said. “I guess Kemptville really needed it.”
Ottawa-based Leisure Days RV Group has made a pair of acquisitions that add to its roster of properties specializing in recreational vehicles.
In March, the company announced it had purchased Endless Roads RV and Marine Service and Auto Loan Services in Cornwall, which provides recreational vehicle, marine and automotive products.
“We have grown our business by finding new opportunities in new markets like this one in Cornwall,” said Pat Butler, CEO of Leisure Days RV Group.
“I began in the car business 30 years ago and it wasn’t long after I started my
own small business helping other dealers complete financing deals,” said Lawrence Cayer, owner of the Cornwall business.
In February, Leisure Days announced it had acquired Pirate Cove Marina in Kemptville.
“In 1994, Pirate Cove Marina was started by my family and in 2019 I purchased the business myself,” said owner Wendy Ramsey.
“The operation has become a well-known boaters’ stop on the Rideau River near Kemptville with strong brands, excellent service, winterization, storage and 93 docks with a gas dock,” said Butler, who started his career in the automotive industry in 1956 in Toronto at age 18.
Leisure Days RV Group started in 2003 as RV Canada and operates in four provinces.
Whether it is a big deal or a small deal, you are a big deal to us at Soloway Wright LLP. Since 1946, clients have counted on us and our wide-ranging expertise to achieve innovative legal solutions.
Whatever your needs, our full-service law firm will utilize our extensive resources, expertise, and experience to ensure you receive the Soloway Wright advice and support. Count on it.
Ottawa Office
700-427 Laurier Avenue West Ottawa, ON K1R 7Y2 Tel: 613-236-0111
Kingston Office 366 King Street East, Suite 510 Kingston, ON K7K 6Y3 Tel: 613-544-7334
1-866-207-5880 www.solowaywright.com |
The perfect space for warehousing, logistics or small manufacturing. Located on 7.02 acres of fully serviced commercial land. with municipal water, sewer, natural gas connections & high-speed internet.
• 5500 square feet of shop space, 3-14’ x 14’ loading doors
• Ceiling heights from 16’ to 22’
• Gravel yard can be used for extra storage and up to 2,000 sq. ft. of additional office space which can be separated.
Phenomenal, 61,000 square-foot of industrial space, at the former location of Beaver Dental Plant, this property is located on 4.15 acres, in Morrisburg, Ontario.
• Municipal water supply (capacity of 55 psi town water).
Zoning is M2- general industrial
• Plans and drawings are available.
This is the place where Ontario began In SDG, you’ll find open minds, open roads, and open skies at every turn.
For more information:
www.madeinsdg.ca
info@madeinsdg.ca • 613-932-1515 ext. 1227
“It’s how you get big ideas off the ground.”
Dominico says this approach is lovingly known as “rob and duplicate”, which is R&D for the public sector. “What’s good for Renfrew is good for Peterborough,” she said, especially when it comes to filling the talent pipeline.
Eastern Ontario businesses have already benefited from the program’s work, like windowmaker Beclawat Manufacturing Inc.
“The service Alysha provided was very proactive,” said Shayla Martin, human resources and health and safety manager. “She was invaluable from the first interaction about our job posting, to staying in touch with us regarding candidates, and even going above and beyond to put us in contact with more resources in the community.” The result? A successful hire through their LinkedIn posting.
One of the key groups Dominico works with is Skills Ontario, a provincial non-profit organization funded by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development.
For the last three years, the Ontario East Talent Identification Support Project (OE-TISP), delivered by the Ontario East Economic Development Commission (Ontario East) and funded through the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development, has been bringing both talent and industry investments to Eastern Ontario.
Alysha Dominico, the program’s workforce development project coordinator, has been on the front lines during that time, making connections for Ontario East that were unheard of before, thanks to the ecosystem the Ontario East Economic Development Commission has built.
“We have partnerships with more than 40 organizations and businesses involved in workforce development, and my role is to wrap my arms around the region and bring everybody together,” said Dominico. “I find out who’s doing what, invite them along, and give them space to collaborate.”
That means Ontario East members like municipalities, industrial associations, and education consortiums — groups who used to work in isolation — are solving problems and sharing solutions that affect the entire region. “I can see the connections and make introductions so the sparks can start happening, “ said Dominico.
“We promote careers in skilled trades and technologies to youth, working with every school board across the province, and every college across the province — English, French, you name it,” said Dan Cardinal, senior provincial engagement coordinator. “We have all kinds of programs for young women in trades and other initiatives to support diversity, inclusion and equity.”
Together, they’re tackling the need to bring more youth into the skilled trades due to the region’s ever-increasing demand for talent in that sector. “Alysha has given me opportunities to speak to different economic development offices across the region in Eastern Ontario,” said Cardinal. “The partnerships have been phenomenal.”
Municipalities across Eastern Ontario are working together through the OE-TISP program
While virtual working capabilities made it easier for regions to connect with one another, it helps that Dominco and Cardinal are in sync, ensuring both the students and employers they work with feel supported.
“I remember being a young working professional back when you didn’t know who to call for advice,” said Cardinal. “And I remember the loneliness of trying to work on my own — that’s the power of this network.”
Although connecting with students is a big priority for the region, Ontario East also works closely with career professionals, new Canadians, and recent graduates looking for employment. With interest from major companies in the region growing, demand for talent is on the rise.
Collaborate and amplify
None of this collaboration would mean anything without amplifying the message to everyone who needs it.
That’s why another key part of this Ontario East initiative is ensuring that job seekers and employers alike have the tools they need to be successful. Working closely with its partners, the program has developed an SEO-optimized blog, chock full of useful information for both audiences on topics for employers like hiring international students, and tips for newcomers to find training and jobs in the region.
“We know there are people overseas looking at our job-seeker information and they want to know what the quality of life is like in the region,” said Dominco. “We market our rural spaces and the communities that have been ranked as top places to live in Canada.”
In the end, it’s about making connections between people in Eastern Ontario who need each other. “It’s very, very hard to share the benefits of collaboration if you’re not all coming together,” said Dominico. “We exist because geographically we’re a big region. But municipal boundaries are only relevant to the people who made those boundaries.”
From one “aha” moment to another, OE-TISP and Ontario East are helping to drive economic growth and change in Eastern Ontario.
Like the electric vehicle (EV) battery components Umicore will manufacture in Eastern Ontario, the new plant the company is building will play a critical part in ‘energizing’ the local economy.
The Belgium-based battery materials technology manufacturer announced in 2022 that it would be investing more than $1.5 billion into the region to build a first of its kind industrial scale cathode and precursor materials manufacturing plant in Loyalist Township, in Lennox & Addington County, just west of Kingston.
Expected to employ nearly 1,000 people during the construction phase, and then hundreds more once the plant is operational, the arrival of the global powerhouse in eastern Ontario is another step towards Ontario becoming a hub for EV manufacturing, says Stephen Paul, president of the Ontario East Economic Development Commission and director, Community and Development Services for Lennox & Addington County, who helped secure the investment.
“As economic developers, our biggest goal is to attract foreign direct investment into our community, so having Umicore pinpoint us as the ideal location is pretty significant,” he says. “This will bring eastern Ontario directly into the EV supply chain, which opens the door for additional investment opportunities.”
The Ontario East Economic Development Commission (Ontario East), in partnership with both the provincial and federal government, works to pitch the region to employers like Umicore, highlighting both the development and talent opportunities that exist.
It’s a success story that Paul says wouldn’t have been possible without collaboration.
“It’s a great example of how all levels of government can work together to attract this
level of investment to Canada,” he adds. With construction now underway on the plant – with plans to open by the end of 2024 – Paul and his team are now working with external partners to ensure the plant will have a robust talent pipeline in place.
Shortly after Umicore’s announcement, Abdul Jendi, a director on the Ontario East board and an investment manager with the Kingston Economic Development Corporation sat down with a handful of major EV manufacturers to understand their talent needs.
“This is a relatively new sector emerging in the province and we knew there would be lots of upskilling required,” he says. “That’s where we stepped in.”
Building on an existing relationship, Queen’s University, St. Lawrence College and the Kingston Economic Development Corporation set out to develop North America’s first battery manufacturing certification program to support the Umicore investment.
Designed to directly meet the needs of industry, this microcredentials degree is slated to launch next year to begin training the next generation of talent needed to fuel the EV hub in eastern Ontario.
“There will be thousands of jobs to fill in this region in the next five to 10 years, both on the trades side and the engineering side,” adds Jendi. “We want to ensure that when companies choose to set up shop here, they are successful in every way, and developing talent is one of the ways we can do that.”
At the same time, dynamic workforce development programs like those delivered through Ontario East and funded by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development will continue to support the effort to attract and grow new business in the region.
Ontario East helps ready the workforce as Umicore’s EV investment integrates the region in the supply chain of the future
With a lack of industrial space in the region, town officials in Smiths Falls say they’re already fielding calls about the 600,000-square-foot Canopy Growth facility.
On Feb. 9, Canopy announced it was laying off 800 workers as part of a transformation plan that will see the company close its 1 Hershey Dr. facility in Smiths Falls and consolidate its cultivation operations.
While Canopy has not announced specific plans for the facility, the manager of economic development with the Town of Smiths Falls says she assumes Canopy will want to sell.
“You can’t really put the cart before the horse. We don’t know until they tell us. So we haven’t approached anyone specifically about the facility, but we’ve already got interest from companies and other potential investors. As soon as the news hit, people were already contacting us,” said Julia Crowder.
In January, CBRE senior vice-president Louis Karam said that, despite a slight softening of the industrial availability rate, “demand is still high” for industrial and warehouse property in the National Capital Region, which has become a destination of choice for e-commerce and logistics giants like Amazon and FedEx due to its close proximity to the massive Toronto and Montreal markets.
The 1 Hershey Dr. facility, with more than 600,000 square feet of floor space, is a stateof-the-art facility zoned for light industrial use that can be repurposed in several ways, Crowder says.
“We’re really in a good position to get a great investor because of where the market sits,” she said.
“Most of the building has been renovated,” said Smiths Falls Mayor
Shawn Pankow. “There’s a manufacturing section, there’s areas for administrative offices, call centres, production, advanced manufacturing. We’ve got about three dozen grow rooms that are climate-, humidity- and temperature-controlled, with timers, so everything you possibly need to potentially grow a variety of things.”
At this stage, Pankow says, the town is thinking of pharmaceutical, vertical farming, chocolate manufacturing or green-energy enterprises as possible occupants.
“I’m no expert in industry, so I think it’s a matter of us making sure that we have the information we need to promote the space appropriately and get it in front of customers,” said Pankow.
Town officials say they were taking action even before Canopy’s announcement earlier this month.
“As soon as we knew what was happening, we were on the phone with our partners and the (provincial government) and (FedDev Ontario) to let people know this was happening, but also to be able to get into gear as soon as possible to help support affected employees,” said Crowder.
The town has organized a job fair in late March to help job-seekers, many of whom are not Smiths Falls residents, she adds.
When the dust settles, the company will employ about 400 people in Smiths Falls, down from about 750 before the latest round of layoffs and 1,500 just a few years ago.
The restructuring of Canopy Growth isn’t the disaster it might have been just a few years ago, officials say.
“I don’t think we’ll feel a deep impact,” said Pankow. “(Canopy had) already cut their workforce by half and I don’t think we felt any impact from that. The decline of 300 to 400 jobs is going to impact the families involved –that’s what concerns us the most, but I think we’re much better positioned to weather the storm today than we would have been in any previous time in our recent history.”
Kingston cleantech firm Cyclic Materials, which has developed a closed loop recycling process for rare earth elements, has received $3.6 million in federal funding, the company announced.
The funding is part of a $68.2-million package announced by the federal government for 17 Canadian cleantech companies earlier this year.
Rare earth elements, or REEs, can be found in everything from wind turbines to electric vehicles to cell phones and hard drives — anything that uses powerful permanent magnets. Mining these elements, however, is difficult. Deposits are small and costly to extract and doing so can have a negative environmental impact.
With two patent-pending technologies, Cyclic Materials can isolate the magnets containing the REEs, which can then be recycled.
With the funding, CEO Ahmad Ghahreman said by the time his company’s technology is ready for commercialization, the “business side will be ready.”
“Basically, in the startup life, every dollar counts,” Ghahreman told EOBJ. “And this funding we’ll be using very carefully towards a huge scale-up of our technologies … It will help us make our technologies more mature and create the supply chain we need to make it commercial.”
The new money will also enable Cyclic to boost its testing capabilities. For the past two years, the company was processing about half a kilogram of materials a day
— now, that’s increased to several tonnes.
“It proves our tech can work on a large scale and is capable of being scaled-up and still making money,” said Ghahreman.
“This will be a significant push for us to move along our technology and we’re confident we’ll be the company to close the loop and make it accessible down the road,” he added. “We have the ambition to be the largest player in this space.”
Earlier this year, Cyclic signed a memorandum of understanding with Solvay, an industry leader in rare earth separation, purification, finishing and formulation. The two firms will work together to validate Cyclic’s compatibility with Solvay’s process, with the view of entering into an agreement for the production and supply of rare earth oxides. Under the agreement, the rare earth oxides would be sent from Cyclic Materials’ Ontario site to Solvay’s plant in France.
In January, Cyclic Materials started working with global electric car company Polestar Under that agreement, Polestar would purchase recycled REEs from Cyclic and Cyclic would recycle Polestar cars that contain REEs.
In October 2022, Ghahreman estimated that his company will eventually comprise 10 per cent of the rare elements market.
“Our objective is, by end of 2026, we will be producing 600 tonnes of rare earth elements per year in North America,” said Ghahreman. “But our vision is global and we are expecting to be operating and producing slightly over 3,000 tonnes a year of rare earth elements globally by 2031.”
How local businesses keep goods moving across the province, to manufacturers and to our doors.
Transportation and logistics companies have benefited from the widespread changes brought about by the pandemic and are expanding at significant rates, regional officials say.
While many people tend to view these companies as some of the worst environmental offenders, in fact, the businesses tend to be environmentally conscious, pay above-average wages and build sophisticated and technologically advanced operations.
Bob Peters leads logistics efforts for the Ontario East Economic Development Commission, which promotes Eastern Ontario as a centre for investment and business growth. He’s also the manager of economic development for the City of Cornwall.
As Peters explains, transportation and logistics companies are a vital link — but an often overlooked one — in Eastern Ontario’s supply chain.
“In fact, some of our most advanced technology and AI systems can be found in distribution centres, including robotics, voice-activated commands and all sorts of wonderful stuff,” Peters says. “And so you
have a sector that is extremely advanced, progressive, environmentally friendly and, in many cases, a major employer.”
Transportation by road remains a primary way of moving goods. In Eastern Ontario, Hwy. 401 takes a lot of that traffic.
“Hwy. 401 clearly is that key transportation corridor,” says Peters. “The competitive advantages of businesses locating in the Cornwall area is primarily transportation and its proximity to major markets.”
For the logistics sector, every kilometre a company is away from the Hwy. 401 corridor is measured in time and money.
“There's a significant advantage to
distribution centres, shipping companies and the companies that support them of clustering along nodes along Hwy. 401,” says Peters.
A scan of recent headlines shows major investments in logistics and transportation in the region, with a multimodal logistics village under development near Cornwall; Wills Transfer Ltd. investing in new warehousing facilities in Ingleside; and Minimax Express completing the acquisition of Snowbird Transportation Systems Ltd., a family business that has operated in Hamilton for 40 years.
Strader Ferris International, meanwhile, launched a company called MyUSaddress, a consumer-focused company that allows cross-border shoppers to have goods shipped to an Ogdensburg address and then have the packages customs-cleared and delivered.
Amazon has built two fulfilment centres near Ottawa — one 450,000-square-foot space in Barrhaven and another with one million square feet in Navan. Giant Tiger has distribution centres in Brockville, another in Johnstown and a third in Edwardsburgh Cardinal.
According to Peters, the attractiveness of Eastern Ontario to these companies is the quality of the highway network and the
fact that the region’s municipalities have invested in making sure land is available.
But there are other aspects to the transportation and logistics sector in Eastern Ontario. The region has 15 municipal airports and an international airport in Ottawa, as well as a deepwater port in Johnstown. The latter is an important destination for rail, truck and vessel shipping and receives salt, grains, aggregate and project cargo, or bulky pieces of equipment. The port offers easy access to Kingston, Cornwall, Ottawa and New York state.
“It is our deepwater port in Eastern Ontario (and it) continues to be significant for aggregates and farm products,” says Ann Weir, economic development manager with the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. “And they are continuing to expand their product base as well with specialty goods and looking at other areas for expansion.”
There’s also a port in Cornwall.
“Historically, the St. Lawrence Seaway has been a significant transportation corridor for the movement of goods throughout Central Canada and Eastern Ontario and including Cornwall, which is lucky enough to have a harbour,” Peters says. He adds that the majority of finished goods being shipped by sea tend to land at
a port either in Halifax or Montreal and are then put on a truck.
Peters said rail is also important as it connects transportation systems and it provides efficient transportation of goods over longer distances.
“In Cornwall, we’re very fortunate to be on all three of those super corridors,” he says.
There’s rail service in Leeds Grenville, Weir says, through the Canadian Rail Equipment Works and Services Inc. based
in Johnstown, which offers everything from railcar storage, transloading, switching and track maintenance.
In Renfrew County, a rail system runs between Arnprior and Ottawa. Currently, it’s operated by CN. An Arnprior company called Nylene Canada ULC owns the rail, while the City of Ottawa owns the land, explains David Wybou, business development officer with the county. He says Nylene would welcome other businesses interested in using the rail.
Renfrew County is also seeing an extension of Hwy. 417 from Arnprior to three kilometres past the town of Renfrew. The last time the highway was extended, Wybou says, it created a real estate boom and a mini retail boom in the area with coffee shops, clothing shops, restaurants and professional and medical services opening.
“Even accounting and legal firms have been moving out here and extending their reach,” he says.
Of course, labour is a constant part of the puzzle. Many companies are trying creative approaches to the tight labour market. Minimax Express started training prospective drivers and paying them while they train. So far, it has hired 14 new drivers this way.
St. Lawrence College has created a logistics graduate course and programming and a mechanics skilled trades program in Cornwall.
As Peters points out, because logistics trades are increasingly technical, logistics centres are no longer looking for forklift operators, but instead electrical mechanical technicians.
“The skill level has gone (up) and they've always paid 30 per cent above average wage,” he says. “So this is a good sector with good careers.”
It’s hard to imagine what George Wills would think if he could see today the company he founded in 1945. Wills started his business after the war with two five-ton trucks, then called “stake trucks” as the stakes on the sides of the flatbed retained their loads. The founder’s business was moving goods in and out of the Canadian Pacific railyard in Smiths Falls.
“They found an opportunity for a local cartage [and] delivery business,” says Jordi Wills, senior vice-president at Wills Transfer Limited and the great-grandson of George Wills. “They would go to the railyard and offload boxcars with a whole variety of commodities.”
Among the commodities at the time were flour, which was being transported to and
from Davidson’s Bakery, and bricks, bound for the huge Rideau Regional Center.
“It was very manual work,” Wills says. “The most technology they had would have been a dolly with steel wheels, so no forklifts and a lot of manual labour.”
Today the company provides third-party logistics and supply-chain management for more than 200 clients. Wills Transfer has 220 employees and a total of seven warehouses, representing more than one million square feet of space between them. It’s come a long way, but the growth has been incremental and always in direct response to client needs.
For approximately 25 years, the company provided refrigerated transportation services for many of the large meat packing
companies. It delivered fresh and frozen meat throughout the Ottawa Valley.
Then, in 1979, Hershey Canada, which was the second-largest employer in Smiths Falls at the time, partnered with Wills on a Christmas display project. Hershey couldn’t have any glass in its plant so it had to ship the glass for the project to Wills. As such, Hershey became Wills’ first third-party logistics client. The relationship deepened and Hershey’s vendors started shipping direct to Wills and Wills would provide just-in-time delivery to Hershey as the products were needed.
Under the leadership of Osborne Wills and his wife Grace, Wills Transfer Limited began to provide household moving services. In 1953, they became one of the first agents for United Van Lines in Canada. The household goods moving division continued until 2014.
“That was an emotional decision,” Wills says. “We had closed other divisions — we had closed our U.S. freight division in 2008 for a number of rising cost issues. But 2014 was very significant, especially for my father. We’d been in that line of business for a long time and it was what we were most known for.”
That closure prompted a senior manager to ask “Who are we if we're not a moving company?” In small town Smiths Falls, the household moving arm had become the company’s predominant identity over the years.
After some soul searching, the team decided the company “provides innovative logistics solutions, contributing to customer success.”
There was serendipity in the timing of that question-and-answer session. It just so happened that a high output, very efficient manufacturing plant of
Shell lubricants in Brockville — one that supplies customers such as Walmart and Canadian Tire across Canada — was looking to cut costs.
Shell’s efficiency consultant asked Wills to quote on staffing its entire warehouse.
“This would be a Wills Transfer worker doing a warehouse function in a Shell lubricants facility,” Wills explains. “Shell knows its core competencies and warehousing is not one of them. Oil extraction is what it does — and research and development.”
Since 2014, Wills has been managing Shell’s warehouse within its plant, with a total staff contingent of 26 people who work on site. “I would say for the last 10 years, we've grown with our customer, so Shell is still actually our largest customer today,” Wills says.
Soon, a similar invitation came from 3M in Brockville.
It was very manual work.
“The most technology they had would have been a dolly with steel wheels, so no forklifts and a lot of manual labour.
JORDI WILLSWills Transfer Limited is in its sixth year of the Canada’s Best Managed Companies program and has been recognized with Gold status the last two years.
All in the family Jordi Wills came back to the business in 2013. He and his wife Heidi had been working in Christian ministry on the University of Guelph campus and, as a fourth-generation member of the business, Wills wasn’t sure how a business career would fit with his family life. As it turned out, he liked it a lot and found fulfillment in learning how to be a leader like his father. Jordi is now completing an MBA and Heidi has joined the business as well.
“When I got in here, I watched how my dad did business and how much enjoyment he got from leading and influencing people,” says Jordi, who will succeed his father Terry as president in 2024. “We have four main values: People matter; commitment to excellence; do the right thing and be good stewards. And the ‘people matter’ part is really how my dad lives his life — both my parents, Terry and Heather, at home and at work. Watching how he would influence people in a positive way really made it attractive to me.”
Jordi and Terry continue to look for
opportunities to grow business, with the goal of reaching $50 million in sales by 2027.
And they’re using technology to be as efficient as possible.
“Our customer wants real-time data information to manage their inventory as well. We want to be able to take that data and find out how their inventory moves so we can find efficiencies and opportunities.”
“We're a medium-sized third-party logistics provider, and those who are taking the industry up a level every single year are the Amazons, Walmarts and other large retail operations, and they have to because they're putting through so many millions of widgets every year.”
In 2020 the company acquired Orange Logistics, a deal that brought with it the opportunity to enter the pharma warehousing market.
“We see continued expansion opportunities in Eastern Ontario in our future, by means of our new west Ottawa land purchase as well as an expansion at our Ingleside location.”
Jeremy West has been working at Wills Transfer for nine years and says he can’t imagine a company that aligns more fully with his own values. He’s also appreciated that the company has fostered skills he already had and could build upon.
“I love to learn I love to take on things,” West says, which is clear as he’s graduated from managing the Perth warehouse to also managing the Smiths Falls warehouse and now also taking on the IT and the continuous improvement departments. “If I want to learn and go to school, that’s always been encouraged.”
West enrolled in leadership training at the University of Toronto, for example, and he’s also taken some business management courses at Algonquin College. Obviously, he still has to put in the time to do the learning, but the company has paid his tuition fees.
“For me, it’s been a great journey,” West says. “The values of the Wills family perfectly align with my values.”
Leslie Thompson agrees. She works as the executive assistant to senior vice-president Jordi Wills and also works as support staff for the Brockville operations. She too values the corporate culture.
Facilities: 135,000 square feet in Perth; 50,000 square feet in Smiths Falls; 460,000 square feet in Brockville between 2 warehouses; 155,000 square feet in Ingleside; 250,000 square feet spread amongst 2 warehouses in Ottawa; 10 acres of land in Carp on which it will soon build
Employees: 220
Model: Business to business
Customers: mostly multinationals, including Shell, Abbott and 3M
Growth: 10 per cent per year in revenue
“It’s a very inclusive culture and one where employees are respected and heard, and their viewpoints and any contributions or suggestions are always taken into consideration,” Thompson says. “People really do matter and gratitude is expressed on a regular basis. It’s a friendly, warm environment to come into. It’s also a busy environment, but there’s always time to appreciate the small moments, the big wins and the challenges.”
Dobie says his clients at Wills Transfer are the kind of people with whom you want to sit down to Christmas dinner.
“It’s a high trust, high respect kind of relationship,” says Dobie, Shell Lubricants’ Logistics Leader for Canada. “And you get that trust and respect almost immediately from their professionalism and competence — how they listen, how they talk. You just get the sense that this is somebody you want to partner with.”
It’s high praise from Wills Transfer’s largest customer. Shell Lubricants in Brockville has been using Wills Transfer to staff its warehouse and provide the logistics for distribution to such big players as Walmart and Canadian Tire. Altogether, there are 26 Wills employees who work on the contract.
Dobie says it’s hard to put into words how the Wills folks do business.
“They're just really genuinely great people,” he says. “And that flows through to their employees, the type of business they run, how they interact with companies like us. They have some big-name customers, Shell being one of them and 3M being another. They attract that for a particular reason and it's because of the value set they have.”
Dobie says Wills is also helping Shell work to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions where possible.
“If you go by the Wills facility, you'll see that that there are solar panels on the roof,” he says. “They electrify forklifts, they have LED lighting. They get involved in those kinds of things that help slow down to greenhouse gases. It's nice to see regional companies, especially family-owned ones, taking a front-foot approach changing their business so their carbon footprint is not as negative as it once was. They're very strong on some of those initiatives.”
Dobie said the forward-thinking folks at Wills also work hard at retaining staff at a time when people are focused on recruiting.
SAYS THE COMPANY IS ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS, COMPETENT AND AN EXCELLENT PARTNER.Terry Wills and his son, Jordi, are president and senior vice-president of the company founded by Jordi’s great grandfather in 1945.
“Peace of mind transportation from our family to yours” is Minimax Express Transportation’s motto, and that sums up the Poirier family’s approach to business.
The less-than-truckload (LTL) shipping company, which has 150 trucks and 225 trailers, is now 32 years old and three generations of the Poirier family now work in the Cornwall-based head office.
“It’s all about family here,” says Yves Poirier, 56, who is the company’s president and whose brother Marc, 54, is vicepresident. Their father, Paul, started the business and still comes in a couple of days a week to check in, and also to fill the fridge, Yves Poirier says.
“It’s a family business, and our staff confirm that,” Poirier says, adding that in addition to many staff appreciation events, the Poiriers will often show up at the site of a customer and host a barbecue lunch for staff. “We have a trailer with a barbecue on it. We show up at 11 a.m. with a tent and the barbecue. We serve them lunch and by 1:30 p.m., we’re out of there. It goes a long way with customers because a lot of times, the person on the dock or the person in the plant or the warehouse or the production facility never gets anything from anybody. They just love it.”
The company’s roots date back to 1991 when patriarch Paul Poirier, who started
his career in the trucking business and had worked for Glengarry Transport (GTL) for 28 years, left to start Minimax with two former colleagues. Within the first four years of operations, the two partners sold off their shares and Minimax became an entirely family-owned company.
In the early days, the transportation took place between Montreal and Toronto, with base operations in Cornwall. Eventually, the Poiriers added Ottawa and Brockville as destinations and also added new bases of operation across Eastern Ontario. Today, there are terminals in Drummondville, Belleville, Toronto, Kitchener and Cornwall, and in early
March 2023, Minimax completed the acquisition of Snowbird Transportation Systems Ltd., a family business that has operated in Hamilton for 40 years. The acquisition gives Minimax a chance to better serve existing clients and develop new clients, Poirier says.
The COVID pandemic created labour shortages across many industries and trucking was no exception. But Poirier and his team came up with an innovative solution.
“We decided to start training our own
drivers,” he says. “Because recruiting is so difficult, we train candidates who don't have a trucking licence. We do it from Minimax here in Cornwall.”
Indeed, Minimax has become certified to deliver the course mandated by the province, which includes training, road tests and written tests.
“Then drivers just go to the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario office and get their licence,” says Poirier, who notes that the program has been a big success. “We just started in 2022 and we’ve graduated about 14 drivers so far. We actually pay the drivers to take the course. If they took this course at a truck driving school, it would
cost them about $10,000. Instead, they come here and we actually pay them while they’re taking it, so it's pretty good deal for them.”
And it works for Minimax, which is trying to replenish its ranks after a number of drivers retired in 2022.
Poirier says most of his business these days is trucking product that originated overseas, usually arriving in Toronto and then delivering it to distribution centres or the end user.
“Twenty or 25 years ago, it seemed like we were hauling more raw materials
to produce things,” he says. “Then production went offshore and I hear now that it's reshoring and coming back. That’s a good thing for trucking because we can bring the inputs or the raw materials and then we can also pick up and distribute the finished products.”
Today, the company employs 275 people, about 60 of whom work in administration and 20 work on the freight handling side. The rest are drivers. Revenue hovers around $50 million a year. The goal is to grow that organically — always by between five and 20 per cent year over year — although the company did make its first ever acquisition in the
winter of 2023, but couldn’t share details at press time.
“We're not super aggressive on growth,” Poirier says. “We’re more concerned about the quality of the revenue and making sure that new business fits our business. Our model is not to grow, grow, grow.”
The sales force is made up of seven full-time people, which is quite a few for a company this size, Poirier says.
“If our client has a question whether they want a new lane, or to add a rate for a new destination or they have a problem with a shipment they can call their salesperson and they're going to answer and help them,” he says. “That's the way
we look at things and why we have so many salespeople.”
That person-to-person service approach also carries through in the way the company treats its own employees. In addition to hosting popup barbecues for customers, Minimax holds them for its own staff members as well.
“We go to our own service centres and hold these lunches or suppers,” Poirier says. “We do quite a bit for special occasions, too — Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and I think people really appreciate that.”
In Cornwall, he and Marc and their four sons will show up at the office at 5 a.m. to produce a big breakfast for staff, drivers, freight handlers and mechanics, for example.
“There's no way we would be this successful without our people obviously, everybody will tell you that, and if they feel valued and respected I think you're going to get so much more out of out of people.”
A recent addition to the business is a division called Minimax Global Solutions, a load broker that finds carriers to take
loads beyond Minimax’s capabilities. That division would, for example, find a carrier to take a load from Toronto to California.
Minimax Go Direct is another division, which offers a white glove, dedicated and expedited transport service.
“Here, we do a lot of same-day deliveries,” Poirier says. “If something is really rushed, we’re involved in that.”
The company name was chosen by Paul Poirier, who is still chairman of the board of the company, to suggest the company will take minimum and maximum loads. It also works well in French and English. Paul Poirier’s grandsons — Richard, David, Ben and Pat — now all work in the business.
Richard Poirier is interested in the warehousing side of the business and to that end, the company recently bought a warehouse in Alexandria. At 36,000 square feet, it will allow the company to expand a service it’s always provided.
“We've always done a little bit of warehousing,” Poirier says. “We see this as an added value to our existing clients and a sector of our business with good potential growth”
Whatever it does next, the goal is always to keep growth at a reasonable rate and any expansion needs to be a fit for the company, Poirier says.
Facilities:
Cornwall head office –
75,000 square feet
Drummondville service centre –
17,000 square feet
Belleville service centre –
11,000 square feet
Toronto service centre –
52,000 square feet
Hamilton service centre –
15,000 square feet
Employees: 275
Model: Business to business
Customers: Clients vary widely – mostly retailers and their distribution centers and manufacturers of personal care products, food retailers, other carriers, third-party logistics and tire distributors.
Growth: 10 per cent per year in revenue
Asked if he would recommend his family work at Minimax, Ed Renaud laughs.
“My daughter works in accounts payable, my son worked here for years and my wife is the receptionist,” says Renaud, who will wind down a nearly 31-year career at Minimax Express Transportation this summer. “So yes, I would recommend it.”
Renaud says it’s a very familyoriented place, with good benefits and excellent management. He started his career on the dock, then he did billing, customer service and now he’s the rates office manager. He also had a stint as a dispatcher. He remembers his time on the dock as mostly mechanized work, but there was some manual labour too.
Both his children had summer jobs there all through high school and university and joined the company after they finished.
Asked about the company culture, he says: “Well, I’ve been here for 31 years, so that's a good sign. I would say that you're not just treated as a number here — your opinions matter and you are valued.”
He noted that there’s an annual Christmas party and also regular summer picnics that bring employees together.
His colleague, Jim MacPherson, who is the general manager of operations,
says when he hires people, he looks them in the eye and tells them it’s a challenging job, but that they won’t find better bosses.
“I tell them the best place to work is right here at Minimax,” he says, adding that the Poirier family respects its employees. “If you show them respect, they'll respect you back twice as much. I can say that for sure.”
MacPherson has worked at Minimax for 15 years and worked as a trucker before that. He joined the team in a safety and compliance role and then moved up into the terminal manager job. MacPherson agreed with Renaud that the benefits at the company are reasonable, but for him, the bigger draw is the staff events.
“It's not like a big corporate company,” MacPherson says. “These guys are so fantastic. The Christmas parties are great and every once in a while we surprise the drivers and put on a breakfast for them. It's that family open-door policy they have. They say ‘We don't lock our doors. If you need to come in and talk, you can. I really like that about this company.”
A testament to MacPherson’s statements is that his nephew now works there, and many of his other family members would like to do so.
Strader-Ferris International (SFI) is celebrating 70 years of success in 2023, but the company isn’t taking too much time away from the business at hand to celebrate. As a major player in the Ottawa area logistics scene, SFI is squarely focused on the next chapter of its continuous evolution, which has delivered double digit growth in each of the last five years.
With Canadian and U.S. customs brokerage operations, a fleet of trucks running back and forth across the border, a full-service logistics division moving freight all over North America and just shy of 200,000 square feet of e-commerce fulfillment warehouse space, things are busy indeed.
“Having an end-to-end solution is key to our ability to help customers succeed,” says Jesse Mitchell, director of business development. “When potential partners understand how many bases we can cover, they are really impressed”.
“We’re right-sized, meaning we haven’t lost that ability to provide a personalized solution,” says Mike Ferris, president and third-generation owner of this family business. “One thing we understand from experience is that we are a niche player.
We have found a way to offer a successful alternative to the one-size-fits-all approach that some larger players try to force upon companies. It’s key in a business like ours to be comfortable with change and to be on the move strategically all the time. The niche is never static”.
SFI got its start in 1953, about the time that an international bridge was being conceived to link Prescott, Ont., to Ogdensburg, NY. Today that bridge has become a competitive advantage for many Eastern Ontario companies that can take advantage of quick and seamless access to the U.S. market with the help of SFI’s services. With 70 employees, and 90 per cent of customs operations staff holding CCS (Certified Customs Specialist) designations (or U.S. Customs Broker licenses), SFI sets itself apart in terms of front-line expertise.
“Customers enjoy the fact that they get to engage day to day with a partner that can provide answers quickly and efficiently,” Mitchell says. “We hear all the time about the horror stories that some companies have to experience with some of our competitors. There is a tendency to not invest as much in people, not to empower people. Having previously worked for several large North American logistics companies, I immediately saw the difference when I came onboard several years ago.”
While customs brokerage is still a core service that SFI provides, these days the company is seeing rapid growth of its e-commerce fulfillment services.
“We’ve taken our core skills in crossborder logistics, customs brokerage and transportation management and put that together with warehouse management to create a better solution for e-commerce companies,” says Derek Van Schie, vicepresident of SFI and overseer of Canadian operations. “We have warehouse space on both sides of the border, but having expertise to manage inbound logistics as well as the final distribution in both Canada and the U.S. sets us apart from competitors in this space. We’re not looking to take on Amazon, but rather create better value for the kind of customer that can benefit from a more hands-on, more strategic partner.”
SFI has seen an increase in the number of U.S. companies looking to take advantage of its strategic footprint and capabilities. A key strategy SFI has been executing for its customers is based upon its ability to eliminate duties on U.S. e-commerce sales that would otherwise
apply if orders were fulfilled from U.S.based warehouses. The U.S. allows most e-commerce orders valued at under $800 to enter under an expedited customs release program free of duty.
“It’s another example of how SFI is always striving to find opportunities to combine our services to create value for customers,” Mitchell says. “When I explain to someone that we can setup a footprint in Canada right on the border for them, manage duty deferral so they don’t pay Canadian or U.S. duties on inventory, and then provide duty-free U.S. market access, they usually think it sounds too good to be true. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy for them to figure out that it’s legit and a bit of a slam dunk. The fact that we can also provide a bit of hand-holding and help them open up the Canadian market is a real win as well. They end up relieved that one company can handle this entirely in-house.”
Another key service that SFI proudly promotes is its proprietary transportation management system (TMS). SFI extends this web-based platform for all of its customers to use to manage their shipping, both domestically and internationally,
for outbound as well as for inbound shipments, and for product returns.
SFI’s in-house IT supports integrations with customers’ ERP and accounting systems so order data can drive the shipping process to eliminate errors and automate customs clearance processes for cross-border shipping. One feature of SFI’s system is that it allows Ottawabased customers to prepare shipments to be tendered to carriers care of its Ogdensburg, NY, warehouse dock. The shipments are picked up by SFI trucks, customs cleared by SFI brokerage staff, and then cross-docked by SFI warehouse staff. “We’re at the point where our technology can automate the preparation of hundreds of courier and LTL (pallet) shipments onto one cross-border entry and then inject customer deliveries into the domestic networks of Fedex, UPS, USPS and a mix of trucking companies,” Ferris explains. “The goal is to bring the right options to the table to minimize costs and eliminate border-related delays. A mandate of ours from day one has been to simplify cross-border logistics for Ottawa area companies.”
Van Schie is quick to add, “Over time we have expanded our focus to include domestic logistics, including supply chain support where we warehouse materials for customers and deliver replenishment on-demand. Our technology provides real-time visibility to our customers and keeps us on the same page. We will never lose sight of our goal to provide a superior solution to empower our partners to successfully manage their supply chains and grow their markets. When our technology can help we’re happy to oblige.”
An added benefit of SFI’s cross-border service is that it provides an easy footprint for customers to use when ordering supplies from U.S. vendors or managing product returns from U.S. customers. An interesting twist is that cross-border shoppers can also take advantage of SFI services care of myUSaddress, a consumer-focused offshoot among the SFI mix of services.
“When we started myUSaddress, we were able to leverage a lot of our freight handling and warehousing technology to be able to provide a winning service for cross-border
We have warehouse space on both sides of the border, but having expertise to manage inbound logistics as well as the final distribution in both Canada and the U.S. sets us apart from competitors in this space.
DEREK VAN SCHIEOver the course of the pandemic, SFI has seen an increase in the number of U.S. companies looking to take advantage of its strategic services.
shoppers,” Ferris says. “Everything is managed electronically, from receiving, to package notifications, through to an ability to have your package customs cleared and delivered to your door anywhere in Canada.”
SFI now counts tens of thousands of Canadian individuals among its ranks of satisfied customers.
SFI is doing something right as its long-term roster of clients has included scores of high-profile companies across a multitude of industries in and around Ottawa over seven decades.
“We’ve had the privilege of working with some of the greatest partners you could ever hope for,” Van Schie explains. “Take a company like Ross Video. We have been partners since 1978. There is no doubt in my mind that having a customer like that makes
you a better company over the long term. It has to. You will do anything to not let them down, and knowing they appreciate when you perform is a key driver for team satisfaction and growth. We’re also fortunate to have very low employee turnover. This provides for a consistent point of contact and allows us to build great relationships with our customers. When it comes time to troubleshoot a situation it makes a big difference when you know the person you’re working with, when you have that level of understanding about that customer’s operations and unique needs.”
The one thing that SFI can be sure of is that change will continue to dominate its landscape. 2023 will most likely see the launch of a revamped government
framework applied to Canadian imports, referred to as CARM (CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management).
“There will be a number of fundamental changes for any Canadian importer,” Van Schie says. “At the end of the day it’s going to be especially beneficial to have a customs broker like SFI that provides a hands-on approach.”
Adds Mitchell, “2023 has really started off with a bang in terms of new opportunities. One thing that continues to set SFI apart is that we try to be patient about finding the right partnerships. The discussions we’re already having this year indicate that SFI is going to continue to add to its success. With every new opportunity, we learn something and we try to use that to improve our capabilities. We want growth that benefits all our customers.”
Years in business: 70
Almost 200,000 sq ft of warehouse and e-Commerce fulfillment space
Cross-border fulfillment strategies to eliminate U.S. duties on shipments to U.S. buyers
Single point of contact for customs clearance anywhere in Canada or the U.S.
Fleet of tractor trailers as well as box trucks with tailgates providing same-day cross-border linehaul
Full-service logistics department capable of arranging truckload, less-thantruckload, as well as ocean and airfreight
Integration capabilities with over 50 top ERP and e-Commerce platforms for data sharing
Duty deferred warehousing in both Canada and the U.S.
myUSaddress personal cross-border shopping service has over 30,000 customers
double-digit growth each of the last 5 years
70+ employees, over 20 Certified Customs Specialists/Licensed Brokers
When Ed Demyati moved to Canada from Syria in 2008, it didn’t take him long to realize there was a major market opportunity brewing in the food supply and distribution industry.
Honing in on the growing popularity of international cuisine in Ottawa, Demyati and his brother launched Jenna Food Products in 2015, a full service logistics and warehousing company for food and beverage brands serving Middle Eastern restaurants and bigbox retailers across Canada.
Armed with an existing knowledge of sales, distribution and logistics from his family’s longstanding history in the importexport business – over 100 years to be exact – Demyati set out to replicate his family’s success in Ottawa.
“We wanted to help these international brands establish themselves in the Canadian market,” says Demyati. “A few years in now and we’ve exceeded our own expectations.”
With demand for service on the rise, Demyati says he quickly knew he needed some outside expertise to help manage the company’s growth trajectory and ambitions.
Turning to BDC for help, Demyati was matched with a financing partner, who assisted the Jenna Food’s team in securing some working capital to invest back into the
company. Soon after, he was paired with BDC Advisory Services, where he began working closely with Tara Parry, a senior client partner with the firm.
“From day one of meeting the Demyati brothers, you could tell they had the right mindset to make their business a success,” says Parry. “They were eager to share their industry knowledge with us, and were open to recommendations we made whether it came to process or strategy, which makes for a great partnership.”
One of the critical projects Demyati tackled with BDC was moving Jenna Foods from its original 3,000 sq ft warehouse in Ottawa to a new, 18,000 sq ft, state of the art building in Russel.
Leveraging BDC’s financing opportunities, Demyati says they were able to build the highest quality facility, including specialized loading docks, a space saving design and top-tier heating and cooling systems to ensure product shelf life.
“That was just the tip of the iceberg of our work together,” says Parry. “From there we started exploring how to expand their product lines, reach bigger retailers and implement the technology they would need
to remain competitive and successful.”
In addition to real-estate financing, BDC also supported Jenna through the transition with advisory services, including food safety certifications that would allow the company to export products both domestically and outside of Canada, as well as sales and marketing to optimize revenue growth.
“BDC has been a key piece in our growth story,” says Demyati. “They’re constantly supporting us and seeing what we need. Whether it’s advice, or funds or relationships and business connections, they are helping us through it all.”
With no plans to slow down in the future – in fact, the distribution company’s new facility has the option to expand another 18,000 sq ft if needed – Demyati says his goal is to make Jenna Foods the number one food distributor in Canada.
And with a partner like BDC on his side, he says the dream is not so far off.
“If you have ambitions to grow your business beyond your means, you need to think about who is going to help you, because it’s not something you can do alone,” says Demyati. “Don’t be shy about asking for help, or admitting you don’t know everything. There are people out there who can help you.”
Work-life balance is attracting newly inspired small businesses to villages and towns south-west of Ottawa. The key attractors are affordability and lifestyle along the 1000 Islands and Rideau Canal Waterways, along with easy access to major highways.
Violets on Main Village Bakery owners Patti and Trevor Johnson are two busy but very happy bakers. The couple come from very hectic careers. Patti was a fire department dispatcher and Trevor worked in air traffic control before they moved from Vancouver to Ottawa about 12 years ago. Opening a full-service bakery in Merrickville, Ontario, 16 months ago has been one of the greatest adventures of their lives. They enjoy the fast pace and friendliness of the historic village and “all of the wonderful people who come from all over the region. We are so grateful and love sharing our little place of deliciousness with everyone who walks through the front door. The community is great and we love how we can do this together as a couple.”
Westport Brewing Company is a small village craft brewery. It is surrounded by water and anchored in the heart of Westport, Ontario, with the front door to historical Main Street and a back porch overlooking Westport Harbor on the Upper Rideau Lake. They call it a quintessential cottage town where lakeside activity is ample and small town life is simple. “We always wanted to start a business in Westport, and having a background in brewing it was a really good fit,” says Kevin Quinlan, co-owner with his partner Tamara Phillips. “We set up the brewing tanks front and centre so our patrons can see the action and be part of the experience,” says Tamara. “There is so much this area has to offer, so we always say come to Westport and drink in the beauty.”
Watch
and hidden gems for travellers, foodies and adventurers
At least two “boutique hospitality” companies in Eastern Ontario are catering to a growing desire for corporate retreats that are a nice getaway for Zoomed-out employees looking to reconnect, but not too far from home.
“We see an opportunity to serve the business community with the perfect collaborative work retreat,” says Marilou Arends, co-owner of Maple & Rose, formerly Mill Isle Bed & Breakfast, in Merrickville.
“The trend that we’re seeing is people wanting to stay a bit closer to home; do some travelling, but stay close and staying local is
definitely coming up a lot more,” says Kate Folk, who is the general manager and coowner of Maple & Rose alongside Arends.
“Corporate team-building events have started to become popular again,” adds Cynthia Peters, chef instructor and founder of From the Farm Cooking School and owner of Maison Maitland near Brockville. “They’re a great way for co-workers to reconnect after working from home the last couple of years.”
According to Yellow House, a global event management firm with an office in Toronto, well-planned corporate group travel and retreats in “cool outdoor locations” are going to spike as a key business tool in 2023.
Maple & Rose and Maison Maitland seem well positioned to take advantage. They’re
both located in small tourist communities but each has a distinct style. Maple & Rose is an 1850s Victorian brick home on an acre of lawn with century-old maple trees set within sight of the Rideau Canal and the village of Merrickville. Maison Maitland is a Georgian period palladian-style stone house set on five acres of land overlooking the St. Lawrence River on Hwy. 2 in the village of Maitland.
Their business models also diverge. Maison Maitland is a culinary school, while Maple & Rose is a venue for people to connect in whatever way they choose.
“In a way I’m trying to replicate that authentic European feeling as much as possible in what I’m trying to create here,” says Peters.
She offers a number of culinary experiences, from half-day classes for teams of two cooking a lunch, to group classes for up to 10 people making a three-course meal, to team-building events for up to 60 people.
At Maple & Rose, customers get to choose their own theme, or no theme at all.
“When people are booking, I can ask them, ‘What is it you’re looking for, what is this visit about to you, who’s coming and how can I support you with that?’” says Folk.
The idea is to tap into local talent and curate whatever the customers want, whether that’s organizing a local chef to cook a meal for the group or give a cooking lesson, or organizing yoga in the back yard with a local teacher.
Visitez le Réseau agroalimentaire de l’Est ontarien pour trouver des fermes, des saveurs locales, des artisans culinaires, des marchés champêtres, des festivals culinaires et bien plus encore.
Visit
Eastern
Nonna’s Gelato
Vivez une expérience gustative à l’italienne à chaque bouchée. Live an Italian taste experience with every bite. cafesurlarive.com 253 rue Water St., Plantagenet, ON
Les Vergers Villeneuve & Blueberry Farm
U-Pick or We Pick. Fruits wines available all year.
Auto-cueillette ou déjà cueillis. Vins de fruits offerts à l’année. vergersvilleneuve.com · 1341 Rollin, St-Pascal-Baylon, ON K0A 3N0
Quality meats and other local products. Les viandes de qualité et d’autres produits locaux. lorignalpacking.ca · 2567, route 17, L’Orignal ON K0B 1K0
U-pick of super berries, the new face of health. Auto-cueillette de supers fruits, le nouveau visage de la santé. lesfruitsdupoirier.com · 2535, concession 3, St-Eugène, ON K0B 1P0
May–October · 45 local producers Night markets See our social media
Mai–octobre · 45 producteurs locaux Marchés de nuit Voir nos médias sociaux Www.metcalfefm.com · Metcalfe Fairgrounds, 2821 8th Line Rd, Metcalfe ON
Greater Napanee, Addington Highlands, Loyalist and Stone Mills make up the County of Lennox & Addington. Two hours west of Ottawa between Kingston and Prince Edward County, the area combines a perfect mix of historic, rural charm and big-city amenities. With an abundance of outdoor adventures, culinary experiences and boutique shops in bustling downtowns, you’ll never run out of things to do and see.
Trinkets and treasures
Book Shop, Tamworth
Get swept away by two floors of quality second hand books in a Victorian coach house. With a hand-picked selection of books from every genre, you could spend hours browsing the shelves.
Lansing Gifts & Gallery, Napanee
Find one-of-a-kind items from local artists and artisans including unique home accent decor, kitchenware, fashion accessories, toys, contemporary jewelry and so much more.
Barnyard Adventures
Topsy Farms, Amherst Island
A fully-functioning sheep farm, Topsy Farms has something for everyone. Explore the surrounding hiking trails, see the impressive
Irish dry-stone walls, tour the farm, snuggle the lambs and check out the gift shop filled with wool blankets and other natural products right from the farm.
Hickory Lane Alpacas, Napanee
This unique little farm will have you all smiles! Of course the star attraction are the alpacas that you can feed right out of your hand. But, there are a lot of other barnyard friends that will be vying for your attention including chickens, roosters, ducks, pigs, goats and horses.
Mother nature at its finest
The most southerly dark sky site in Ontario, the L&A Dark Sky Viewing Area offers visitors a night sky experience similar to 100 years ago. Take in the bright constellations and sweeping stars from dusk until dawn, no telescope required. Just look up and enjoy.
Bon Echo Provincial Park, Cloyne
Celebrated as one of the most beautiful Provincial Parks in Ontario, Bon Echo is a camper’s dream. With over 40km of hiking trails, three natural sand beaches and 260 Indigenous pictographs found on the majestic Mazinaw rock, you’ll have plenty to see and do within the park and in the surrounding communities.
FOOD & DRINK
Feast after feast
Test out some of their award-winning wines, or if cider is more your thing, try Cole Point – their delicious hard apple cider sourced from local orchards. Did we mention there’s also an on-site pizzeria?
This local brewery sits on a family farm with over 200 years of heritage. With a lively taproom serving the brewery’s flagship beers, this is the perfect place to stop for a drink. It’s also a short drive from the village of Bath which features a variety of great dining options.
Hang your hat here
Tucked away on Barking Goat Farms, this private all-season cabin is a delight. Enjoy walking trails on the property, a fire pit, outdoor shower and take a guided tour of the farm while visiting the goats, donkeys and chickens.
A bit of rustic luxury, this terrific yurt experience will bring you closer to nature with the coziness of home. Adjacent to a lake, and outfitted with a stone patio, garden and access to outdoor activities, this unique spot is one to visit.
Looking for even more fun things to do in Lennox & Addington? Visit www.NaturallyLA.ca for more ideas on things to do or see in the region!
Explore the city’s rich history, natural beauty and abundant activities
There’s more to Brockville than meets the eye. Between its warm vibes, clean air and zero traffic jams, it won’t take you long to realize that in addition to its expansive waterfront vistas and abundant parks, Brockville is a small yet complete city where everything you need is close at hand. As a bonus, you’ll find that the people are personable and welcoming, ready to help make your visit memorable.
Brockville is ideally situated between two international bridges to the United States, an hour’s drive from Ottawa and midway between Toronto and Montreal. It’s accessible by car, boat, train or even plane — the latter thanks to the Brockville-1000 Islands Regional Tackaberry Airport. You’ll be charmed by the ease of life here and can easily enjoy all the amenities including abundant accommodation options while revelling in Brockville’s proximity to nature, which makes it a true four-season playground full of possibilities.
Step back in time
Brockville is a place steeped in history. Savour tales of lavish lifestyles and maybe a ghost story or two at the opulent Fulford Place mansion, built over 100 years ago. Head to the town square to visit the courthouse, a National Historic Site, then proceed to the Brockville Museum to learn about the city’s important industrial past and take a tour.
The river is calling 1000 Islands & Seaway Cruises offers leisurely tours and highspeed WildCat excursions. Alternatively, set off in your own boat from one of two city-owned boat launches or rent a motor boat, canoe, kayak or paddleboard. Enjoy amazing fishing and if camping’s your thing, sites are available in Thousand Islands National Park.
Enjoy hiking or biking on the Brock Trail, which stretches from Centeen Park through to the Mac Johnson Wildlife Area with its five additional trails. There’s also great hiking in Thousand Islands National Park, including at Jones Creek and Landon Bay or the Blue Mountain trail in Charleston Lake Provincial Park.
Spend time in one of the world’s best freshwater scuba-diving locations; Dive Brockville Adventure Centre offers scuba training plus snorkelling expeditions for the whole family. The Brockville Railway Tunnel offers another immersive experience with its accessible pathway and mesmerizing LED light and sound display. A deeper dive into nature awaits at the UNESCO-designated Frontenac Arch Biosphere surrounding the city.
The Brockville area is a mecca for golfers, with six courses. Switch things up with a round of soccer-inspired foot golf at Sunnidell Golf or play disc golf at the Flyboy Canada One course. Get the whole family into the swing of things at the 1000 Island Miniature Golf Centre & Driving Range.
The Aquatarium interactive learning centre includes replica ships, playful creatures, the AQ Express Train and 4 all-new exciting exhibits to discover. Visit local parks to picnic, swim or enjoy playgrounds, pump tracks and splash pads. On Saturday nights from May to September, the local speedway’s a fun stop.
Visitors to Brockville appreciate the city’s diverse and delicious culinary scene which capitalizes on an abundance of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. From charming cafes to fine dining establishments, Brockville’s restaurants, craft breweries and wineries provide something for every taste and budget, whether you’re looking picnic fare, a quick bite or a romantic dinner for two.
The historic Brockville Arts Centre is home to community theatre companies and welcomes many touring performances; it also features an art gallery. Free live concerts are held Sundays through July and August in Hardy Park. Find the Marianne Van Silfhout Gallery — a hub for the area’s art community — at St. Lawrence College.
An annual highlight is the 1000 Islands Regatta on Canada Day weekend, featuring hydroplane racing, an artisans’ market, kids’ zone and live music, with Loverboy as the Friday night headliners. Also not to be missed are the Poker Run, RibFest, TIKO dog show and Triathlon/Duathlon in August.
• Scuba enthusiasts can explore century-old shipwrecks and the underwater sculpture park – the first one in Canada.
• Hall’s Apple Market is a year-round foodie favourite, especially during picking season.
• Treetop Trekking offers zip lines, canopy tours and more.
Fun facts about Brockville:
• Originally called Elizabethtown, the settlement was renamed in honour of Major-General Isaac Brock, a hero of the War of 1812.
• Brockville became Ontario’s first incorporated selfgoverning town on January 28, 1832, two years before Toronto.
• Known as the ‘city of the 1000 Islands,’ Brockville owns 18 islands available for day use as well as camping.
A fun, family-friendly itinerary
• Brockville Railway Tunnel
• Mini Moose Café for snacks, coffee, ice cream and more
• Aquatarium
• Riverside lunch at Fat Les Waterfront Patio
• 1000 Islands Cruise
Nancy Sendell didn’t set out to become a “pot-positive” entrepreneur.
“I moved to Westport from Toronto back in 2019 with the brilliant idea of buying a house here and opening up a bed and breakfast,” Sendell says.
She bought an adorable farmhouse in the well-known tourist hub on Big Rideau Lake and put her interior design training to work crafting a cozy hideaway for guests and building a small business to help with the mortgage.
She opened her new bed and breakfast just in time for the first wave of COVID in Ontario.
“So I stumbled on through a couple of seasons of really not great income coming in,” Sendell admits.
To supplement her slim earnings, she took on part-time work with cannabis company Canopy Growth, headquartered in nearby Smiths Falls. While working there the 64-year-old says she realized that the legal cannabis business was much more sophisticated than the little illicit baggies of green stuff she remembered from her youth.
She also came to believe that the drug could be a real benefit to people in their 60s living through knee surgeries, sleeplessness or chronic pain.
“Believe it or not, once you get in your 60s, all that stuff comes into play big time. So I thought there was an opportunity here to get information out,” she says.
She also thought catering to the “cannabis-curious,” especially the older and less experienced crowd, would be a great way to differentiate her business from other B&Bs in the area.
Sendell doesn’t sell cannabis or promote its use to younger people. She doesn’t even allow smoking indoors. What she does provide is a cozy venue for guests to enjoy cannabis without judgment or stigma.
“What I’m offering here is a safe and responsible way to consume cannabis in a cute little village that’s got a winery, a brewery, some great live music and we’re right on the Rideau Trail and next to a lot of other beautiful little trails,” she says.
Sendell is also happy to share her cannabis expertise. In fact, she’s rolling that into a bit of a side business. She is in the process of becoming a certified cannabis
sommelier through B.C. company CannaReps. In the spring, she hopes to begin hosting educational workshops geared for people 55 and older.
“I find that most budtenders are much younger and have very different views and tastes when it comes to today’s array of cannabis products,” she says of her decision to target an older demographic.
Sendell says her appeal to what she calls the cannabis curious has not led to a boom
in business so far. She blames rules around cannabis advertising that make it difficult to get the word out.
Among other things, the Cannabis Act prohibits testimonials and endorsements promoting cannabis in a way that associates it with things like recreation or alcohol, or advertising it in foreign media.
Sendell jokes that you can only promote cannabis by never using the words “cannabis” or “pot.”
An ideal location for an enjoyable getaway Spring is the perfect time to take a fresh look at the riverside destination of Cornwall. Located a little more than an hour’s drive southeast of the nation’s capital, Cornwall offers all the amenities of a medium-sized city, but it’s also brimming with small town charm. At every turn you’ll discover fascinating history, picturesque parks, comforting food and people who are supremely friendly and welcoming. Although it’s easy to plan your visit ahead of time thanks to the comprehensive resources available at CornwallTourism.com, be prepared to have locals offering you tips and stories to help make your time in Cornwall even more enjoyable than expected. Whether you’re looking for a getaway that’s relaxing, inspiring, educational or invigorating, you’ll find everything you need in this clean, green city that’s home to world-class events, award-winning inns and so much more.
The Riverside Trail is one of Cornwall’s most-visited attractions, beloved by walkers, runners and cyclists alike. Running the entire length of the city, it offers amazing views from Gray’s Creek, through Lamoureux Park and on to Guindon Park. There’s free cyclist parking at the conveniently-located Cornwall Civic Complex (100 Water Street East) right beside the Riverside Trail. It’s just steps from Downtown Cornwall, a perfect spot to visit for a bite to eat after your ride. You can find maps and more info at www.CornwallTourism.com/cycling.
From sport fishing to kayaking, canoeing and stand-up paddle-boarding, the Cornwall area is a mecca for those who love to play on or in the water. An angler’s haven with trophy fish of all types, Cornwall offers two public boat launches in Lamoureux and Guindon Parks.
Cruise downtown to visit Cornwall’s many one-of-a-kind boutiques and don’t miss Nickel & Ore — one of the largest gift shops of its kind in Eastern Ontario, packed with a carefully curated selection of items ranging from whimsical to practical. Mrs. B’s Gifts & Home Decor is another favourite, with collectibles, outdoor décor and much more.
Cornwall comes alive each year with great festivals and events. The fun kicks off on April 22-23 with the Cornwall & Area Pop Event (CAPE), featuring celebrity guests, exhibitors and more. Other popular events include the Boston-qualifier St. Lawrence Marathon (April 29), Cornwall Ribfest (July 27-30), Poutine Feast (August 3 – 6) and the 2023 Pride Parade & Festival (August 12). From September 19-24, the world’s top curlers are once again coming to Cornwall for the 2023 Shorty Jenkins Classic.
Cornwall’s thriving culinary and beverage scenes offer something for every taste and budget, showcasing farmfresh local ingredients infused with global influences. Scores of eateries — many with patios — are available across the city. Gather your own delicious local harvest at seasonal farmers’ markets as well.
Explore Indigenous culture at the Native North American Travelling College on Cornwall Island and learn about one of the greatest engineering projects in Canadian history – the St. Lawrence Seaway & Power Project – at the Saunders Hydro Dam Visitor Centre. Feast your eyes on visual art at the Cline House Gallery and make sure to check out Art Walk on June 23 in Downtown Cornwall.
The self-guided Cornwall Historic Walking Tour showcases the city’s rich past via several dozen artistic plaques. There’s a lot to learn about the region in the Cornwall Community Museum, as well as at the city’s many old churches, the former cotton mill district and the Historic SDG Jail.
Options for accommodations are numerous — from hotels, motels, Airbnb spots and quaint bed and breakfasts, including the historic Auberge Chesley’s Inn. Ontario’s oldest inn, it has been recognized as one of the province’s best bicycle-friendly businesses. The Best Western and Comfort Inn are comfortable and convenient options as well.
Hidden Gems:
• Enjoy a taste of Cornwall at Rurban Brewing, the town’s beloved microbrewery.
• Golf the day away at Summerheights Golf Links, featuring 36 holes!
• Essential Kitchen Cooking studio offers unique culinary experiences, kitchenware and more.
Spring recharge itinerary ideas:
1. Sample some of the best bites in Cornwall and learn a bit about the city with Cornwall Food Tours (www. cornwallfoodtours.com to book).
2. Stroll through Memorial Park or the Rotary Eco Gardens in Lamoureux Park to admire the spring blooms.
3. Enjoy the spring scenery with a cycling trek along the lovely Riverside Trail.
4. Rent bikes from Marina 200 (call 613-932-8301 to book) and explore Cornwall’s beautiful waterfront.
5. Bliss out with some pampering at one of the region’s spas.
6. Complete your day with some retail therapy and dinner downtown followed by a visit to Cornwall’s popular escape room, Rush Hour Escapes (book a time at rushhourescapes.ca).
Fun attractions:
• Tour the Historic SDG Jail in Downtown Cornwall, one of Ontario’s oldest public buildings
• Immerse yourself in science and nature at the popular Saunders Hydro Dam Visitor Centre
• Discover amazing stories and artifacts from Cornwall’s past at the Cornwall Community Museum
Enjoy historic beauty in a lively, natural setting
Smiths Falls is the friendliest town, and one that serves up big adventures as well. Tucked between Ottawa and Kingston, this fast-growing waterfront community offers historic architecture, a vibrant downtown and welcoming small-town charm. From one-of-a-kind accommodations and experiences, to delicious food and unique shops, to waterfront events and recreation, the town’s focus on hospitality makes it easy to enjoy a day, a weekend or an even longer stay in Smiths Falls.
All aboard!
Smiths Falls’ illustrious railway heritage comes to life at the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario, a National Historic Site. Visitors can climb up into the cupola of a caboose or inspect the track in a Speeder Car. New exhibits, events and programs take place all season.
The Heritage House Museum is an elegant Victorian dwelling offering a look into the lifestyle of a wealthy mill owner. The museum offers changing exhibitions, art shows, day camps, educational programs, gift shop, gardens, picnic area and
Hidden Gems
• Post Office Cocktail Bar for signature cocktails and small plates
• Sleep in a caboose at the Railway Museum AirBnB
• Russell Street parkette featuring stunning mural by Dominic Laporte
Fun Facts
special events throughout the year. You can also step back in time on a self-guided heritage walking tour showcasing the town’s rich architectural history.
Soak up the sights and sounds of the bustling Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Launch your own boat, or rent a canoe, kayak or paddleboard at Pedal & Paddle, where you’ll also find rental bikes if you’d rather stay on dry land. If exploring on foot is more your style, Smiths Falls boasts a network of pathways; outside town you can check out the Rideau Trail, the Cataraqui Trail and the Ottawa Valley Rail Trail.
Scenic Centennial Park – home to the town’s iconic water tower – is ideal for a picnic and a walk along the waterside trail. In summer, enjoy movies under the stars on Thursday evenings. You’ll find a beach here as well as one at Murphy Park. Lower Reach Park offers ball diamonds, tennis courts, soccer pitches, beach volleyball, a splash pad and more. If a golf course is your perfect playground, visit the Smiths Falls Golf and Country Club, home course for LPGA major champion Brooke Henderson.
• In 1912 the Smiths Falls Bascule Bridge was built to carry the CN Railway mainline over the Rideau Canal. It was designated a National Historic Site in 1983.
• In 1963, the first Beatles album for the North American market was pressed by RCA in Smiths Falls.
• 18th Century Loyalist Thomas Smythe - for whom Smiths Falls was named - never actually set foot in the area.
The former CPR Railway depot is now home to the Station Theatre which offers live shows, musical events and movies throughout the year. In the summer and early fall, don’t miss the Outerbridge Clockwork Mysteries, featuring world-class illusionists who never fail to amaze audiences. Meet makers and craftspeople at the new Artisan’s hub in downtown Smiths Falls.
Gather with friends in the Old Post Office AirBnB penthouse suite. Pop into Sip Bistro in the delightful Davidson Courtyard for a snack and a glass of wine or craft beer then head out to collect provisions before spending four days on a luxury Le Boat houseboat cruising the historic Rideau waterway.
In the small town that thinks big, summer is packed with events. In June, savour all the fun of Ribfest at Lower Reach Park. The Rise at the Falls Car Show is an annual favourite, as is Rideau Paddle Fest, a day-long celebration of the UNESCO Heritage waterway. Check out all the special programming for Canada Day and don’t miss the Spirit of the Drum Pow Wow, another annual tradition.
Sample itinerary – girls’ getaway day
• Indulge in some pampering at the Blue Door Spa
• Pick up a picnic lunch at C’est Tout Bakery
• Check out The Artisan Village at the Falls
• Visit 4 Degrees Brewing for a pint on their dog-friendly patio
• Enjoy live music at Bowie’s Café Bar www.smithsfalls.ca/visit
At least one rural town in Eastern Ontario is showing its true colours — and it’s a full rainbow.
Scott Godwin and Luc Vincent, owners of Bubba & Bugs Coffee Bar in downtown Kemptville, grew up in rural communities before moving to Toronto, where they met. When they decided to relocate to Kemptville and open a coffee shop in early 2020, Godwin says they “made a deal with each other.”
“We wouldn’t put one foot back in the closet just because we were in a rural area,” says Godwin, who’s originally from Kemptville. “Visibility-wise, that’s something that’s remained important to us. The best you
can do is lead by example, so we try to be as open as we can to prove we aren’t just talking the talk.”
Godwin (Bugs) and Vincent (Bubba) say they decided to not only live their own most authentic lives, but to encourage others to do the same, creating a cultural hub in their cafe and hosting events based around LGBTQ2S+ Pride.
They say the most popular event they’ve introduced is the drag brunch, which fills Bubba & Bugs with baked goods, lattes, breakfast food, customers, and, of course, drag queens.
Aside from creating safe spaces for queer folks, Godwin says the events help to “establish territory” that has zero tolerance for hatred, prejudice or judgment.
“Don’t come just because of the drag brunch — understand the place you’re coming to and the space you’re sharing in,” he explains. “We want to nurture that community here together.”
Another event that Godwin and Vincent introduced this past year was “very near and dear to our hearts,” they say — a queer prom. Available to anyone over the age of 16 who identifies on the “queer spectrum,” the prom allows attendees to feel safe being themselves while celebrating.
“We know some schools have come a long way, but from our time growing up, going to prom with a boyfriend was not going to happen,” says Godwin.
As some of the few local business owners that are publicly “out,” Godwin and Vincent
say they’ve found their niche. They say they are committed to “solidifying” their cafe as a safe space and “fighting that good fight.”
In combination with the Kemptville Pride Parade and various nonprofits dedicated to Pride, the Bubba & Bugs events are having community-wide benefits. North Grenville Mayor Nancy Peckford says the events are “contributing to the vibrancy” of the community and encouraging residents to stay in town on weekends and holidays.
“It’s enabling our own residents and residents from neighbouring communities to have more options, certainly in our downtown, so it’s fabulous that they’re creating this destination experience,” Peckford tells EOBJ
While a “strong queer community” has always existed in Kemptville, Peckford says, “it wasn’t as visible.”
The Bubba & Bugs events have “had a contagious effect in a positive way,” says Peckford, especially since Kemptville relies on residential growth and sees huge impacts from tourism.
Locally owned and operated, The Best Western Plus Perth Parkside Inn & Spa is your next destination hotel. Located in beautiful downtown Perth Ontario and within walking distance to many great shops and restaurants.
This high end, full service hotel serves both the corporate and leisure traveller with their board room, conference space and onsite catering. For our leisure guests we have our amazing spa and golf packages.
Our onsite amenities include a full service spa, salon, heated salt water pool, hot tub, steam room, fitness centre, and onsite restaurant.
Check out our website at www.perthparksideinnandspa.com or follow us on social
Whether you’re a local resident looking for some adventure or a first-time visitor to the capital, there is plenty to see and do in Ottawa this year. From good food and extreme adventures to music festivals and monumental anniversaries, 2023 is set to be a year of fun for the city. For even more information on events and activities in the capital visit ottawatourism.ca!
• Explore Ottawa’s history through beer and brewing with BrewDonkey’s new after-work craft brewery tour
• Visit Alice, a vegetable and fermentation-focused tasting menu restaurant run by Briana Kim, winner of the 2023 Canadian Culinary Championship
• Prefer drinks on the water? Check out Palapa Tours, Ottawa’s 12-person floating cocktail bar!
• Voted #4 on the Canada’s Best New Restaurants list, Perch is an intimate fine dining restaurant focused on sourcing Canadian ingredients
• Ahoy Captain! Starting this May, rent a luxury Le Boat rental right from Dows Lake! Fully equipped with cabins, bathrooms and a kitchen/ BBQ you can explore the Rideau Canal this summer in style
• Catch disco fever at Ottawa’s new indoor roller skating rink 4Wheelies! With a live DJ, food, bar, arcade, and party rooms you can roll the night away
• Camp Fortune is unveiling three new zip lines –totalling 4,478 feet of peak to peak travel. If that’s not enough, check out their 50-foot freefall jump!
• Take a ride on Ottawa’s first “beer bike”—aka the Thursty Pedaler. Seating up to 14 people, pedal your way through the Glebe or Wellington West while stopping at craft beer bars along the way
• A local classic, RBC Ottawa Bluesfest is back in a big way. From July 6-16 checkout a chock-full line up of performers including headliners Shania Twain, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Pitbull and more!
• More than 1,500 Indigenous athletes will visit Ottawa in August to compete in the Masters Indigenous Games – a competition of 10 contemporary and traditional sport categories. Check out the free cultural festival at Lansdowne Park while you’re there!
• Nature Nocturne is back at the Canadian Museum of Nature! The popular after-hours event that includes music, dancing, food, and drink hosts four events from May through January
• Celebrate 100 Years of the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve at the Canadian Tulip Festival from May 12-22. A new Mother’s Day Flower Fun Run will also take place May 14 in support of the Canadian Tulip Legacy
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2023, including at the RCMP Musical Ride Stables which reopen Monday to Friday, May 8-August 31!
• It’s a big year for the Rideau Lakes Cycle Tour, an annual ride from Ottawa to Kingston and back. The 200 km-each-way event, which attracts close to 1,500 cyclists every year, is celebrating its 50th year from June 10-11
• House of PainT – Ottawa’s festival of hip-hop culture –celebrates its 20th anniversary August 11-13, 2023!
Looking to take a journey back in Ottawa’s history to learn about the cool people, places and things that make the capital special? Then it’s time to discover Ottawa’s other museums. Through the Ottawa Museum Network, you can explore 11 local community museums, each with a unique story to tell. From an underground adventure at the Diefenbunker, to afternoon tea at the Billings Estate, immerse yourself in everything these special locations have to offer.
It’s Tea Time at Billings Estate
This National Historic Site is home to the oldest timber frame building in Ottawa as well as one of Ottawa’s oldest community cemeteries. Tour the family home, learn about the Billings Family and their contributions to Ottawa’s history or join the community for high tea on the estate grounds. (A)
Bytown Museum
The evolution of Ottawa
Explore the stories of an evolving city and its residents from the early days of Bytown to present-day Ottawa, while being uniquely situated on a spectacular UNESCO World Heritage site! From artifacts and photographs, to paintings and written histories, experience Ottawa’s past just steps away from Parliament hill. (B)
Cumberland Heritage Village Museum
Village life from the Roaring 20s to the Great Depression
An immersive and educational experience that showcases life in the 1920s and 30s with dozens of heritage and true-to-the-era reproduction buildings. Explore the sawmill, shingle mill, fire hall, church, general store and more! (C)
Descend into history, 75 feet underground
A once-top secret, four-storey underground bunker during the Cold War, The Diefenbunker offers visitors a unique experiential learning environment inside Canada’s most significant Cold War artifact. Take a guided tour, or try your hand at the on-site escape room, all while immersing yourself in the era. (D)
Fairfields Heritage House
Go back in time to the 19th century
Originally built on 660 acres of farmland, the museum tells the story of almost 200 years of rich, local history and the people who so actively helped shape the evolution of the area. Explore the 19th century Gothic Revival farmhouse, and take a stroll through the beautiful gardens and greenspace.
Take the kids to another era and teach them how to haggle Goulbourn Museum preserves and interprets material significant to the Goulbourn Township area before, during, and after its incorporation. The Museum houses a diverse collection of artifacts and many interactive exhibitions, including the popular Village General Store where children can dress in costume to barter or shop for supplies.
Nepean Museum
Nepean: The whole story
Using dozens of photos, artifacts, and interactive elements, the permanent exhibition spans the history of Nepean from its use by Algonquin peoples, up until Nepean’s amalgamation with Ottawa at the turn of the 21st Century. With many fun hands-on events, programs and exhibitions, you’ll find lots to discover. (E)
Osgoode Township Museum
Research your roots and discover farming in the olden days
Learn the story of how Indigenous people and the first European settlers paved a path for current day rural community members, and how these residents are cultivating their connections with the past! During your visit, tour the heritage garden and orchard and get a closer look at some antique farming equipment.
Ruins by the Ottawa River, and so much more Scenic views, historic buildings, stone ruins, and rolling green hills come together to create one of the most spectacular places in Ottawa to relax, learn, and explore. Tour the 200-year old historic manor and travel back in time with artifacts and furniture that tell a centuries-old story. (F)
Vanier Museopark
The only French-language museum in Ottawa, and it has a sugar shack! Learn about maple syrup production right in the heart of Vanier at the North America’s only urban sugar shack! Visitors can immerse themselves in the history of Ottawa’s francophone community while enjoying a sweet treat.
This old mill is still grinding away
Enjoy a guided tour of the 19th-century mill, which remains active – and learn how flour is made during milling demonstrations every Sunday from May to October. Or, discover Dickinson House where guests can enjoy daily life demonstrations, offering guests a deeper look at life during the Victorian Era. (G)
