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Operational Highlights: Two Economic Development Awards
The City of Owen Sound was awarded two top prizes at the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) Awards of Excellence in April, winning both the Planning & Strategic Development Award and Workforce Development and Resident Attraction Award.
The River District Action Plan, a collaborative marketing, branding, and action strategy between the City of Owen Sound and the River District Board of Management, took home the EDCO Award in the Planning & Strategic Development (Rural) category.
The City’s Work from Home Capital of Canada© initiative won the award in the Workforce Development and Resident Attraction (Rural) category. The initiative was created to capitalize on the desire and ability of people to work from home on a more permanent basis during the global pandemic.
The River District Action Plan and the Work from Home Capital of Canada© initiatives each played a vital role to support existing businesses, new business start-ups, and worked to engage young people, entrepreneurs, innovators, and creative citizens in facilitating economic growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
14,133 Work From Home Capital of Canada website visits during the six week campaign; 53% of website visitors were from Toronto and the GTA
Operating Grant Glossary
Grants are sums of money given by a government or other organization for a particular use. The City receives multiple grants each year that support our operations.
Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund
(OMPF)
Province of Ontario
The OMPF is the Province’s main general assistance grant to municipalities.
2023 Funding: $1,961,600
Use: 100% of the OMPF grant is applied against the City’s operating budget.
Transit Grants
COVID Safe Restart Fund
This grant covers transit costs associated with COVID and lost revenues.
Phase 1: $172,229
Phase 2: $82,928
Phase 3: $155,449
Phase 4: $103,258
Gas Tax (Provincial)
This Grant is dedicated for expansion and operations of public transit systems.
2022 Funding: $251,000
Community Safety
Court Security
Province of Ontario
This fund offsets municipal costs associated with providing security to provincial courthouses.
2022 Funding: $375,000
Community Safety & Policing Local Priorities
This is allocated against part-time officers and mobile mental health and addictions response team costs under Police Services
2023 Funding: $183,750
Community Safety & Policing
Provincial Priorities
This is allocated against downtown core uniformed officers and analysts costs under Police Services
2023 Funding: $400,000
Operating Grant Glossary
Tom Thomson Art Gallery
Artistic Catalyst: Engage & Sustain Canada Council for the Arts
This operational funding is for organizations that facilitate connections between artists and the public.
2023 Funding: $70,000 ($280,000 over 4 years, 2020-2023)
Public Art Galleries: Operating Ontario Arts Council
This program supports the ongoing operations of not-for-profit, professional public art galleries in Ontario.
2023 Funding: $50,000 requested
Community Events
Reconnect Festival and Event Program
Province of Ontario
This program funds experiences that encourage people to rediscover our communities safely.
2022 Funding: $29,000
Use: Music at the Market and Harbour Nights Concert Series
Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund
Province of Ontario
This program funds experiences that increase cultural tourism and foster economic growth.
2022 Funding: $25,000
Use: The Sound Waterfront Festival
The 2023 Operating Budget includes more than $2,500,000 in anticipated grant and municipal funding.
Celebrate Ontario
Province of Ontario
Celebrate Canada provides funding for activities organized on National Indigenous Peoples Day, Saint-JeanBaptiste Day, Canadian Multiculturalism Day and Canada Day.
2022 Funding: $12,000
Use: Canada Day
Operational Highlights: Launch of the OPEN Card
In 2022, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library, Billy Bishop Museum, and Marine and Rail Waterfront Museum, launched the OPEN Card; a highly innovative, free membership program that links all four institutions.
The OPEN Card is available to anyone eligible for a Library Card and provides the holder access to all of the resources of the Library, as well as free membership to the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Billy Bishop Museum, and the Marine and Rail Waterfront Museum. As an additional benefit, through the TOM’s affiliation with the Ontario Association of Art Galleries, the cardholder also has free admission to over 100 Ontario art galleries. This partnership initiative has resulted in some incredible new collaborative projects that will see actualization in 2023.
3,000% increase in Art Gallery membership since the adoption of the OPEN Card. 2022 membership totals 8,830.
Tom Thomson Art Gallery
The TOM was established in commemoration of iconic Canadian landscape artist Tom Thomson who grew up on the shores of Georgian Bay, in Leith, Ontario, just north of Owen Sound.
Where to use your OPEN Card
Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library
Inside a renovated 1914 Carnegie building, the library houses thousands of helpful resources. Visitors can also use WiFi, computers, mobile apps, request materials, and rent rooms for outside functions.
Billy Bishop Museum
The Billy Bishop Home & Museum is a National Historic Site of Canada that commemorates the life and achievements of World War I flying ace and Victoria Cross winner Air Marshall William Avery “Billy” Bishop, and Canada’s aviation history.
Marine & Rail Museum
Housed in a former Canadian National Railway Station on the waterfront, the Museum’s artifacts, scale models, archival photos, and interactive stations bring to life the days of sail and steam. Discover the history and heritage of an era when Owen Sound was called “the Chicago of the North.”
