London records record growth, mayor seeks bigger piece of the pie

While the city reported over $2B in construction activity this past year, the mayor says the city could reap more rewards. CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell reports.

The city of London recorded a record year for development in 2024, with $2.2 billion in construction activity.

But in spite of the high numbers, the mayor says the city is not reaping all the rewards it should be, and it’s local taxpayers who are being short-changed.

“Cities are the engines of economic growth, and yet do not see the revenues from that growth. That is an incredible challenge for a fast-growing city like London,” lamented London Mayor Josh Morgan.

The $2.2 billion in construction value represents an 82 per cent increase over 2023, which saw $1.21 billion in construction.

Among the major construction projects:

-Largest project by value: $192.6 million – eight-storey student residence at 1151 Richmond St.

-Largest industrial project: $125.7 million – warehouse expansion at 2300 Discovery Dr.

-Largest residential project: $98.2 million – 11-storey, 217-unit apartment at 230 North Centre Rd.

— Source: City of London

Mayor Morgan is using the record numbers to repeat his call for a better deal for cities with the provincial and federal governments.

“That growth, economic activity, sales taxes, income appreciation, we don’t see any of that. That fills up provincial and federal coffers, which is why I’ve been clear, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities has been clear, we need a new deal for cities. We need to be able to partake in this growth so that we don’t continue to have upper pressure on property taxes,” said Morgan.

While the city celebrates the record growth, it comes at a time of uncertainly, with economic challenges from the United States very much in focus. Mike Wallace, the executive director of the London Development Institute, said it will take consumer confidence to maintain this pace.

“And with this issues of tariffs, and costs, and jobs, it makes people nervous about making the most major investment that they do normally in their lives. And so, we need a stable economic market for us to be able to continue to produce at the level that we have been,” said Wallace.

Morgan won’t predict what will happen economically, but he says the city is well positioned to face challenges. “There will be challenges across the country. There’s a lot of headwinds, a lot of uncertainty. But what we’ve set ourselves up for is success,” said Morgan.