A push for economic growth in Windsor

Windsor Chamber of Commerce looks to increase economic growth. CTV Windsor’s Bob Bellacicco looks into it.

Ryan Donally describes his first year as president of the Chamber of Commerce as tumultuous. He took over the helm just as the tariff era began.

“This has been an opportunity for us to demonstrate the importance of the Chamber of Commerce.”

In February, the chamber launched an economic trade task force, sharing information across industries and sending those findings directly to government.

“I can tell you for a fact that the federal government has used a lot of the information that we provided up to them as they were shaping their regional tariff response initiative and their defense initiative that just came out,” Donally said.

He expects to see more government investment in local companies and also says there is push to expand the region’s economic base.

“So it’s automotive and defence, automotive and oil and gas, automotive and aerospace. Similarly, we’re going to try to work with companies to internationalize so it’s not just Canada and the U.S., it’s Canada, U.S. and Germany for argument’s sake or South Korea.”

Monday’s AGM saw University of Windsor president JJ McMurtry and St. Clair College president Michael Silvaggi address the audience. Both spoke of local collaboration as they do their part in shaping the future of the region’s workforce and economy.

McMurtry says Canada is experiencing a skills gap and feels the university is well positioned to help fill it, thanks in part to graduate level international students.

“The majority of our international students are students who are at the master’s level and that really, i think, improves both our relationships with other countries but also improves the skills gap here in Canada.” McMurtry said.

Silvaggi feels there’s no better time than now to capitalize on producing job-ready graduates for new business being attracted to the region.

“When we talk about information and intelligence, a lot of that comes from entrepreneurs, from those that are working and trying to build a better future for the city,” Silvaggi said. “We are also looking at our programming to ensure that it does align with our labour market needs. We need to continue to be ready.”