In the light of recent job losses in Peterborough, the political leaders of all four levels of government in the region have jointly announced the formation of task force to help industry in the region succeed.
On Wednesday (July 30), Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith advised a meeting with local industry and economic development leaders would take place the following morning at the offices of the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce. MPP Smith did not share who was participating in the meeting.
Following Thursday morning’s meeting, MPP Smith along with Peterborough MP Emma Harrison, Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark, and Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal issued a joint statement indicating the meeting was the first of a series of consultations “to understand the challenges faced by industry operating in the Peterborough area.”
“Recognizing that all levels of government play a role in ensuring job creators in the region can be successful, a task force will be formed to facilitate the cooperative approach that all four elected officials will use to work together to address the concerns of businesses and improve the conditions for their operations,” the joint statement reads.
“Working together to find ways to leverage each level of governments tools and programs in a collaborative approach to help businesses in the region succeed will be the main goal of the task force.”
“Mayor Leal, Warden Clark, MPP Smith and MP Harrison commit to work together to enhance the prospects of the local job creators in the Peterborough region to be successful and
continuing to contribute to the fabric of the region.”
According to MPP Smith, the meeting was prompted by three recent announcements by local industries that they are closing operations in Peterborough.
On June 25, technology company Seimens Canada announced it would be winding down its manufacturing facility in Peterborough over the next two years, affecting around 160 jobs.
On July 23, kawarthaNOW broke the news that Lufthansa InTouch would be closing its only customer service centre in North America by May 2026, affecting around 400 jobs.
On July 25, the Coca-Cola Company announced it would be discontinuing its line of frozen juice products at the Minute Maid plant in Peterborough by 2026. No details were provided about the number of jobs that would be affected.
According to Statistics Canada, both Windsor and Peterborough currently have the highest unemployment rates in Ontario. In May, Peterborough’s unemployment rate 11.2 per cent and Windsor’s was 10.8 per cent. In June, Windsor’s unemployment rate was 11.2 per cent and Peterborough’s was 10 per cent — both much higher than the national average of 6.9 per cent.
In an interview with CBC Radio’s Ontario Morning on Friday (August 1), MPP Smith told host Nav Nanwa that Peterborough is a victim of its own success at attracting global companies, in that those companies are now making decisions based on what’s happening with worldwide markets rather than what’s happening in Peterborough.
“A lot of it has to do with the uncertainty in the marketplace because of what President Trump is doing in the U.S.,” Smith said. “The market is a global market now, and businesses thrive when there is predictability and stability. With Trump’s actions in the States right now, there is no predictability for any industry and there is absolutely no stability in the marketplace.”
He said that the Ontario government will be offering retraining programs to affected employees. He noted that, because the three companies have provided advanced notice of their plans, there is an opportunity of Peterborough to diversify by finding other companies to take over closed facilities.
“There’s a number of stokes in the fire,” Smith said, adding he wasn’t in a position to provide more details because nothing has been confirmed.
“A lot of times, what happens is you’ll throw the fishing lure out, so to speak, and you might have to cast a dozen times before you get that actual first bite and are able to reel someone in. Just because we’ve had some initial conversations doesn’t mean that that company is imminent to come to the area. We also have some companies that are in the area that are looking to expand and perhaps could move into those larger facilities.”
Smith acknowledged that Peterborough has had “some challenges for a number of years in attracting businesses,” noting that lack of serviced employment land continues to be an issue.
“Our next stage now is to see how we can leverage the existing companies to allow them to grow, and what steps can every level of government do to help facilitate that,” he said, adding that was the purpose of Thursday’s meeting.
He said the biggest challenge that industry representatives shared at the meeting was around communication and how different programs offered by all levels of government could be coordinated to help make businesses more competitive.
“We’ve all committed to work together on this to make sure that businesses that are here, that still exist in the Peterborough area, have every opportunity to succeed and can work well with each of the levels of government.”
