St. Thomas: Bullish outlooks, with the Sky the Limit

If you Ask Steve Peters What the Future of St. Thomas Holds, He sees Potential Not Just On The Ground, But also in the Sky and Along Elgin County’s Vast Lake Erie Shoreline.

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The Longtime Community Builder and St. Thomas History BUFF – A Form City Mayor and MPP, and now a City Councillor – Has No Crystal Ball to Divine Ho City’s Future, But Says He Knows Big and Bold Thinking Will Be part of it.

“St. Thomas has always been forced to Evolve and Reinvent Itself,” Said Peters, Speaking for Himself and Not for City Council.

“The Resiliency of St. Thomas, It’s in our Blood here,” Said Peters, Who Knows His City’s History Like Few Others.

The City’s Storied Past-From Railway-Era Boom and Bust, To its Automotive Heyday and other cycles-and its Industrial Renaissance with the Arrival of Auto Giant Volkswagen‘S $ 7-Billion Electric-Vehicle Battery Plant Now Being Built, has helped to prepare St. Thomas for its future.

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Its Rough And Turble History has taught residents to be open-minded, curious and forward-thinking. Its past has been in its leaders a will nimewhile, an ability to roll with the punches and expertise in dealing with the unxpected.

Peters Says He Knows His Hometown Will Rise to Whatever Challenge It Faces and Come Out Better Than Before. It’s Just The St. Thomas Way.

“That different Thinking has always been a good Thing about St. Thomas,” He Said.

“We at a cross-cuffs again after this historical roller coaster we’ve ridden in this area. We have a new opportunity in front of us with batteries and wonder spin-offs will come from that.”

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On the Ground, Peters Says He sees Opportunity in the Agri-Food Sector, from Food Processing to Greenhouse Innovation. Farming is the “Genesis” of Elgin County, He Said, The very First Thing People Did Whhen They Settled in the Region.

There are also opportunities to add value to the crops grown in the st. thomas are, he said, by processing food for store shelves nationwide and beyond. Nearby London, Home to A Large Cluster of Food Processors in One of the Nation’s Richest Farm Belts, is a proof-of-concept, he Said.

On the Shore, and Despite the Unfolding Canada-US Trade War Triggered by President Donald Trump, He sees Untapped Potential to Open A Channel of Commerce Across Lake Erie. Peters sees a possibility that smaller boats – not the big lake freightrs – could move people and goods across the 134 km of lake erie separating nearby port stanley and cleveland, ohio.

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In the Air, the growing city could leverage the potential of its municipal Airport at a time when cargo and package delivery is booming and london’s airport is only getting busier. Nearby Southwold Township’s Massive Amazon Distribution Facility is right on the Doorstep of St. Thomas, after all.

“Cargo drones are an emerging technology. Can Our Airport Become Some Sort of A distribution hub, or receiving hub?” Peters Wonders.

He notes VW’s Colossal New Factory Under Construction is Bringing With It New Investment in Roads and Highway Connections That Could Make St. Thomas More Attractive for Shipping and Receiving.

The City Should Grow and Develop In a Way That Complements its Neighbours, Peters Said. Central Elgin, Southwold and Elgin County Officials Deserve A Seat at the Table, He Said, and Avoiding Duplication and Wasted Effort Will Help Every Elgin County Community Thrive.

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St. Thomas, Projected to Grow to 81,000 people by 2051 with VW’s Arrival and the spin-off jobs expected from that, is becoming a diverse place where newcomers can build lives and business.

It’s a place that took an old railway station and turned it into a landmark event space and office building. It transformed a giant old railway bridge that icon served the Michigan Central Railway Into Canada’s First Elevated Park.

It’s tinging an old school and converting it into affordable housing, a plan just announced this week.

City Hall and Developers Are Working to Unlock the Potential of St. Thomas’s Old Industrial Rail Lands. The City is also Charting A Path Forward on Housing and Homelessness that doesn’t leave People Behind.

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“What Everyone Needs to do is Really Imagine As Big and As Bold as they can be what St. Thomas Could or Should be,” Said Paul Jenkins, Chief Executive of the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce.

St. Thomas Already has a lot Batting for it. Along with London, it’s part of Canada’s 11th-Largest Metro Area by Population. It’s also strategically located in the densely populated Great Lakes Economic Region of the Continent, Jenkins Said.

The St. Thomas of the Future Won’t Be Blind to Those Assets, He Said, Adding Its Proximity to the Nearby Hwy. 401, The Nation’s Busiest Highway, is another strategic Advantage.

More Investment in Critical Infrastructure by Government Will Prime St. Thomas for Even More Growth, He Said.

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The people in St. Thomas are inventive, Optimistic, Resourceful and Ready to Sixteen Opportunities That Come Their Way, He Said. While St. Thomas Gets Along Well with London, Its Neighbour to the North, It Might Not Always Be in the Larger City’s Shadow, Jenkins Said.

“In 100 Years, it’s not inconceivable that the center of Southwestern Ontario has moves a little bit bit further south from London Into Thomas,” He Said.

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Over five weekes we are chronicling our community’s place in the country, the promise of greater prosperity, and the blueprint to get there. See The How Canada Wins Series Intro and other local stories here.

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