Location has always worked in Temiskaming Shores’ favour.
Firmly entrenched as a regional shopping and service community, the northeastern Ontario municipality of 10,000 has evolved into a rest stop for cross-Canada commercial truck traffic.
“The highway traffic is what’s made the difference in Temiskaming Shores,” said economic development officer James Franks, as an estimated 6,000 vehicles pass by daily on Highway 11.
Temiskaming Shores also pulls from a larger population catchment area of about 32,500, including western Quebec.
To that end, the municipality has set the wheels in motion to expand its retail strip of hotels, shopping outlets and restaurants.
“When restaurants open in our community they don’t open downtown. It’s as close to Highway 11 as they can,” said Franks.
Service roads have been constructed just off the highway, including Grant Drive, to set aside space for future retail growth.
Sitting astride the highway is the Dymond Industrial Park, of which seven of the 20 lots industrial-commercial subdivision are occupied.
Temiskaming Shores was created in 2004 following the amalgamation of the communities of New Liskeard, Haileybury and Dymond Township.
To firm up those links, a major infrastructure project is being completed this fall with the connection of Dymond to New Liskeard’s water system.
The $6-million project to connect the two systems allows for better efficiencies and wil deliver better water quality to the outlying township.
The municipality’s abundant fibre optic capacity was instrumental in luring a high-tech forestry company to town in First Resources Management Group, providing 15 to 20 jobs.
Farming
Farming is seeing a resurgence in this pocket of Ontario, famously called the Clay Belt.
The New Liskeard Agriculture Research Station, once facing closure, is on solid footing again, thanks to involvement by the University of Guelph.
A new business plan is being worked out with the university and a local agricultural stakeholders group, Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA), to continue to do research at the site.
“We’re now looking long term to make sure it’s sustainable,” said Franks.
Agricultural land is filling up and increasing in value to the point where scrub is being cleared to open up space that didn’t exist 20 years before. NOFIA has launched a website, FarmNorth.com, providing a repository of information on agriculture in the North.
Mining showcase
While there are no operating mines in the immediate area, opportunities in the industry have always surfacing.
Temiskaming Shores is the lead organizer in the Northern Ontario Mining Showcase staged at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s annual spring convention in Toronto.
The pavilion has been a stroke of genius to provide exposure and affordable kiosk rates for small suppliers to display on the floor of the world’s largest mining show.
“We’re so proud to be a part of that,” said Franks.
Delegates polled after the event are seeing hundreds of thousands in sales and job creation because of contacts made at the show.
“We’ve expanded to accommodate an additional 20 spaces and expect to have another successful year,” said Franks.
Immigration
On the needs list, mining supply companies are on the hunt for skilled trades, said Franks.
“It has increasingly become more difficult to fill positions each time they come up. My position has changed from chasing new companies to come to town to trying to find people to keep existing companies effective.”
Filling that gap could be addressed by attracting newcomers to Canada. The municipality is working with multicultural centres in Timmins and North Bay to establish an online regional immigration portal.
“The strategy is to bring in more people to assist the businesses that are already here,” said Franks.
Housing
As one of the older municipalities in Ontario, demographically, Franks said there is a need for more seniors housing.
From a workforce perspective, Franks said the municipality has adequate housing inventory, with three developments on the books and two already underway, with an affordable housing development in North Cobalt and a more upscale subdivision of new homes in New Liskeard, overlooking Lake Temiskaming.
