Mayor Alex Nuttall is optimistic about Barrie’s economic future.
Speaking with Compass News, Nuttall said the city is well-positioned to become a major player in Canada’s growing defence manufacturing sector — a move he believes could create thousands of local jobs.
“The opportunity is massive. It’s amazing stuff,” he said.
“We’re talking about thousands of jobs. There is nothing but opportunity for Barrie.”
On May 28, Nuttall joined Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli and Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CANSEC) tradeshow in Ottawa.
At the event, Nuttall announced Barrie is moving ahead with initiatives aimed at attracting defence-sector investment and accelerating development opportunities.
Nuttall said Barrie has several advantages over competing municipalities, including its proximity to Canadian Forces Base Borden, available infrastructure capacity and a growing supply of employment land.
The city’s recent annexation of 1,673 hectares from the townships of Oro-Medonte and Springwater has significantly expanded the amount of land available for industrial and employment uses. The city intends to use 558 hectares for such purposes.
“We now have the land to accommodate major employers and large-scale manufacturing operations,” he said.
“That’s something many municipalities simply don’t have. We’re very aggressive about finding opportunities and bringing them here.”
Nuttall also pointed to Barrie’s growing education and innovation ecosystem as a key selling point.
“When you bring together business, government, education and innovation partners, it creates a very strong case for companies to invest here,” he said.
Local organizations have already given support to the initiative, including the business community, city council and military partners, Nuttall said.
“We’ve seen a lot of support from the Chamber of Commerce, strong support from council, and we’ve built great relationships with Base Borden and the military community,” he said.
Nuttall said Georgian College’s designation as a military-connected institution further strengthens Barrie’s ties to Canada’s defence sector. Beyond the economic benefits, Nuttall said strengthening Canada’s domestic manufacturing capacity is also a matter of national security.
“Canadian sovereignty is always top of mind. Anything we can do to ensure Canada can develop and produce what it needs domestically is incredibly important.”
