Municipal investments were central to Mayor Paul Lefebvre’s second annual State of the City Address, which he delivered at the Caruso Club on May 2.
“Now is the time for us to invest in our community, ourselves, our children, and our future,” Lefebvre said.
“Council has demonstrated courage and vision through many recent decisions and direction for policy development that will foster an environment that is conducive to local growth and development in all areas.”
The annual address was hosted by the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, whose past-chair Anthony Davis described it as carrying “great news” for the city.
A packed audience watches Mayor Paul Lefebvre deliver his State of the CIty Address at the Caruso Club on Thursday. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com
Prior to last month’s unanimous vote of city council to greenlight a new $200-million arena/events centre in the city’s downtown core, Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Debbie Nicholson wrote a letter to the editor advocating for the project.
“We may not end up with only an arena,” she told Sudbury.com after Thursday’s address, adding that with the land the city purchased to accompany the project there’s enough room to accompany complementary services. “It could be a major hotel with a conference centre, which is so desperately needed in our community.”
Given its economic impacts, Davis said the economic benefits of a new arena building made the decision a “no brainer.”
Although the $200-million build (plus another more than $20 million for the downtown land purchase/demolition to make way for ancillary services) is by far the single-greatest investment Lefebvre addressed during his address, various others, such as the $65-million Cultural Hub at Tom Davies Square and capital roads budgets were also addressed.
Mayor Paul Lefebvre is seen in silhouette during Thursday’s State of the City Address at the Caruso Club. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com
Including a 1.5-per-cent annual special tax levies city council tacked on to future municipal budgets, he said a quarter-billion will be spent on municipal roads in the next five years; all to help fill the city’s well-established annual infrastructure-spending gap, which as of last year totalled approximately $130 million.
As Lefebvre has repeatedly said, including during his inaugural State of the City address last year, housing remains an important part of the city’s economic development goals. His goal is still hitting a population of 200,000 by 2050, which is on the upper end of municipal projections.
The $113-million, 349-unit Project Manitou affordable housing complex downtown currently under construction is one big success story, he said, citing Panoramic Properties’ proposed redevelopment of the old Paris Street hospital site into 430 residential units as another.
“All these projects and the countless others going up across our community are fantastic housing developments in our community that cannot be built quick enough,” he said.
“The landscape of our community is changing. We are growing and growing the right way.”
There are various ongoing efforts to help create an environment that favours development, he said, including the development of 54 calls for action aimed at helping spur economic development through the Future Ready Development Services Ad-Hoc Committee of city council and an upcoming Housing Supply Strategy. City council anticipates reports on both of these efforts later this year.
Mayor Paul Lefebvre speaks to a packed audience during Thursday’s State of the City Address at the Caruso Club. Pictured behind him is the Project Manitou affordable housing complex currently under construction in downtown Sudbury. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com
During last year’s State of the City address, Lefebvre announced the creation of a new task force on labour attraction. One year later today, he said he’d be making an announcement soon on what he has named the Greater Together Project “to enhance our economic attraction and welcoming efforts while outlining our actions to embrace diversity and inclusion.”
Meanwhile, Lefebvre said the city is also striving to preserve its natural environment, including the city’s efforts toward protecting 30 per cent of its lands and lakes by 2030, which city council voted to proceed with earlier in the week.
Although Lefebvre spent the majority of his more than half-hour speech painting a picture highlighting the prosperous path he believes city council has put the city on, his remarks opened on a solemn note, addressing this year’s deaths of Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini and Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier.
“Both Michael and Gerry were known as passionate and fierce advocates for the communities they represented, Wards 2 and 3, respectively,” he said.
“Michael was beloved for his unique sartorial sense, and his care for the community was evident in his annual No One Eats Alone community Christmas Dinner. Gerry was a visible presence at so many community events, and he certainly knew his way around a classic car.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was higher in late-morning trading, helped by strength in energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also moved up.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 34.91 points at 23,736.98.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.05 points at 41,800.13. The S&P 500 index was up 28.38 points at 5,661.47, while the Nasdaq composite was up 133.17 points at 17,725.30.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.56 cents US compared with 73.57 cents US on Monday.
The November crude oil contract was up 68 cents at US$69.70 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up three cents at US$2.40 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$7.80 at US$2,601.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.28 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
