On behalf of York Region Economic Strategy, I am pleased to present the 2021 Economic Development Year in Review. This is an overview of economic development activities undertaken this past year, highlights of business news from across the Region, and important economic indicators showing the strength and resilience of our business community in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As 2021 continued to be a challenging year with the COVID-19 pandemic, the rollout of vaccines brought a sense of optimism. As well, federal, provincial, and municipal government funding and other support programs provided hope to businesses and residents across the country. York Region’s economic engine is made up of a diverse mix of small, medium, and large businesses and they also responded, demonstrating resiliency and creativity. In fact, while they all felt the impact, many entered new markets with solutions targeted towards supporting the global pandemic response.
At the local level, in response to the pandemic, our economic development community comprising local municipal economic development staff and other stakeholders continued to pull together to identify and implement ways to help businesses. This resulted in several impactful initiatives over the last two years focused not just on pandemic response but also long-term recovery, many of which are highlighted in this Year in Review.
Finally, thank you to the Economic Strategy team for their tremendous efforts dedicated to
delivering best-in-class service to the business community.
As we look back on 2021, we continue to celebrate all the entrepreneurs and businesses across York Region and look forward to a year of growth in 2022. I invite you to visit yorklink.ca for more information on support services available to businesses across York Region, business news, events, and more.
Jonathan Wheatle
Director, Economic Strategy
The Regional Municipality of York