Category Archives: Employment and jobs

08.15.26
by

Imagination Station art installation at Yarmouth Yards industrial park in St. Thomas speaks to the past, while connecting to the future.

A colourful, circular sculpture surveying the cars and trucks rushing past on Highbury Avenue is a whimsical reminder of the city’s railway heritage while cleverly linking it with the industrial revolution underway in St. Thomas.
Titled Imagination Station, the 25-foot-high wooden toy train is local artist Briony Douglas’ first permanent public art commission (seen below with St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston).
The Woodstock native has had her installations appear at cultural institutions and link with international brands across North America, including Cadillac, Adidas, American Express, Shake Shack, and the Hockey Hall of Fame.
And now her latest work graces the gateway to the city’s industrial park, Yarmouth Yards.
Imagination Station was assembled and unveiled at a ceremony Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Dennis Road and Highbury Avenue.

Continue reading →

08.01.26
by

‘With every milestone reached, we sustain St. Thomas’ growth for decades to come.’ – Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

For a glimpse at the shape of things to come for St. Thomas, simply drive to the perimeter of the Yarmouth Yards industrial park.
An equally dramatic preview is now available through the transformation of the road infrastructure on the western doorstep to St. Thomas.
The Talbotville Bypass (photo below) has rapidly displaced the farmland between Wonderland Road and Hwy. 4 north of Talbotville and is due for completion by the end of next year.
And this past week, the twinning of Hwy. 3 in St. Thomas was officially launched with a ceremony on the roadway, just west of the Centennial Avenue roundabout.
Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack was joined by Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation and Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, on Tuesday morning to announce the start of advance work, including utility relocations and grading.

Continue reading →

06.20.26
by

‘The dream of home ownership should always be within reach’ – St. Thomas homebuilder Doug Tarry

“We’re not so much in a housing crisis; we are in an affordability crisis.”

That was the observation this week from Rob Flack, the province’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

He was speaking Monday afternoon at Geerlinks Home Hardware, as he toured several of the outlets in Elgin-Middlesex-London with Home Hardware President and CEO Ian White (second from right in the photo below).

For the St. Thomas stop, they were joined by Mayor Joe Preston and homebuilder Doug Tarry.

Flack continued, “And everybody knows that things are expensive in this world these days. Everything has gone up in price, especially housing.

And when that happens, people put their thumb on the pause button, Number 1.

Continue reading →

04.11.26
by

The City of St. Thomas partnership with Indwell is leading the charge for a new vision of hope and homes for the homeless in the community

A new supportive housing project for St. Thomas was announced last March, a continuation of the successful partnership between the city and Indwell.

The organization is a Christian charity dedicated to providing affordable housing and community support

A groundbreaking ceremony was held Thursday morning on the site of the former Balaclava Street Public School.

Indwell had announced that they will be transforming the four-storey structure into 78 units of supportive housing, equipped with essential supports to assist residents, and to be known as Balaclava Crossing.

This will include 36 units within the existing school structure and an additional 42 units in a new extension.

Continue reading →

02.28.26
by

‘The former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital site presents an exciting opportunity to put unused government land back to work, unlocking new homes, parks and local businesses’

In the coming years, in the shadow of St. Thomas, a small town will sprout and grow; its progression unfolding like time-lapse photography.

And its evolution will begin to germinate next week as the Municipality of Central Elgin begins the hunt for “experienced development partners” to play a leading role in turning about 400 acres of land into the largest planned community expansion in the municipality’s history.

The former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital lands in the coming decades will be redeveloped into a community of more than 3,500 new homes, with 9,000 residents, local businesses and parkland.

The hospital opened in 1939, and St. Joseph’s Health Care in London assumed control in 1997 as part of the reorganization initiative ordered by the Health Care Restructuring Commission.

It closed once the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care opened in 2013.

Continue reading →

02.14.26
by

From the Mayor of St. Thomas to Mayor Bubba presiding over the grandkids, Joe Preston is set to ‘take a step back’

While the media release on Tuesday evening may have caught some residents by surprise, if you have been a close observer over the past few months, it was evident that St. Thomas would have a new mayor come November.
The tip-offs were as subtle as the first signs of spring; however, as Mayor Joe Preston phrased it, “It was time to take a step back.”
As he stressed in the media release, the decision not to seek re-election in the 2026 municipal vote comes after “thoughtful personal and professional consideration.“
“All things have to be decided personally and professionally,” he added. “At some point, you have to ask yourself when it’s the right time to take a step back.”

Continue reading →

12.13.25
by

Joy Dawdy’s swimming lessons earn a reprieve; however, some conditions will apply

The days of treading water for the owner of 21 Philip Street are over, at least for the time being.
At Monday’s meeting of city council (Dec. 8), members unanimously agreed to direct staff to design a temporary bylaw, allowing Dawdy to continue offering swimming lessons in her backyard pool, likely for a period of three years.
Something she has done for more than three decades.
Staff were not recommending Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments in a report to council from Michelle Knieriem, Manager of Planning Services.
She concluded, “Staff understand and appreciate that the swimming lessons provided by the applicant are valued by many members of the community. While this value is noted, staff recommend refusal of the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment applications due to issues of compatibility.

Continue reading →

12.06.25
by

Some tinkering with the proposed 2026 property tax levy, but the result is still a hike in the range of six per cent for St. Thomas ratepayers

Round 2 of 2026 city budget deliberations is on tap for Monday’s (Dec.8) council meeting.
Several amendments are being presented by the city’s Director of Finance, Adam Boylan; however, they will not lower the projected six per cent hike to the municipal property tax levy next year.
A major consideration is the rescoping of the Emslie Field grandstand project.
Boylan notes city staff are exploring a ‘fresh start’ approach that would entail demolition of the grandstand, to be replaced by “modern, accessible amenities at a significantly reduced cost.”
These would include new, concrete bleacher pads, accessible bleachers, a barrier-free ramp, equipment storage, replacement player benches and protective netting.
The approximate price tag is $600,000, well below the original estimate of $1.2 million to fully rehabilitate the grandstand.

Continue reading →

11.08.25
by

‘We cut out the noise, focus on the signal’ – PowerCo hiring blitz is underway

It was an invite-only event with a twist.
Thursday evening (Nov. 6), PowerCo held a Shopfloor Hiring Network Event designed to connect local talent in industrial electrician, millwright and industrial automation roles with their gigafactory team.
Those attending had the opportunity to meet company leadership, explore career opportunities and get an up-close look at what it would be like to be an employee at what is to become the largest such factory in Canada.
As the evening started to wind down, we spoke with Shuja Qadri, manager of talent acquisition, who observed, “Considering this was an invite-only RSVP event that we wanted to look at based on skill set and experiences, we actually had over 65 people turn up for the event.”

Continue reading →