Second Quarter - 2022 Economic Bulletin
City of Greater Sudbury
The City of Greater Sudbury is pleased to provide insight into Greater Sudbury's economic growth, diversity and prosperity that supports development, entrepreneurship, business and assessment growth in our community.
The data in the pages to follow is an overview of the growth experiences in Greater Sudbury over the second quarter in 2022.
Highlights
- As the pandemic restrictions ease into the spring and summer, the City of Greater Sudbury continues to implement the Economic Recovery Strategic Plan and focus its attention and resources on key actions that will support the community’s efforts in recovery from challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be done by continuing to develop Greater Sudbury’s workforce, support local attractions and support the downtown.
- In conjunction with the Tourism Development Fund (TDF), the Greater Sudbury Development Corporation approved $46,925 to fund local programs and organizations to support tourism and culture initiatives across the community.
- In April 2022, City staff outlined the next steps of the Nodes and Corridors Strategy. The next ‘corridors’ phase will make use of the new land use planning policies introduced by the LaSalle Corridor Study Official Plan Amendment 102. Specifically, staff will study the remaining corridors in mid-to-late 2022 and return in early 2023 with recommendations regarding new Official Plan land use designations along the corridors. City staff continue its node-by-node approach for the future node studies. For more information: https://pub-greatersudbury.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=44034
- Residents are invited to provide feedback on phase two of the City of Greater Sudbury’s Official Plan (OP) Review. The OP is a blueprint to help guide Greater Sudbury’s development over the next twenty years. Please visit the City’s Over to You site for more information, including relevant documents, a recent presentation and an opportunity to submit your feedback. https://overtoyou.greatersudbury.ca/phase-2-official-plan-review
- In the second quarter, permits for major projects across all sectors were issued with a total construction value of $39.2 million dollars indicating positive economic growth and continued confidence for the Greater Sudbury economic future. Development and expansion in the cultural, hospitality, mining sector, healthcare and research industries continue to help shape and grow the future of our community. Projects such as YES Theatre Refettorio project in downtown Sudbury, the expansion of bed capacity at Health Sciences North and additional alterations at the world renown SNOLAB will help increase employment opportunities in our community and build a stronger and healthier community.
- Residential sectors continue to see strong investment both in the multi-unit and new single-family dwelling types which will serve to address the housing needs in the community.
Growth - By the Numbers
Over the second quarter, there was an increase in permits issues compared to the same period in 2021, contributing to economic growth in the community.
Due to the change to Development Charges effective July 1, 2022 in accordance with By-law 2019-100, there was an increase in applications in the second quarter. Building Services successfully processed a significant increase in building permit applications in the months prior to this scheduled change.
The construction industry continues to show resilience despite ongoing challenges, including the increased cost of materials, disruptions to the supply chain industry and labour shortages. With demands from developers locally and investors from southern Ontario looking to move to the north, it’s expected that Greater Sudbury will see continued growth over the coming fiscal year.
Industrial, Commercial and Institutional (ICI) building permits reflect development activity contributing to employment growth in the community. The number and value of ICI permits fluctuates year-to-year with contributing factors, including the number of large scale or multi-year projects, with the five-year average indicating a move toward steady and consistent growth in these areas. In the second quarter of 2022, we saw an increase in ICI building permits compared to the same period in 2021, and this year’s growth to date is above the five-year average. The total value slightly decreased in the second quarter for 2022 to $104.3 million compared to $108.4 million in Q2 of 2021.
Building permits ICI issued and value
New gross floor area (GFA) reflects additional ICI development that contributes to increased employment and assessment growth. Overall, GFA values have remained relatively stable in the last five years, showing a strong demand in local industry. The value for institutional GFA in first quarter of 2022 shows a positive impact for the community for the summer months.
New ICI gross floor area
Housing data and construction values show strength in the local residential construction industry with the creation of new housing development and continued interest in intensification of the existing housing stock. Trending growth in the areas of housing starts, secondary units registered and total residential units, combined with a significant increase in property transactions, demonstrates a strong investment interest in the local housing market. The second quarter of 2022 shows growth in all areas and the numbers are above the five-year average.
New residential construction value and miscellaneous construction value
Housing starts, secondary units registered and residential units created
Housing starts, secondary units registered, and residential units created saw an increase in the second quarter except the miscellaneous construction value which decreased by $1.9 million.
Over the second quarter, there was a large uptake in planning application received. The number of applications indicates there is a consistent development activity in the community. Planning application processing times reflect the time it takes to review applications and present them for decision, while ensuring municipal and provincial land use planning standards are met. Despite the increase in the number of Planning applications staff increased the number that were processed within the Mandated Planning Act benchmarks.
Planning Applications Received and Processing Times
Business Support
New businesses continue to start and expand with services offered through the City's Regional Business Centre. In the second quarter of 2022, six businesses startups and expansions were supported. This is above with what was experienced in 2021 with four businesses startups and expansions supported during the same time period last year.
The Regional Business Centre continues to find innovative ways to work with its partners to support local business. The grand opening of the Downtown Business Incubator project, known as the Innovation Quarters/Quartier de l’innovation (IQ), took place in the second quarter of 2022. Innovation Quarters is a partnership between the City of Greater Sudbury, NORCAT and the Greater Sudbury Chamber of Commerce, under the coordination of the Regional Business Centre.
The goal of the incubator is to create a hub of economic activity in Greater Sudbury through resources and services that support early-stage, innovative, high-growth potential business startups across a spectrum of sectors and industries. This initiative focuses on assisting local entrepreneurs with a desire to grow their tech-enabled startups and will soon provide them with access to mentorship opportunities, office space and tailored programming through the establishment of the downtown space. The mentorship program is accepting applications until October 2022 for the first cohort. To learn more visit https://innovationquarters.ca.
Film Production
Greater Sudbury's film and television sector has been an important economic driver for our community for nearly a decade. The industry attracts incredibly talented and creative people to Greater Sudbury, resulting in jobs that help them stay in the north. Among the local productions filmed, Greater Sudbury will be the backdrop and play itself in Shoresy, a spinoff of Bell Media's Crave hit Letterkenny. In the second quarter of 2022, four productions filmed in Greater Sudbury.
Film in Sudbury banner
Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot
The City of Greater Sudbury is one of 11 communities selected to participate in the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program (RNIP), through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. This program works to address local labour force shortages while encouraging immigration and population growth.
In the second quarter of 2022, there were 59 individuals approved through the RNIP to apply for permanent residency. This is an increase from 2021, during which 41 individuals were approved in the second quarter. Demand continues to be strong in 2022 with new applications coming in on a near-daily basis. In total, 188 candidates have been recommended since the program's inception, representing 388 new residents for our community when spouses and family members are included.
Those interested in learning more about Greater Sudbury's economic growth, visit https://investsudbury.ca/about-us/economic-bulletin/ . Related information will be shared and reported quarterly in 2022.
Sources and Additional Data
Data is compiled through a variety of avenues including internal staff tracking along with public data from the following sources: