Good Economic Signs in Thunder Bay!
by Scott A. Sumner
You can look at the positive!
We're living in a world in 2026 that has a lot of negative activity going on. I mean the war in Ukraine continues with no end in sight, there is tension in the Gaza strip, a new war in Iran and tensions in the entire Middle East, change of leadership in Venezuela, tension between the US and Cuba etc. etc.
Canada has had recent job losses and difficulty in our trading relationships with our American neighbors. Energy prices are rising.
However, when you look around Thunder Bay you see that there is positive activity happening. For instance driving down the Golf Lakes Road towards the hospital you see a brand new Hyatt House Hotel almost open. When I drive to the college down the Harbor Expressway I see a massive clearing of trees etc happening making way for a new retail development by Forum Properties. Immediately to the south of that is another area, which is rumored to have a large retail outlet, Costco, that has been contemplating coming to Thunder Bay for many years.
There are many apartment projects underway, including at the Thunder Bay Country Club property, which has a large development underway by Bruno's Contracting.
There is a word that at least two more hotels are applying for permits looking to get the zoning underway for their projects near the airport and near the hospital location.
The housing market seems to be quite strong in Thunder Bay. For instance, there are very few listings, around 100, and the average house price is rising in Thunder Bay. The cost to build homes is high, some say as high as $400 per square foot plus land, and that I think is creating an up trend in all home prices. Also, there is quite a demand for housing which makes me think that there's many people moving into the area or planning to stay in the area.
Retail development is also quite strong with recent reports at the Intercity Shopping Center of 50,000 ft. being redeveloped to the southern part of the property which hasn't happened for many years. Retail seems to be on the up tick as well.
So basically, there's lots of positives happening in Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada even in a volatile world setting. We do have strong governments in place that are doing what they can do to work with the current environment and make things better.
What we can we do as individuals and business entities to further that progress?
