Operational Highlights: Two Economic Development Awards

The City of Owen Sound was awarded two top prizes at the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO) Awards of Excellence in April, winning both the Planning & Strategic Development Award and Workforce Development and Resident Attraction Award.

The River District Action Plan, a collaborative marketing, branding, and action strategy between the City of Owen Sound and the River District Board of Management, took home the EDCO Award in the Planning & Strategic Development (Rural) category.

The City’s Work from Home Capital of Canada© initiative won the award in the Workforce Development and Resident Attraction (Rural) category. The initiative was created to capitalize on the desire and ability of people to work from home on a more permanent basis during the global pandemic.

The River District Action Plan and the Work from Home Capital of Canada© initiatives each played a vital role to support existing businesses, new business start-ups, and worked to engage young people, entrepreneurs, innovators, and creative citizens in facilitating economic growth throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

14,133 Work From Home Capital of Canada website visits during the six week campaign; 53% of website visitors were from Toronto and the GTA

Operating Grant Glossary

Grants are sums of money given by a government or other organization for a particular use. The City receives multiple grants each year that support our operations.

Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund

(OMPF)

Province of Ontario

The OMPF is the Province’s main general assistance grant to municipalities.

2023 Funding: $1,961,600

Use: 100% of the OMPF grant is applied against the City’s operating budget.

Transit Grants

COVID Safe Restart Fund

This grant covers transit costs associated with COVID and lost revenues.

Phase 1: $172,229

Phase 2: $82,928

Phase 3: $155,449

Phase 4: $103,258

Gas Tax (Provincial)

This Grant is dedicated for expansion and operations of public transit systems.

2022 Funding: $251,000

Community Safety

Court Security

Province of Ontario

This fund offsets municipal costs associated with providing security to provincial courthouses.

2022 Funding: $375,000

Community Safety & Policing Local Priorities

This is allocated against part-time officers and mobile mental health and addictions response team costs under Police Services

2023 Funding: $183,750

Community Safety & Policing

Provincial Priorities

This is allocated against downtown core uniformed officers and analysts costs under Police Services

2023 Funding: $400,000

Operating Grant Glossary

Tom Thomson Art Gallery

Artistic Catalyst: Engage & Sustain Canada Council for the Arts

This operational funding is for organizations that facilitate connections between artists and the public.

2023 Funding: $70,000 ($280,000 over 4 years, 2020-2023)

Public Art Galleries: Operating Ontario Arts Council

This program supports the ongoing operations of not-for-profit, professional public art galleries in Ontario.

2023 Funding: $50,000 requested

Community Events

Reconnect Festival and Event Program

Province of Ontario

This program funds experiences that encourage people to rediscover our communities safely.

2022 Funding: $29,000

Use: Music at the Market and Harbour Nights Concert Series

Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund

Province of Ontario

This program funds experiences that increase cultural tourism and foster economic growth.

2022 Funding: $25,000

Use: The Sound Waterfront Festival

The 2023 Operating Budget includes more than $2,500,000 in anticipated grant and municipal funding.

Celebrate Ontario

Province of Ontario

Celebrate Canada provides funding for activities organized on National Indigenous Peoples Day, Saint-JeanBaptiste Day, Canadian Multiculturalism Day and Canada Day.

2022 Funding: $12,000

Use: Canada Day

Operational Highlights: Launch of the OPEN Card

In 2022, the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library, Billy Bishop Museum, and Marine and Rail Waterfront Museum, launched the OPEN Card; a highly innovative, free membership program that links all four institutions.

The OPEN Card is available to anyone eligible for a Library Card and provides the holder access to all of the resources of the Library, as well as free membership to the Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Billy Bishop Museum, and the Marine and Rail Waterfront Museum. As an additional benefit, through the TOM’s affiliation with the Ontario Association of Art Galleries, the cardholder also has free admission to over 100 Ontario art galleries. This partnership initiative has resulted in some incredible new collaborative projects that will see actualization in 2023.

3,000% increase in Art Gallery membership since the adoption of the OPEN Card. 2022 membership totals 8,830.

Tom Thomson Art Gallery

The TOM was established in commemoration of iconic Canadian landscape artist Tom Thomson who grew up on the shores of Georgian Bay, in Leith, Ontario, just north of Owen Sound.

Where to use your OPEN Card

Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library

Inside a renovated 1914 Carnegie building, the library houses thousands of helpful resources. Visitors can also use WiFi, computers, mobile apps, request materials, and rent rooms for outside functions.

Billy Bishop Museum

The Billy Bishop Home & Museum is a National Historic Site of Canada that commemorates the life and achievements of World War I flying ace and Victoria Cross winner Air Marshall William Avery “Billy” Bishop, and Canada’s aviation history.

Marine & Rail Museum

Housed in a former Canadian National Railway Station on the waterfront, the Museum’s artifacts, scale models, archival photos, and interactive stations bring to life the days of sail and steam. Discover the history and heritage of an era when Owen Sound was called “the Chicago of the North.”