Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Stephen Lecce, visited Innisfil on Wednesday to meet with local businesses and discuss increasing investment in Ontario’s mining and energy supply chains amid ongoing tariff pressures on the economy.
Lecce, joined by MPP Andrea Khanjin, led a roundtable with dozens of businesses from Barrie and Innisfil, focusing on the mining and energy sectors. The session gave the minister a chance to hear directly from industry representatives about their concerns and needs.
“More Canadian product, more Canadian materials and more Canadian technology to drive our economic future,” Lecce said, adding that the government wants to “double down on Canada” given the scale of the supply chain in the Barrie and Innisfil area.
Small Businesses Seek Access to Programs
Among those attending was Derrick Campeau, founder of Elev8 Visions, a company specializing in infrastructure intelligence. Campeau said events like the roundtable help smaller, newer companies connect with larger organizations and governments. He said he used the opportunity to learn more about programs available to small businesses, noting it can be difficult for a young company to break into relationships with larger private corporations or provincial bodies.
Mining manufacturing companies, including Raptor, also took part in the discussion. Niels Roos, the company’s VP of Product Support, said maintaining communication between government and industry is important to ensure both sides are aligned on growth plans for the coming years.
Government Commits to ‘Made in Canada’ Procurement
Lecce said his government wants manufacturers across Simcoe County to know it remains committed to building domestic capacity rather than ceding ground amid the current economic environment. “We’re not giving up on this country, we’re motivated to fight for it by building more here at home,” he said, adding that the province intends to be more deliberate about procuring machinery, products and components bearing a “made in Canada” stamp.
Following the roundtable, Lecce toured Raptor’s manufacturing plant in Barrie. Roos spoke about the value of investing in local companies like Raptor to help them expand their operations and services within Ontario. He said growing the province’s manufacturing base and building a stronger skilled trades workforce are priorities for bringing jobs and opportunities to the region, pointing to ongoing discussions with partners such as Georgian College on improving skilled trades training.
Raptor currently employs 30 people at its Barrie facility. Roos said the company hopes to double that workforce to 60 employees within the next two to three years.
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