Last week headlines were calling the Sudbury mining industry a big deal - and for good reason.
The news came with the release of The State of the Ontario Mining Sector report, published by the OMA in partnership with the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry. According to the report, the majority of Ontario’s mining contributions to the economy came from the Sudbury region, with Sudbury mines and the service sector estimating having generated $3.3 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) for Ontario.
“The opportunities for the Ontario mining industry in Sudbury have arguably never been greater than they are now,” stated Chris Hodgson, President of the Ontario Mining Association in a news release about the report. “As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, faces increasing geopolitical uncertainty and as the race to halt climate change accelerates, the region is primed to continue contributing meaningful solutions, while capitalizing on rising global demand for green and critical minerals.”
Ontario's mining industry contributed an annual total of $7.5 billion to Ontario’s GDP, $3.3 billion in wages and salaries, and sustained over 48,605 full-time jobs. At a regional level, Sudbury contributed a total annual economic contribution of $3.3 billion in GDP, $1.2 billion in wages, and over 20,517 FTE jobs.
Within all this is the city itself and people who work to make it happen. According to the report, Sudbury is home to nearly 27 per cent of the industry’s workforce across eight mines and accounts for 21,517 direct, indirect, and induced jobs.
All these numbers give you a sense of just how significant mining is to Sudbury - big deal indeed! It shows you how the environment, work, and lives of those who live in the area are largely shaped and surrounded by mining. On the whole, the region acts as an innovation hub to the majority of Ontario’s mining companies and other companies who work within it. That includes us here at Covergalls. Our own journey began here in Sudbury with our founder Alicia Woods and since then we have, and continue to, foster new collaborations and work with local businesses.
Headlines like the ones we saw last week are not surprising, but they do give a somewhat nostalgic feeling. The city of “Sudbury '' and other Northern Ontario towns are not often names recognized or discussed to Ontarians. More popular or widely discussed are the big cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal. The report, to us, highlights how Sudbury and northern regions of Ontario are making waves in a big way for the province - and Covergalls is pretty proud to count ourselves among that! We believe our work in outfitting this workforce is significant, but also our work in educating and advocating for diversity and inclusion.
The report was released just after the first 'Critical Minerals Strategy' released by the Ontario government, a five-year roadmap to secure Ontario’s position as a global leader of responsibly sourced critical minerals. So it looks like there are exciting developments in the field of mining and Sudbury region - and also for Covergalls too.
Stay tuned!