In 1978, if you phoned 476-5044, you would have got me at the end of the line. But today, 45 years later, you will get Scott and Cheryl Clark on the line, and they’re here in the audience.

Our government recognizes just how important the manufacturing sector is in our economy. Already this year, we’ve welcomed $65 million in investment in Niagara region alone:

—Stanpac manufactures food, dairy and beverage packaging for global businesses—they invested $35 million to retool their facility in Smithville;

—AMSI, a company that designs and constructs support buildings for on-site development—they invested $20 million to construct a 67,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Beamsville;

—St. Davids Cold Storage invested $9 million to expand their cold storage facility for food and beverage manufacturers—they created a total of 46 good-paying jobs with $6.7 million in investment support from the government.

Stay tuned, Speaker. The game-changing investments are just starting.

This is such a historic number that it bears repeating: In 2023, Ontario created more manufacturing jobs than all 50 US states combined. In the last three years, Ontario has attracted more than $29 billion in new manufacturing investments, creating more than 11,000 new jobs in that sector.

This year, Ontario welcomed an investment from a Kitchener-based med-tech firm, FluidAI. They’re investing $25 million, hiring 38 new technicians with a $1.4-million investment from our government. This investment will strengthen our world-class manufacturing sector and create jobs for hard-working families in Ontario.

We have continued to create the right conditions for job growth in every region of the province.