Mayor Ann Lawlor's Second April 2026 Message

HALTON HILLS, ON 

My View: Lots of Good News

Hello, Halton Hills! The work of our Town Council can be boiled down very simply – to help create a community where our residents can be happy and thrive. At our April 20 Council meeting, we received several encouraging reports showing real progress—and real community impact—across economic development, agriculture, library services and local grants. These are priority areas for Town Council and I’m pleased to share a few highlights with you.

Economic Development: Invest Halton Hills

Our economic development department, “Invest Halton Hills”, has a mandate to support entrepreneurs, small businesses and major employers alike to stimulate our local economy and enhance our prosperity. In the 2025 year-end report, Councillors noted several department initiatives:

• Launch of the Halton Hills Data Centre, enhanced Small Business Centre supports (with Halton Region), and delivered the Our Town. Our Story campaign.
• The Discovery Pass Program, with 2,800 active users who visited local businesses—a 65% increase over last year.
• Growth of tourism and destination marketing, with a 57% increase in Visit Halton Hills Instagram followers and a 129% increase in website traffic. Influencers make a difference!
• Response to Community Improvement Plan (CIP) incentives, with projects receiving over $19,000 in grant funding.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) program and international marketing of Halton Hills as a prime investment destination.
• Stimulating industrial investment through the Business Concierge program, with projects of about $2 billion in potential investment, close to 5,000 jobs, and future municipal revenue.

Agriculture: Staying Connected Through the Roundtable

Council also received a year-end summary from our Agricultural Roundtable—a new forum that I was proud to champion this term. It’s a lively, well-attended table where we keep two-way communication strong between the agricultural community and the Town. Roundtable members include farmers in primary agriculture, along with local business owners in agri-food and agri-tourism. Together with Council and Town staff, discussions have focused on agricultural economic development, agri-tourism, environmental stewardship, infrastructure, and land use planning.

Agriculture thrives in Halton Hills, and it remains a key industry we’re committed to supporting. Whether you live in the countryside or in town, we know all our residents value our rural areas.

Our Public Library: Enriching Lives

Halton Hills Library Board Chair, Alice Strachan and Chief Librarian, Beverly King reported to Council that in 2025, the library made strong progress on three priorities: to be Welcoming and Inclusive, to create Community Connection, and to Enrich Lives. Here are just a few of the accomplishments:

• Library staff upgraded systems and launched a new app, so it’s easier to find programs, manage accounts, and stay in the loop. The library also added text notifications for holds, refreshed newsletters, and improved access to digital collections.
• The library invested in programs that build early literacy and bring families together. Book Bash—the free Canadian Children’s Literature Festival—filled two days with stories, creative technology, and the arts. Ten Canadian authors visited.
• TD Summer Reading Club participation grew to more than 800 children, the highest share of registered young readers in Halton Region. The program helped kids keep learning and be curious all summer.
• In April 2026, the library will launch a new website to make information even more accessible.

Community Grants: Supporting Groups, Neighbourhoods, Environment and Events

This year, 50 Community Program Grants will be allocated to local groups—supporting everything from our fall fairs and Canada Day celebrations to community gardens and training for minor sport coaches. The program includes four funding streams: Community Investments, Environmental Stewardship, Neighbourhood Projects, and Special Events.

Support can include fee waivers (such as facility rentals, road use permits, or use of municipal equipment) and/or financial contributions for equipment purchases, rental fees, marketing materials, and strengthening organizational capacity. Grants this year range from $270 to just over $17,000.

Many long-standing community events like the Santa Claus parades as well as new initiatives simply wouldn’t be possible without the Community Grant Program—and they also wouldn’t happen without the volunteers, sponsors, and community members who step up year after year. Together, we make a big difference!

Lots of good news from your Mayor and Council with real progress on several files –supporting local business, staying connected with our farm community, growing library services, and backing great community projects through grants.