Invest in Middlesex

10/23/2026

Canada and Ontario have announced a new $8.7 billion action plan to support workers and businesses affected by U.S. tariffs, with a focus on the steel and automotive sectors that are so important to manufacturers across Middlesex County.

We've updated our Navigating Canada & US Tariffs page with the latest developments, including:

🔹 The new Canada–Ontario tariff action plan

🔹 Changes to U.S. softwood lumber duties

🔹 The U.S. import ban on select Canadian products, including alcohol and some dairy products

🔹 Expanded federal supports for small and medium-sized businesses through FedDev Ontario and BD

If your business is feeling the impact of the changing trade environment, our Economic Development team is here to help. We offer confidential, one-on-one conversations to connect you with the right programs, partners and resources.

Find the latest updates and resources: https://www.investinmiddlesex.ca/alerts/navigating-canada-us-tariffs

10/22/2026

It’s Small Business Week, and in Strathroy, Hamilton's Bakery is celebrating 80 years in business! 🎂

In September 1946, Helen and Alan Hamilton were on a train to Watford to open a bakery. They stopped in Strathroy for a look and decided to stay. They started with a single glass showcase and kept baking through post-war ingredient rationing. Within about two years, they had moved into the Front Street location the bakery still operates from today.

In 1990, their son Patrick and his wife Joanne took over as second-generation owners. They have kept the same commitment to traditional, from-scratch baking.

Warden Sue Clarke stopped in to congratulate the Hamiltons and presented them with a piece of their own history: a photo of the cake ceremony for Strathroy’s Centennial on December 31, 1966. Patrick remembers the cake being so big it had to go out through a window instead of the door.

📸 Have a Hamilton’s memory? Bring an 8x10 copy of a photo of their baking, or a memory from over the years, to the bakery by October 31. You’ll receive a commemorative gift, two free cookies and a ballot for a special prize. The photos will be displayed in the bakery.

Congratulations to the Hamilton family on 80 years of baking in Strathroy.

📍 12 Front St. W., Strathroy

http://www.hamiltonsbakery.ca/

10/22/2026

From manufacturing to dairy, Middlesex County businesses are feeling the impact of U.S. trade actions. The Province of Ontario has expanded its $1 billion Protect Ontario Financing Program to help.

Now eligible:
✔️ Businesses facing section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper and autos
✔️ Businesses affected by section 338 tariffs
✔️ NEW: Alcohol, dairy and motorcycle businesses hit by the U.S. import ban (effective September 29)

Loans start at $250,000 and can cover working capital such as payroll, lease payments and utilities. Applicants need at least 10 full-time employees in Ontario.

The province has also widened eligibility for the Ontario Together Trade Fund. It offers grants and loans to small and medium-sized businesses expanding trade within Canada.

Check your eligibility or email [email protected].
https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1008060/ontario-protecting-workers-and-businesses-from-latest-us-trade-actions

DYK: The Protect Ontario Financing Program is designed to provide critical support for businesses that are facing significant tariff-related disruptions as a result of s.232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, copper and autos or s. 338 tariffs.

Learn more about the program: https://www.ontario.ca/page/protect-ontario-financing-program

10/22/2026

Middlesex Economic Development and Tourism supports business growth, attracts investment, and showcases all there is to see and do across the County!

Explore investment opportunities ➡ https://www.investinmiddlesex.ca/

Plan your next adventure ➡ https://www.visitmiddlesex.ca/

Invest in Middlesex Visit Middlesex

10/21/2026

Know a local business doing exceptional work? 🏆 The London Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for its 2027 Business Achievement Awards, with categories including Agribusiness, Manufacturer, Innovation and Business of the Year. You can nominate another business or your own.

Nominate here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XKD3HHW

Nominations are officially open for the 2027 London Business Achievement Awards, presented by the London Chamber of Commerce.

Every year, the Business Achievement Awards celebrate the businesses and organizations helping shape London through leadership, innovation, growth, workplace culture, sustainability and community impact.

Now is your opportunity to put a deserving organization forward — including your own.

Nominations are open in the following categories:

• Business of the Year — Small, Medium & Large
• Agribusiness Award
• Climate Action Leadership Award
• Excellence in People and Culture Award
• Innovation Award
• Manufacturer Award
• Nonprofit Award

You may nominate a business, organization, or your own company. Nominees must be based and doing business in the London, Ontario area.

Know a business doing exceptional work? Don’t assume someone else will nominate them.

👉 Submit a nomination today: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XKD3HHW

Thank you to our Principal Sponsor, TD, and to all our category sponsors and award partners for helping us celebrate excellence across London’s business community.

Tag a London business or organization you believe deserves recognition in 2027.

10/19/2026

It’s Small Business Week 🏪

This is Maija, Owner of The Spa Date in Kilworth, a full-service spa offering haircare, massage therapy, manicures, pedicures, waxing and facials. They’re one of the local businesses featured in our Making it in Middlesex series, which shares stories of business success from across the county.

From spas and salons to family farms, skilled trades and manufacturers, small businesses are the base of our local economy. They create jobs, bring people to our communities and help make Middlesex County a place people want to live.

🎥 Watch The Spa Date’s story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-T_f0nSdcM

Own a business in Middlesex County? Make sure you’re listed in the Invest in Middlesex Business Directory: https://www.investinmiddlesex.ca/business-dir

10/15/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us yesterday morning for the Business Financing Forum at FireRock Golf Club.

Over breakfast, entrepreneurs and existing business owners heard from a panel of financing professionals on funding options for working capital, growth projects and expansion, followed by a Q&A.

Thank you to Middlesex County Warden Sue Clarke for joining us and sharing a few words with attendees.

Thank you to our panellists for sharing their time and expertise:

Richard McKenzie, Director, Corporate Finance, BMO Financial Group
Clayton White, Director, Agriculture, BMO Financial Group
Michael Abela, Manager, Business Centre, BDC
John Kiser, Executive Director, Community Futures Middlesex
Darren Gilbert, Commercial Account Director, Export Development Canada - Exportation et développement Canada Canada | Exportation et développement Canada
Len Mueller, Relationship Manager, Farm Credit Canada

Thank you as well to FireRock Golf Club for hosting us, a fantastic venue to hold a forum.

10/14/2026

Since 1987, Melchers Construction Limited has built homes, neighbourhoods and business spaces from its headquarters in Komoka. The company started out doing home renovations and now runs as a full-service design/build firm, creating communities like Timberwalk in Ilderton, Kilworth Heights and EdgeWater Estates in the Municipality of Middlesex Centre.

With Middlesex County's population projected to reach 151,500 by 2056, local builders like Melchers are helping shape the county’s future.

Watch the latest episode of Making it in Middlesex and read the full story: https://www.investinmiddlesex.ca/articles/newsletter/making-middlesex-stories-business-success-melchers-construction

10/13/2026

The fall Invest in Middlesex Newsletter is out 🍂
In this issue:

🏗️ Making it in Middlesex: how Melchers Construction grew from a 1987 Komoka renovation business into a 30+ person design/build firm

🚜 Highlights from our October 1 Agri-Business Tour, including a 75-year milestone for Stanton Farms and Genetics

⚙️ Business Spotlight: Parmerit, Strathroy’s turnkey automation provider, and sister companies Adescor and Wolfe Heavy Equipment

🏭 Featured property: 52,499 SF industrial building on 14.76 acres for lease in Ilderton

🪧 Updated Tourism Signage Program, now accepting applications

📋 Tariff resources and confidential one-on-one support for Middlesex County businesses

Read the full issue: https://conta.cc/4yxpQ2B

Get the next one in your inbox. Subscribe here: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/tpuUXfk

10/08/2026

We’re closing out our Ontario Agriculture Week series with the last two stops on the Middlesex Agri-Business Tour:

❄️ At Nortera in Strathroy, we stepped inside the freezer to see where Ontario-grown vegetables go after harvest. Nortera works with 575 agricultural partners and processes more than 400,000 tons of frozen and canned vegetables a year across 11 plants in North America, and one of them is in Middlesex County.

🐄 At Stanton Farms in Ilderton, a family dairy operation dating back to 1951 now milks 1,000 Holsteins and sells genetics, including semen, embryos, and breeder bulls, to other dairy producers. It also makes energy. The farm’s anaerobic digesters capture methane from manure and organic waste and turn it into renewable natural gas, making Stanton Ontario’s first agriculture-based RNG supplier.

Six stops, one sector, and a wide range of jobs and investment across Middlesex County. Thank you to the Middlesex Federation of Agriculture for sponsoring the tour and to every host who opened their doors.