In this episode of the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series: A Deep Dive, host Mason Ainsworth sits down with Laura Thompson, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Town of Innisfil, to talk about the Innisfil Heights Investment Readiness Initiative.

Innisfil Heights is a provincially recognized Strategic Employment Area with huge potential — and a set of real barriers that were slowing industrial development. Laura walks through how the Town built a collaborative, low-cost action plan to remove those barriers, stand up a Site Selection Team, and turn investment inquiries into real projects.

The conversation covers the work behind major wins like Northern Transformer’s $207 million facility and 150+ jobs, a stronger approach to leads and landowners, and what other communities can take from Innisfil’s investment-readiness model.

This series was made in partnership with the Economic Developers Council of Ontario (EDCO). Thank you to the incredible staff and the Board of Directors for making this series possible.

Thank you to our Series Sponsor:

A special thank you to Peacock Tariff Consulting for sponsoring the Hyper Local EDCO Awards Series. With deep expertise in tariff strategy, customs compliance, and international trade, Peacock Tariff Consulting helps businesses navigate complex global trade challenges with clarity and confidence. We’re grateful for their support of conversations that strengthen Ontario’s economic development community.

Learn more at peacocktariffconsulting.com.

Thank you to our Podcast Partner, Michelle Samson of Storied Places Media.

Storied Places Media specializes in producing audio and video podcasts for economic development organizations. It's long-form content that busy people will actually consume. They can support your vision or take care of the whole process: hosting, interviewing, editing, and distribution on all major streaming platforms. They also advise on strategy and promotion to help it reach as much of your audience as possible.

Learn more at storiedplaces.ca

#EDCO #EconomicDevelopment #EcDev #Ontario #HyperLocalPod

Welcome to the Hyperlocal podcast.

2

I am your host, Mason Ainsworth, and

I'm excited and humbled to let you know

3

that we are partnering with the Economic

Developers Council of Ontario to produce

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the EDCO Award Winners: The Deep Dive,

a series of high-quality, in-depth

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conversations featuring the 2025 Award

of Excellence and Bright Ideas winners.

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We'll be highlighting their projects,

journeys, and their impact in

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their community and across Ontario.

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Speaker 2: In today's episode, we speak

with the Town of Innisfil about their

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Innisfil Heights Investment Readiness

Initiative, which won them the EDCO

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Planning and Strategic Development for a

rural area of under 100,000 population.

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Joining me in today's discussion is

Laura Thompson, the director of strategic

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initiatives with the Town of Innisfil.

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Now, let's get into it

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Mason Ainsworth: I'm really

excited to go into your

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award-winning project in Innisfil.

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But before we hop into that, I know

you have some really exciting news,

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which is that you've started a new

position, and I was wondering if you

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could tell us a little bit about that.

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Sure.

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Yeah, it's very exciting.

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so the Town of Innisfil recently created

a new strategic initiatives department,

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bringing together three service areas: our

economic development team, our business

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enterprise and corporate performance

team, and the sustainability team.

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So very excited to take that on.

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Uh, we'll be addressing cross-departmental

initiatives, opportunities for the

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corporation to explore innovations.

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so we have a lot of exciting

things in our future.

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Mason Ainsworth: I love that, and

I think that suits you very well.

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You've always been really

good at relationship building

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and bridging people together.

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And not to foreshadow too much,

but I know part of our discussion

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today is about working across

different departments as well.

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But essentially, I think we're just

gonna hop right into things and I

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was wondering if you could give us a

high-level overview of the Innisfil

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Heights Investment Readiness Initiative.

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

sure, I'd be happy to.

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so the Innisfil Heights Investment

Readiness Project was really born out of

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a need to leverage our employment lands

along the Highway 400 and to capture the

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best economic opportunities possible.

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at the time, we were really

working in a reactive way when

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leads and RFIs were sent our way.

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Um, so at its core, this project was

all about getting all of our ducks in a

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row and doing a deep dive to understand

the properties included in the area.

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Uh, so what were the property owners

open to in terms of incoming leads?

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Are they willing to sell or lease?

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working collaboratively with the team

members throughout the planning and

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growth team, to create some innovative

solutions to some longstanding challenges.

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I would say the goal of the project

was really to build out our employment

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lands, but to take a more proactive

a-a-approach, of course, and capture

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those businesses that could really

make a strong impact, strong and

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positive impact on Innisfil's economy.

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at a granular level, if we talk about

what the project actually means, when

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I'm talking about the project, I'm

talking about things like, building

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a comprehensive land inventory,

creating a contact list for all of

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our, property owners, mapping vacant

and underutilized land, and doing

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stakeholder engagement with local,

property owners and developers.

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Mason Ainsworth: That's amazing.

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on that, I'm just curious, the

response at the beginning when you

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were talking to especially about the

landowners and the businesses, you

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said, you know, "We wanna do this new

initiative and we wanna go deeper and

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essentially we wanna help you with

some of these things within the park."

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was there a pretty warm

reception for that?

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

I would say that there was effort

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involved in gaining buy-in, not just

from our staff and internal team

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members, but also from the community.

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as I mentioned earlier, we were dealing

with a lot of longstanding challenges.

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so there was a tendency of some of

the property owners to be skeptical

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about our ability, to tackle

some of these complex problems.

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so at the outset, we realized

that stakeholder engagement, both

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internal and external, would be

really important, and we, we really

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had to work on that buy-in piece.

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Mason Ainsworth: Super interesting.

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So thank you so much for that.

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But also on that topic, I'm curious,

you know, what went well, uh, what

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didn't, what were the key successes

there, and what were some of the aspects

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of the initiative, that you think

really stand out and helped with those

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activities as a result of that work?

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Could you maybe touch on a little

bit about the collaborations or maybe

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some of the early wins that went

in at the beginning of the project,

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uh, that really helped move things

forward for the Innisfil Heights?

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and what does that path

of success look like?

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Sure.

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Um, maybe I'll use your last question

as a segue and stick with the buy-in

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piece because I think that one of our

early wins was, gaining the buy-in.

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I think that was due in part to the

honesty and authenticity with which we

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came to the table when speaking with

both, internal and external partners.

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So there is, at times, I think this is

true in any community, for longstanding

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property owners, there is an element

of, "We've heard this before."

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so in terms of our buy-in, we were

very intentional about having honest

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discussions about the state of the land.

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Uh, so that meant being very self-aware

about the barriers that existed, and

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also being very self-aware about the

solutions that had been tried in the past.

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So our first, I would say, big win on

the internal side is that we created

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a site selection response team.

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when inquiries were coming in, whether it

was through a, a direct lead or a request

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for information process, we often, were

told from other teams that until the

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property was purchased and there was a

formal pre-consultation application, uh,

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the amount of information that was given

to proponents was, was quite high level.

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so what we decided to do, was create a

site selection response team, ' cause

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getting that information after you

bought the property isn't helpful.

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and it also doesn't, behoove the site

selection response process, to hold off

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on giving information until down the road.

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, So we created a site selection

response team that included a number

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of our internal partners, including

economic development, planning

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and growth team, so planning and

engineering, as well as our utility

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partners, so power, water, wastewater.

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And, uh, we agreed that if there was a

significant request for information at the

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site selection process, that we would pull

together that team into a room to talk

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about the barriers and challenges before

communicating it to the, uh, proponent.

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That was really helpful because

we learned what information

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we didn't have, first of all.

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Uh, there was a gap in information

that we learned we needed to

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be proactive in, compiling.

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and it was also helpful in some

of that creative brainstorming.

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So having a really skilled set of

talent around the table, so we're

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talking engineers, planners, economic

developers, allowed us to think

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outside the box and come up with

some really creative solutions.

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So I would say probably the first big

win was the site selection response

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team, then building from there, the first

inquiry that the site selection response

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team tackled was Northern Transformer.

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Northern Transformer, uh, is a

manufacturer of transformers.

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They were looking to expand their

facility outside of the GTA and

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had, uh, sent us an inquiry.

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through ongoing collaboration, through

those site selection response team

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meetings, we were able to eventually

secure that investment in Innisfil.

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So that was a huge win for our team.

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Mason Ainsworth: Amazing.

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And I think for anybody listening

right now, it's pretty clear that you

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need a site selection response team.

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I think back to the story I heard from Vic

Fedeli, back before he was the Minister

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of Economic Development, Job Creation

and Trade, uh, if that is still what it's

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called, as I know it changes quite often.

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but when he was the mayor of North Bay,

he talked about bringing together some

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of the different departments just to have

a quicker turnaround time for things so

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that we can break down some of these silos

between departments, uh, and community.

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And I think that's exactly what you

folks have tapped into here and made

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it so that you can really speed up the

process and also cut out some of those

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silos, that you've mentioned as well as

has historically been within government.

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Uh, and unfortunately, that's the reality,

and sometimes there are these silos.

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But really, uh, you folks are working

towards that, and I think it's really

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exciting to see the positive impact

of those discussions and how it's

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really moved things forward for you

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Mm-hmm.

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I think the breaking down the

silos is a really big theme

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that , will come up throughout

our conversation, I'm sure, today.

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but I think by breaking down the

silos and having that site selection

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and response team in the room.

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the other thing we were able to gain was a

clear and shared vision for our employment

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lands, which I think is something we

didn't have a clear picture of previously.

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so once we were able to talk about

the potential economic impacts, the

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potential impacts on our tax base, on

development charges, on, you know, all

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those ripple effects on the community, I

think that really, brought us together.

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say in the case of Northern Transformer,

having our full team, the full complement

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of staff meet the Northern Transformer

team was really special because from the

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outset, we could tell that their culture

of that, of that or- organization really

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aligned with w- we wanted in Innisfil.

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So we went down to their facility

down in Maple to do a tour.

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Their team was so welcoming.

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Their board of the chair, shared some of

his personal stories in terms of building

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the business and what it meant to him.

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the CEO was also, um, a very

welcoming and, and their whole team

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came out and gave us this tour.

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And I think not only having the shared

vision, but then seeing a tangible

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example of a company who would not

only have a positive economic impact

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on Innisfil, but really contribute,

positively to Innisfil's culture as a

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community, really was a good incentive

for all of us to work together.

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Mason Ainsworth: Amazing.

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And I, I think that relationship building

and the culture that you've mentioned

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is so important, especially when you're

looking at a shared vision of the

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futer- I think back to, high school

and I did this dual credit program with

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Georgian College, and it was fantastic.

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And shockingly for those listening,

it was a leadership course.

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But during the course, we read a

book, called The Leadership Challenge.

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And in that book, one of the pillars

that really inspired me, was, a

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section on inspire shared vision.

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And I think that is so important whether

you're doing economic development or

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business or really anything in the world.

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If you can bring folks together and even

create a positive culture where you're

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bringing people onto the same page and

you can move all in the right direction,

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but then also work with those folks

who have a similar vision, uh, such

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as a company that you're working with,

and bring them to the table and say,

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"Hey, we also have this shared vision."

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I think that's just phenomenal, and it

really adds up and increases the fabric

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of your community, whether it's, the

jobs or young people interacting with

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each other or the economic spinoffs

that are yet to come in the future.

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It also leads, I think, to some

of that corporate responsibility.

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You know, if people feel connected,

they wanna get more involved

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with their teams, they wanna,

you know, support kids playing.

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Uh, and they also look at,

hey, you know, do my friends

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wanna move to this community?

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And hey, I had such an amazing

experience with Innisfil

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And when they speak to people, I think

it's really important that they, you

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know, have had this shared vision and this

positive experience that you've talked

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about where they can pass on that and say,

"Hey, you know, I highly recommend that

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you come and you set up shop in Innisfil,

because they have this amazing team that's

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on the same page as us, and they take

the time to take us through the process."

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And I really think that

just speaks to, the positive

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relationship that you've created.

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Absolutely

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211

Mason Ainsworth: I know you've mentioned

briefly, and I think I've hinted at

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it a little bit before, but it was

about, you know, the main barriers

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to development that you and your team

identified, throughout the program.

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I'm curious how you worked together

with some of these different partners

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and addressed some of those issues.

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Yeah, I would say a big piece of that

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was being really self-aware, uh, like

brutally honest about like where are we

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at, where are our strengths, where are

our weaknesses, and, and how do we maybe,

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come up with some creative solutions.

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in terms of where we started, we realized

that although we had data scattered across

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a range of platforms, it really wasn't

pulled together in a way that was usable.

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so when I say that we have, you know,

land use data through our planning

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platforms, our planning mapping.

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We have some contact information

through our financial channels.

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we might have some inquiries in our CRM,

but without that information being all

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compiled in one place, it was really

difficult to see the big picture.

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so a big piece of where we started

was really pulling all the data into

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one place by creating an inventory.

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in doing so, we were then able to

hold a landowner's forum and have some

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stakeholder consultation, and through

that work, we identified 15, barriers.

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And when I say barriers, I would

say they're kind of 15 elements

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that are looking for when

they're doing site selection.

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So if you think about servicing,

power, making sure there's no red

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flags on the drainage side, the lands

are zoned and designated accordingly.

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so of those, 15 barriers, really,

we were only, really well set up

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on two, meaning only two of those

15 site selection criteria, we had

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answers on and we were doing well.

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So it's easy to be deterred by that.

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But what we did is we took those 15

barriers, and we started like delving into

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each one specifically and coming up with

an investment, readiness plan of action.

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we worked with our utility partners

to delve into potential solutions

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for on the servicing side and timing.

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and I'll give you just a

tangible example of, what came

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up through that conversation.

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so one of the areas that came up

quite frequently is, was drainage.

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stormwater management and drainage was

a, problem throughout many properties.

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So, status quo would've been every time

somebody wants to develop, they'd have

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to solve that problem on their own.

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but as a team, we came up with the

idea for a master drainage study for

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the employment lands so that we could

look at that issue on a comprehensive

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level and figure out what-- If we were

dealing with all of these properties

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at once, what would that look like, so

that we can remove that barrier, for

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each in- individual property owner.

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It might not mean we solve it for

all of the property owners, but

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at least we can have information

on what that looks like and what

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would need to be done to address it

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Mason Ainsworth: Very interesting.

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I think the way you explained it

of having the different elements

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is really interesting, especially

when you link bridging the different

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departments together and tying

in that shared vision because,

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you know, whether you're dealing with

a wastewater or energy or maybe some

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zoning, there's usually different

departments who are dealing with

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these sorts of things and looking

at it from a different perspective.

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So to bring those folks all together

and have them working together on

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that I think is one of those key

things, uh, that this idea has.

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And having this idea of a single source

of truth when you bring all those

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folks together, you know, they might

have different perspectives, but at

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the end of the day, they can all say,

"Hey, this is where things are at,"

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so people have a better understanding

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And it really seems like you

folks have done that, which

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I think is a phenomenal idea.

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Yeah, and I'd even take that

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a step farther because I

think that's a good point.

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one of the lessons I, I learned pretty

early is, the talent of explaining things

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in plain language is so undervalued.

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so when you're bringing all these folks

to the table, when you have a room full

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of like massive brainpower, you've got

engineers and, folks that have been doing

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their work for 10, 15, 20 years, really

strong technical skillset, it's really

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important to ask the silly questions.

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because you-- it's very easy to quickly

assume that everybody else in the

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room knows what that person's talking

about, and often that isn't the case.

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so a lot of what we learned was

learned through asking silly questions

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and straightforward questions

to say, "What does that mean?

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What does that acronym mean?

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when you're using this term,

uh, what does that mean?"

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and breaking that down

really into plain language?

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really helped us break it down so that

everybody It was like a level set.

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Everybody w- was working with

the same amount of knowledge.

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it was really helpful to

the pro- whole process.

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Mason Ainsworth: I love that, and I think

that's so crucial having it accessible.

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for example, if you're having a

conversation, \ whether, you know,

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it's through, uh, communications that

are going out or talking to somebody

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in person, cause as you mentioned,

people are at different levels

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when it comes to different things.

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Even if they're, let's say at the same

level, but maybe between different silos.

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I know during my time with the

province, each ministry had

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an enormous list of acronyms.

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So if you're not familiar with

that particular ministry, you might

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not understand those acronyms, or

they might actually be the same

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acronyms, uh, but mean something

else across the different areas.

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even though you're at kind of the same

position or level as that person in

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that, in a different area, uh, they could

mean something completely different,

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and you might not know that And I met

with an interesting CEO recently, and

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they said that when they got involved

with a company, that everyone around the

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table was using all sorts of acronyms.

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So he had this rule.

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He said, "Hey, you're not allowed

to use any acronyms at this table

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unless you can actually explain

what the acronym is first."

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And at the start of every day,

you'd have to reset, and you'd

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have to explain the acronym.

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Uh, similar to if you're writing a

report and you have to use it once at the

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beginning, uh, and you know, you don't

have to use it every time, but 'cause

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you wanna save space in the report, but

you do have to explain it at least once

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and explain, "Hey, you know, this is

what this means," so that everybody's

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on the same page, and so that you have

a more accessible dialogue with folks.

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I think that's, uh, great.

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You wanna have accessible

discussions and accessible language.

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Uh, which leads me to one of my next

questions actually, I know you've

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mentioned you've worked with different

partners through different departments,

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uh, as well as externally as well, whether

that's through landlords or investors.

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I'm curious, you know, what is the

secret of building that collaboration

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between all of these different pieces,

and why is that momentum important

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to move a project forward like this?

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laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Mm-hmm.

325

I think it's critically important

to build those relationships.

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So, uh, and foremost, again, being

self-aware about sometimes there's

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biases that come up in your own industry

about other professions and who can

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think in black and white thinking

and who can think in, in the gray.

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And, um, it's really important to let

all those, biases and assumptions go

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and just listen and be open-minded.

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so in the spirit of that, a few years ago,

we started the Building the Future forums.

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Uh, essentially, it was an opportunity

for us to get all of the people in

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the, in the room that were helping

build our community and let them know

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what an important role they played.

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and in doing so, acknowledge

the expertise and insights that

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they were bringing to the table.

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it's so easy to get caught up in our,

our day-to-day work that it was a

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dedicated half day, we always do it a

half day, three hours, to look at the

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big picture items, the big strategic

things that need our attention.

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it's also about learning to recognize

everyone's professional and industry

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standards that they have to abide to.

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So, for example, the economic

development ethics, the engineering

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standards, the rigid framework

that often planners have to work in.

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because then when we're looking at

flexibility and creativity, we're all

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being mindful of our respective mandates.

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cause it's not reasonable for us

to come to the table and just say,

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"Just approve this development.

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It's important."

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so having those conversations

were really important.

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so we call them Building the Future.

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We try and do them at least twice a

year, sometimes three or four times a

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year, and, uh, it's different every time.

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We've done bus tours where we've

got everybody on the bus and we've

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gone out to the sites and talked

about them and looked at them.

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we've done failure workshops, because

if you're gonna take risks and, and

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do new and innovative things, you have

to be comfortable that you're gonna

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fail sometimes, and that's all right.

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and then we've brought in, speakers.

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the whole thing is all about

committing to relationship building.

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So this is something we're all committing

to, so that when you have to have a

361

quick question or you're asking somebody

for a quick turnaround, or you're

362

telling somebody something's important,

you're not coming out of left field.

363

They know you, they now share

your vision, and you're all

364

working towards the same solution.

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Mason Ainsworth: Incredible.

366

I think that speaks to you as a

person, but also in this field and

367

why you folks are so innovative,

hence, you know, winning this award.

368

three things you mentioned there, I think,

uh, the first thing, looking towards

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the future and making an active point

of having those discussions, engaging in

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different ways to talk to people about

the future, and to understand where some

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of those other people are coming from.

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You know, as you mentioned, whether it's,

you know, planning or others, but having

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those rigid frameworks and being able

to understand, you know, okay, well,

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I thought it was this way, but we also

might need to, X, Y, and Z, to be able

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to make sure that these things are safe

or legal, uh, or whatever the case may be.

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And then the second part, uh, which I

would say is really crucial, uh, but we

377

don't really hear enough about, is failure

And I think that being okay with failure,

378

especially when we get into the innovation

space and different companies that are

379

prototyping, that's part of the process.

380

But in everyday life, and I would say

in school, we're taught this other

381

direction, which is, "Hey, you need to

do really well and you need to pass.

382

instead of saying, "Hey, you know,

it's okay to fail in some of these

383

things as long as you're learning

from the process," because that's part

384

of it, so that we can get stronger.

385

Similar to, you know, if somebody

was exercising at the gym, you

386

gotta break down your muscles so

that you're able to build them up.

387

Uh, it's just the basics, but it's

something I think historically, and

388

I would say still today in a lot of

areas, it's very, you know, taboo.

389

because people wanna have, their social

media say, " " "Hey, here's all the

390

positive things I did," and you know,

Look at what a great job I'm doing,"

391

instead of having the time to acknowledge

and to in-investigate it and, and be

392

able to move forward into the future.

393

And I think that brings us to the,

uh, third one, which you're, really

394

phenomenal at, to be honest, which is the

relationship-building aspect because that

395

builds not only the infrastructure within

your team, but it also gives folks who

396

are investing in the community that they

know that this is a long-term investment

397

that we're gonna make, and these folks are

looking at it from a perspective of, "Hey,

398

this is not just an overnight thing."

399

Like, "Hey, thanks for showing up.

400

Here's the land.

401

See you later."

402

This is a long-term investment

into them and the company because

403

they're also making a long-term

investment in your community, and

404

I think that's really special.

405

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

I appreciate that.

406

Can I just touch on something

that you mentioned in terms of,

407

you know, asking the questions

and building the relationships?

408

Mason Ainsworth: 100% yes

409

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

yeah, I think a big part of this is

410

there's an element of letting go of your

ego, because you're gonna have to be

411

vulnerable through a process like this.

412

And whether that vulnerability is saying

that you don't know or trying something

413

that might not work out, You need to let

go of your ego, you need to have some

414

vulnerability in order to be innovative.

415

And I think that a big part of why

we do the relationship building is

416

you're not gonna wanna be vulnerable

with people that you don't trust.

417

You're not gonna wanna try new things

that have a risk of failure if you don't

418

know that regardless of that failure,

you're gonna be supported by your team.

419

so I think that that's another, important

consideration when you're building a

420

safe space, 'cause no one's gonna try and

innovate if they don't feel safe doing so.

421

Mason Ainsworth: You know, Laura,

I couldn't have said that better

422

myself and, you know, 100% agree.

423

I know we've unpacked a few amazing

things, and I'm curious for the folks

424

who are listening, if they're thinking

about, "Wow, this sounds incredible.

425

How would I do this in my community?"

426

So I'm curious your thoughts on

replicating this and what your advice

427

would be to other Ontario communities,

or even at a larger scale, to different

428

economic development teams out there

who are looking to implement something

429

similar in their own community or in

their own strategic employment area

430

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

so I would say, I'm just making

431

a quick note 'cause I just

wanna, uh, share a funny story.

432

But, um, our team played a game called

Totem, and it was developed by, a First

433

Nations game creator, and it's developed

on understanding what the characteristics

434

are your, of your team members.

435

So really, it's a great opportunity to

get in a room and tell your teamworkers

436

all the things that you love about them.

437

so we did that and, um, essentially your

team comes up with two characteristics

438

that describe you as a person.

439

, And mine, I was originally offended by

this, but, uh, was Insightful woodpecker.

440

Mason Ainsworth: Insightful woodpecker.

441

I definitely need to hear

the explanation on this one

442

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

So the ins- insightful piece is a, you

443

know, an, a trait in terms of like,

insightful's pretty straightforward.

444

the woodpecker piece represents

somebody who is consistent past

445

the point that others would've

quit, in pursuing solutions.

446

so, I'll wear that with pride,

but I think it's our entire

447

team kind of had to embody this.

448

other communities are going to do this,

they just need to persist with the

449

questions, persist with working on, the

questions that they're trying to get

450

answers to, persist in the team building.

451

There's going to be times when

folks say, "We've already done

452

this," or, This can't be done,"

or, "There's too many challenges."

453

And I think just persist.

454

Keep, keep working on it.

455

Mason Ainsworth: Incredible.

456

And just before you hop into the

rest of your answer, I just wanted

457

to touch on the woodpecker thing.

458

I think that really does sum

you up well, and I think, you

459

know, I'm Team Laura, okay?

460

I've said it on the podcast before,

we need more Laura Thompsons in the

461

world, and I truly believe that.

462

And I think the woodpecker really sums

it up, because I think true leaders

463

are the ones who, when you get to

that point whether it's a sport or

464

you're at work and you're totally

exhausted, and the finish line is

465

there, and you just can't get across.

466

But they're the ones who are

like, "We need to keep going.

467

We need to get through this.

468

We need to innovate, do something

different so, you know, we can

469

just get across the finish line."

470

And I think there was another bird,

maybe from the Galapagos Islands, uh,

471

and there was a study on it that I, I

learned about at school, and essentially

472

this bird was trying to figure out how

to get food because it was limited on the

473

island, and it ended up using a stick.

474

It would go and pick up the stick with its

beak, and then it would use it basically

475

like a drill into the wood so that it

could get in there, uh, similar to what

476

a woodpecker would do with their beak.

477

And I think that those types of

people are the ones who change the

478

game and really make a positive

impact in their communities and

479

with the people around them.

480

And I think that really sums you up well,

and keep being a proud woodpecker, Laura

481

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Relentless optimism

482

towards your, Uh, solution.

483

I love that.

484

Thanks for sharing that

485

Mason Ainsworth: Just to hop back

into the, uh, replication perspective,

486

do you think that this kind of team

building aspect or, you know, if folks

487

maybe wanted to go on and, you know,

build something like that themselves.

488

You know, I'm sure folks who are

listening to this episode, they're

489

thinking, you know, How can I help

build my team or my community?"

490

But what would you say is the

kind of the key piece to that?

491

Would you say it's starting

with your own department and

492

having those open discussions,

uh, and get it going from there?

493

Or what's the kind of key area to start?

494

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Yeah, I would say, I would say this

495

is absolutely repli- replicable

for any other community in Ontario.

496

it's not as if we were

starting out with, a huge team.

497

Uh, it's not as if we only had

a few barriers to, address.

498

We had everything that was a site

selector's, criteria we had issues with.

499

So it's okay if you're starting,

in a really complex, uh, state.

500

What I would say is the first step you

should do is break down that complex

501

problem into many bite-sized pieces.

502

So for us, like I said, it was okay, first

we have to get the data all in one place.

503

What does that look like?

504

Then we need to go validate the data

by doing some community engagement.

505

we need to get all our internal

stakeholders in the room to

506

start looking at what are those

problems that we're solving.

507

So I would say that was the first

piece, is breaking down that

508

complex, sometimes it feels like

chaos, into bite-sized pieces.

509

I would say concurrently start your

relationship building right away.

510

and be authentic, I think is the

other piece, and that's where

511

the, that vulnerability comes in.

512

so, I think those are probably two

things to start, and then while

513

you're doing that, just be self-aware.

514

I know from an economic development

perspective, it's really easy to get

515

in the mindset that you wanna convince

your senior leadership team or council

516

or your stakeholders, or developers

that are approaching you, that you

517

have everything ready to go and it's

perfect, and you can attract whoever

518

you wanna attract to your community.

519

doesn't actually help you, though.

520

It actually hinders you because if

your council or your leadership or the

521

people making decisions about budget

and where to spend time and attention

522

don't understand the issues, then

they're not gonna solve themselves.

523

And if you have somebody come into

your community and they do a tour, and

524

through their due diligence they see

all of these barriers, you're gonna

525

start losing the opportunity h- to have

discussions with those folks again.

526

so I think, for example, in the case of

our most recent in- investor, we were

527

really honest about those situations up,

up front so that we could determine, okay,

528

is this something that can be overcome or

is this something that's a deal breaker

529

from a site selection perspective?

530

We'd rather know upfront and not

waste everybody's time than know once

531

you're a year or two down the line.

532

Mason Ainsworth: 100% agree.

533

I remember my dad used to say,

"Honesty is the best policy."

534

And I think linking into something you

said earlier about being vulnerable,

535

' cause a lot of folks might not want

to lay out all of the potential

536

challenges or issues on the table

for fear that, hey, you know, these

537

folks might walk away from the deal.

538

you know, that might happen, but

if you're upfront about it and you

539

say, you know, "Here's the things

we know about what's going on.

540

Here's some of the things we're doing

to address some of these issues," or,

541

"Hey, here's some of the things we

want your perspective on, and, you

542

know, maybe come up with something

innovative to find a solution," I

543

think folks are very open to that.

544

Because at the end of the day,

especially when you know you're doing

545

some large end investments and such,

these people are problem solvers at

546

their own work, and they can definitely

help your team through that process.

547

But if you don't let them know, and they

have to find out down the road, there's

548

something there that could really kill

a deal, as opposed to just being upfront

549

at the very beginning and saying, "Hey,

you know, not everything's perfect."

550

Just like in sales.

551

Yeah.

552

Uh, nobody you talk to is immediately

just gonna invest this huge

553

amount of money and, work with

you and work with your community.

554

But I think it increases your chances

when you look at the approach, and

555

if you're not afraid to be vulnerable

and work together as a team, because

556

I think it very much, you know,

not to use a soccer reference, but

557

teamwork makes the dream work, right?

558

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Mm-hmm.

559

And I think, another, underutilized

resource is, is phone a friend.

560

economic developers are so

great at sharing what they know.

561

pick up the phone if you have a

question and, and again, be vulnerable.

562

Say, "I don't know, I

don't know what to expect.

563

I don't know how to do this.

564

What, what did you do in this case?"

565

I think that's a really valuable tool,

and it also feels good to help others.

566

So you're, um, building relationships

with your peers at the same time.

567

Mason Ainsworth: 100%.

568

That's always my favorite question

on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

569

Stalling a friend.

570

Uh, and I'm confident that if we

had that and it was about economic

571

development stuff, that we would

have no problem because everyone

572

is so giving with their time, their

experiences, and their perspective.

573

And that's just something

I absolutely love about the

574

economic development community.

575

You know, across the board, even

at the international level, you

576

know, people are always great.

577

Uh, and to have them at that

end and share their perspective

578

is, is greatly appreciated.

579

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Me too.

580

We're really lucky

581

Mason Ainsworth: Yeah.

582

So, uh, Laura, we are getting near

the end, and I, I'm curious the impact

583

of the work that we've chatted about

today, as well as linking that into

584

the information we've discussed.

585

Uh, I know you folks won your award

under the rural section for the Planning

586

and Strategic Development Award.

587

Uh, and your project obviously, uh,

as we've talked about, really helped

588

attract significant investments

like the Northern Transformer

589

and supported other milestones.

590

Now I'm curious, how has this work

impacted Innisfil so far, and what

591

has winning the EDCO award meant to

your team and also to your community?

592

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

well, maybe I'll start with

593

the EDCO Awards, overall.

594

So I, I think at times professionals

in our industry, don't realize

595

the magic we're building.

596

We're often dealing with emergent issues

that at times come out of nowhere or at

597

times they're building, but often there

is no rule book on how to deal with it.

598

Uh, so we think, if we think back

to all of the pivoting we had to do

599

with COVID, if we think about more

recent, geopolitical issues like

600

the tariffs, oftentimes we're all

figuring things out in real time.

601

we as a profession, we, do that

work, but we don't necessarily

602

always celebrate, you know, the

magic we're creating when we do that.

603

So I think the EDCO Awards

are such an important, tool to

604

recognize, all the creativity and

innovation that professionals in

605

this field, undertake all the time.

606

So I just wanna-- I think

they're a fantastic tool.

607

I think they're a really exciting

opportunity to celebrate all the work

608

that's being done across the province.

609

I would say for Innisfil, something

that, the EDCO Award allowed us to do

610

was share our story, 'cause like I said,

this is replicable, and I think that I

611

had a lot of questions going into this.

612

We all did.

613

Um, so if we can shorten the learning

curve for our peers, happy to do

614

it, because they would do the exact

same in other areas, and they have.

615

if I call any peer in Ontario,

they are always happy to help.

616

So that's another great

thing about the EDCO Awards.

617

for Innisfil specifically, I would

say it is a nice little thing to add

618

to our marketing, to get us noticed.

619

So we can now say it's an, it's an

award-winning program in terms of the

620

work we've done to get those lands ready.

621

recently, uh, some of the

economic developers in Simcoe

622

County recently took part in a, a

roundtable with Selectors Guild.

623

the number one thing that one of

the site selectors mentioned was

624

more than incentives, more than tax

breaks, more than anything else,

625

more important to be ready for the

questions we're gonna have for you.

626

It's more important to have your

ducks in a row and be ready for

627

the investors than it is to have

something like a short-term incentive.

628

so I think having that Award and, and

showcasing that we're ready really does

629

go a long way in giving us credibility

when we're having conversations

630

with new investors and businesses.

631

Mason Ainsworth: Amazing.

632

I think that's great, and thank

you so much for breaking down

633

barriers with that as well.

634

I remember this story I heard and,

uh, my apologies, I forget the

635

Olympian's name, but it was the person

who ran the one mile the fastest.

636

There was a time where, uh, in history

nobody could run the one mile in

637

under a certain amount of time, I

think it was two minutes or something.

638

people didn't think that it was

possible, but then eventually one

639

person did it, and actually showed

them that, hey, this is possible.

640

and after that, so many people have

been able to break that record.

641

And that's the thing I

love about these awards.

642

It's when people see them and they

hear about them and they say, "Oh, wow,

643

I'd never even thought of that before.

644

We can do that within our community?"

645

Or maybe, you know, they've been doing

this for a while, and maybe it hasn't

646

went great, uh, and beared fruit yet.

647

But as we talked about before,

sometimes it takes time.

648

But now when they see this happening in

another community, they can say, "Hey,

649

you know, this is a really positive

impact and we just need to stick with it.

650

We need to be persistent, and we know that

this impact is gonna pay off someday."

651

Because sometimes these things take a

little bit more time than we'd like.

652

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Years.

653

They-- It can take years.

654

So yes, being persistent for sure

655

Mason Ainsworth: I love that.

656

And I know the future has been

a discussion for us for quite a

657

bit during today's conversation.

658

I'm curious, you know, what does

the future look like for Innisfil

659

Heights and this investment readiness

approach that you folks have there?

660

As well as when you look down the

road, where do you see the biggest

661

opportunities in the years ahead?

662

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

So it's very exciting to look

663

to the future because we're

in a really great place now.

664

We've got momentum, we've got

the excitement of the team.

665

So our next step is to do an

overhaul of the development

666

application process through our

development and engineering teams.

667

Uh, so the planning and growth team

has done a really, incredible work

668

over the last year developing a new

community planning and permit system.

669

Uh, the acronym is CPPS for Innisfil,

and it's a fairly new tool through the

670

Planning Act, which allows municipalities

to streamline several processes like a

671

zoning bylaw amendment, site plan, minor

variance, all into one application.

672

So it really streamlines things.

673

I think we're one of about

six municipalities in

674

Ontario that's doing this.

675

Um, so we're really looking-- using

this opportunity as, as a bit of

676

a reset to look at how we handle

development applications as a whole.

677

we're looking at everything from

filing to technology to communications.

678

Uh, so I'm very excited about, the

opportunities that could open up.

679

last week we held a Building the Future

forum with that planning and growth

680

team, and our theme was The Path to Yes.

681

So, you know, how do we

get to the path to yes?

682

We talked about detour language, like

what's the language that often takes us

683

off the beaten path into, um, you know,

a bit of a dead end, and how can we get

684

back on track when that language pops up?

685

Um, so we had about 40 members in the

room talking about-- We spent about an

686

hour on problem definition, like really

defining what are the root problems,

687

not just the symptoms, associated with

the development application process.

688

we talked about creative

solutions and had some really

689

cool ideas raised in that session.

690

and we also had a graphic recorder

recording, you know, lots of the

691

great ideas as we were doing it.

692

and then of course, we added in some

team-building activities, that had

693

everybody laughing and working together.

694

So that was a lot of fun.

695

so yeah, I would say the biggest

win of that day was there

696

was a question that we asked.

697

We used a, a bit of a Mentimeter,

like a live survey response, and

698

there was a question to acknowledge

change management and how this might

699

impact staff's, day-to-day work.

700

So we asked, this could be

challenging overhauling this process.

701

How are you feeling about

some of the potential changes?

702

Like we wanted to know, is there anxiety?

703

How do we, how do we make

this easier for the team?

704

And the word cloud that came up on the

screen was full of words like excited,

705

thrilled, and pumped, which was amazing

so again, shared vision, everybody's

706

on board, really solution-oriented,

and it was just a really great day.

707

And then we had that beautiful visual

from the graphic recorder at the end

708

of it that really highlighted the

values that we wanna have together.

709

You know, what does celebration look like?

710

You know, if we pull this off,

how are we gonna celebrate?

711

so it was just a really-- I'm

getting goosebumps now, but it was

712

just a really great opportunity

for all of us to come together

713

Mason Ainsworth: It's

amazing to see your passion.

714

And even when you're speaking, I know that

you mentioned the, the goosebumps there,

715

and j- you just see the energy radiating

from you and your passion for this.

716

And I think that's so contagious.

717

I know you mentioned a few times

throughout the conversation about

718

the team building and the respect,

having people feel comfortable,

719

having a safe place, also having the

ability to laugh and to be vulnerable.

720

I think these are all some of the

key ingredients that really make the

721

discussion positive and move forward.

722

And, I chatted to a mayor in Southern

Ontario one time, and he was telling me,

723

hi- his strength was, "The answer is yes.

724

We just need to find a way."

725

And I think that's a really cool

thing, especially when it comes to

726

what we've talked about today, about

solving problems or finding innovative

727

solutions or working through things.

728

Usually, there's a way to get there, but

we just need to spend the time to work

729

together as a team and to move forward.

730

So, thank you so much for the

work and for, you know, the

731

deep dive we've done today.

732

I really learned a lot, and I'm sure a lot

of folks have who are listening as well.

733

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Thanks, Mason.

734

And I do just want to give a, a quick

shout-out and kudos to the Planning

735

and Growth team and our partners at IN

Services and Empower because, although

736

it was an economic development award,

uh, we're just the face of this.

737

There was a ton of work and energy

and, time spent by those folks.

738

So, um, we didn't get to have all

40 of them up on stage to receive

739

that award, but, they were certainly

an important part of that project

740

Mason Ainsworth: Amazing.

741

Yeah.

742

it definitely takes a

village, as they say.

743

We'll make sure we get those folks

the shout-out they deserve as well.

744

And as always, what we do on the

Hyperlocal podcast, we have a mystery

745

question for you, and this one is from me.

746

And if you don't answer it, that's okay.

747

Uh, and the question is, what

animal do you think that I would

748

have been during that exercise?

749

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Ooh, that's a good one.

750

I would start with the character

trait being inquisitive, 'cause you

751

are really good, at asking questions.

752

and then maybe…

753

I'm gonna say kangaroo.

754

Inquisitive kangaroo, and hear me out,

755

' Mason Ainsworth: Please expand.

756

I'm really excited for this one, and

I can't wait to tell my wife the news.

757

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Partly because I'm being put on the

758

spot, but I'm gonna say because like

a kangaroo has their little joey, I

759

think you bring people along with you.

760

So I think, a lot of people in economic

development don't have a linear journey

761

or a linear, linear career path.

762

Um, you've had the opportunity to

work in a lot of different roles, and

763

I think that along the way you still

kept your relationships, you've still

764

helped connect people along the way,

and I just see that as a, you know,

765

an instinct that's embedded in you.

766

So I'm gonna say inquisitive kangaroo

767

Mason Ainsworth: Yeah.

768

Uh, really powerful.

769

I can, uh, feel that, so thank you.

770

I am proud to be an inquisitive kangaroo.

771

So thank you so much, Laura,

and thank you for sharing.

772

Thank you for getting involved with

EDCO, and thank you so much for being

773

on the Hyperlocal podcast today.

774

laura-thompson--she-her-_1_07-23-2026_100952:

Thanks so much, Mason, and thanks

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for, uh, doing all you do for our

economic development profession.

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I appreciate it

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Speaker 6: What a fantastic episode

of the EDCO Award Winners: The Deep

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Dive, a special series from Hyperlocal

in partnership with the Economic

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Developers Council of Ontario.

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If you found this valuable, follow

Hyperlocal wherever you get your podcasts

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and stay tuned for more conversations