Wallaceburg has real opportunities for growth, but growth does not happen simply because Council approves a plan or a candidate promises to bring jobs to town.
The municipality cannot guarantee that a private employer, developer, or business will choose Wallaceburg. It can make Wallaceburg more competitive by ensuring that land, infrastructure, approvals, housing, and community services are ready when opportunities arise.
My approach is based on three goals: prepare, attract, and retain.
Wallaceburg already has several important building blocks.
The Wallaceburg South Side Secondary Plan provides a long-term framework for approximately 22 hectares of land between the Sydenham River, Murray Street, the rail corridor, and McNaughton Avenue. Approved by Council in 2024, it envisions redevelopment occurring gradually through 2046.
The plan includes the potential for approximately 200 to 250 new homes over time, mixed-use development, about 3.5 acres of new parkland, stronger waterfront connections, improved pedestrian routes, and redevelopment of vacant or underused properties.
Those are not 200 to 250 homes that have already been funded or approved for construction. The Secondary Plan establishes where and what kinds of development should be encouraged. Individual projects still require landowners, financing, servicing, design, approvals, and—in many cases—partnership with the private or non-profit sectors.
There has also been concrete housing progress. The approved Westcourt Boulevard development will add 72 rental units, including 50 affordable or deeply affordable units. More than $18.9 million in external funding has been secured for the project. That investment is significant, but the need remains substantial: approximately 23% of the households on Chatham-Kent’s centralized housing waiting list are seeking housing in Wallaceburg.
Chatham-Kent’s 2026 growth work also identified approximately 34 hectares of potential residential land-supply options for Wallaceburg against an estimated need of approximately 32 hectares. Identifying land, however, does not automatically make it ready for development. Water and wastewater capacity, stormwater management, roads, drainage, zoning, ownership, financing, and other requirements still have to be addressed.
Preparing Wallaceburg for investment
If a major employer or developer became interested in Wallaceburg tomorrow, one of the first questions should be: Are we ready?
Being investment-ready means knowing:
What land is available and appropriately zoned;
Whether water, wastewater, drainage, hydro, natural gas, broadband, and transportation capacity are sufficient;
What infrastructure upgrades would be required;
Who would be responsible for those costs;
How long approvals and construction would realistically take; and
Whether Wallaceburg has the housing and workforce needed to support the investment.
I would support a clear, cross-departmental assessment of Wallaceburg’s development readiness. Economic Development, Planning, Engineering, Public Works, and the Public Utilities Commission should be working from the same information about available land, infrastructure capacity, constraints, costs, and timelines.
That preparation is not glamorous, but it can determine whether Wallaceburg secures an opportunity or watches it go somewhere else.
A plan sitting on a shelf doesn’t grow a community.
Moving the South Side plan toward results
The South Side Secondary Plan should remain visible in Chatham-Kent’s strategic and capital planning rather than becoming a document that is approved and forgotten.
Some enabling work is already happening, including technical assessment of the Sydenham River shoreline, breakwall, pedestrian infrastructure, and nearby sewer systems. That work helps determine what must be repaired or replaced before larger waterfront improvements can proceed.
I would support:
Completing the technical work required for shoreline, servicing, transportation, and public-space improvements;
Identifying realistic phases so that progress does not depend on funding the entire vision at once;
Determining how municipally owned properties can best support housing, public spaces, or other redevelopment;
Seeking provincial, federal, and other external funding for eligible housing, infrastructure, waterfront, accessibility, and public-space projects; and
Working with developers, businesses, non-profits, and community organizations when implementation requires partnership.
Public investment should be sequenced carefully so that it addresses real needs and helps unlock private investment.
Supporting existing businesses and downtown Wallaceburg
Economic development should not focus exclusively on attracting one large employer. Helping an existing Wallaceburg business expand and add 10, 20, or 30 jobs is also economic development.
I would support regular communication with local employers and business organizations to identify what is preventing businesses from growing. Depending on the business, the barrier could be labour, available space, infrastructure, financing, transportation, housing, or a municipal approval process.
Chatham-Kent already offers Community Improvement Plan incentives intended to encourage development and redevelopment. Before creating additional programs, Council should understand whether Wallaceburg businesses and property owners are using the existing incentives, whether the programs are changing investment decisions, and what barriers remain.
Downtown development also depends on more than storefront grants. A healthy downtown needs residents living nearby, attractive and accessible public spaces, a sense of safety, events and activities that bring people downtown, and businesses that complement one another.
Wallaceburg’s river is an economic and quality-of-life asset that many communities would love to have. The waterfront, downtown, housing, recreation, tourism, and business development should be planned as connected pieces rather than separate projects.
Building on Wallaceburg’s strengths
Wallaceburg should actively pursue sectors that fit its location, workforce, industrial history, and surrounding economy. That includes advanced manufacturing, agriculture and agri-business, food processing, logistics, and businesses connected to the region’s existing supply chains.
Agriculture must be part of this discussion. The rural areas surrounding Wallaceburg contribute directly to the local economy, and roads, bridges, drainage, utilities, and broadband are economic infrastructure for farms and agri-businesses.
Housing, health care, and quality of life also affect economic development. Employers need workers, workers need places to live, and families consider health care, recreation, safety, and community services when deciding whether to stay or relocate. The Wallaceburg hospital redevelopment is therefore not only a health-care priority; it is also part of Wallaceburg’s ability to attract and retain residents, workers, and investment.
Economic-development success should be measured by more than announcements.
I would want Council and the public to receive clear information about:
Progress on South Side Secondary Plan implementation;
The amount of development-ready residential, commercial, and industrial land;
Infrastructure or servicing barriers that remain unresolved;
New businesses, business expansions, and jobs created where those figures can be reported;
Commercial and industrial development applications;
Use and results of municipal incentive programs;
External funding secured for Wallaceburg projects;
Downtown vacancies and redevelopment activity; and
Whether municipal approval timelines are improving.
Wallaceburg does not need promises built around one hoped-for project. It needs persistent work to prepare for investment, support the businesses already here, move approved plans toward implementation, and create the conditions in which people and employers can confidently build a future.
Sources and further information