The Town of Newmarket is forging a partnership with world-renowned Shorefast Institute in the hopes of creating new economic development opportunities.
Shorefast Institute approached the town regarding the new initiative that aims to capitalize on local strengths and assets. Council tentatively approved the partnership June 16, under which Shorefast will conduct research into ideas for local economic projects. After that, Shorefast, the town and interested parties will test pilot projects to determine the feasibility of specific economic development strategies.
Shorefast founder and CEO Zita Cobb said the concept is to collect, distill and share the best practices for economic development.
“The point of it is not that the economy is the most important thing,” Cobb said. “The most important is the community. But there’s not going to be any community if there’s not a strong economy that underpins it properly.”
Shorefast is a Canadian-registered charity that gained wide renown after being established in 2004 to help build up the economic and cultural resilience of the remote Fogo Island in Newfoundland and Labrador. That work was highlighted internationally, including on the U.S. news program 60 Minutes in 2021. With that experience, the organization is now looking to provide a model for locally driven economic development to other communities.
The partnership will see Shorefast research opportunities by hosting workshops and interviews to determine potential projects or pilots. Shorefast will also examine primary sources and existing local data. For these initial stages, the work is not expected to have any budget impact for the town, according to a staff report.
Cobb said they wanted to connect with Newmarket both due to it being a community near a major hub (Toronto) and because it is already a community well-engaged in economic development.
“We were most interested in communities that already have a lot going on for themselves because this is an exercise to learn together and share good and best practices,” she said, adding that they also wanted to “be working with a community that is close to a larger urban area and yet small.”
Central York Chamber of Commerce president Chris Emanuel watched the meeting and lauded the town for the partnership.
“Zita is a legend in Canada, from Fogo Island to Silicon Valley as a tech entrepreneur, and back to Fogo Island leading its revitalization,” he said. “I believe that the businesses in Newmarket and surrounding areas will benefit from the research and work being led by Shorefast — a coup for Newmarket!”
“We look forward to participating in the process to expand on the economic development opportunities to serve Newmarket's existing businesses and residents, as well as attracting emerging businesses. We're excited for the potential of this journey,” he added.
As part of its work, Shorefast will assess possible uses for the town’s property at 623 Timothy St. The town has been seeking new uses for the former operations centre for a few years.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said it is an exciting opportunity and the town will also have a chance to learn from a cohort of other communities nearby.
“The work that Shorefast has done and continues to do, I think we should consider ourselves very lucky to be part of this,” he said. “Excited to embark on this.”
