A Strong Economy

Jobs. Talent. Ideas. Innovation

Why is a strong economy important to Londoners?

Learn more

Click to view a video about London's strong economy

1,264

New jobs created in London and logged through the Hire One campaign.

$779M

Total value of building permits issued in 2012, representing an 8% increase from 2011.

City Council is developing a plan to create jobs and grow the economy.

City Council's Investment & Economic Prosperity Committee (IEPC) is developing a 10-year plan that will move London's economy forward faster and ensure long term prosperity for our community. The IEPC received over 50 ideas and proposals from the community on how to create jobs and grow the economy.
Check out the proposals!

8,000

Number of IT professionals working in London. London's tech sector is booming!

Today we work with the world. Tonight we are living in London Canada. Find out how Londoners impact the global market and build our community.

Culture is a big part of our prosperity.

With Londoners' participation, the new Cultural Prosperity Plan will broaden understanding and collaborations and enhance the city's continued evolution as a leading community in Canada for cultural workers to live, incubate new ideas, and deliver culture to all facets of our community.

London's Cultural Prosperity Plan will identify current and future priorities for strengthening the cultural sector that, in turn, provide opportunity for an increased quality of life and experience for residents and visitors.

Get involved. Follow us on Twitter. Or send us an email.

37%

Population growth in London's downtown, compared to 8% city wide.

$8.73

What the average household spent, per day, on municipal property taxes and fees in 2012.

Did you know City Council takes into consideration comments and feedback they receive from Londoners about the budget?

Your property taxes and the level of municipal services you receive are directly affected by the budget outcome.

Find the information you need to help you understand the budget process, become informed and have your say!

4,078

Participants gained employment while on Ontario Works in 2011

Through the Ontario Works program, individuals and families in receipt of assistance actively participate in employment activities. The City of London partners with numerous community agencies to provide a wide range of employment supports and services to respond to the needs of Ontario Works participants, while also reflecting local labour market needs.

While the Ontario Works caseload has steadily increased since 2007, we have seen an increase in the number of people leaving Ontario Works due to employment, despite the difficult economic climate.

Want to learn more about the Ontario works caseload?

36

The number of years London has held its top AAA crdit rating, the longest of any city in Canada.

A Vibrant & Diverse Community

Livable. Exciting. Cultural. Friendly.

Why is a vibrant and diverse community important to Londoners?

Learn more

Click to see a video about London's vibrant community

London was the 1st City in Canada to join the World Health Organization's Global Network of Age Friendly Cities.

Older adults play an important role in our community.

We know that the number of seniors in London is growing and will continue to grow in the decades ahead. London offers a wide variety of services to support seniors and older adults.

In 2012, the Age Friendly London Task Force - representing over 100 older adults, baby boomers, service providers and community partners - completed a 3-Year Action Plan on how to make London more age friendly.

An age friendly city is a people friendly city!

Read all about the Task Force's recommendations!

40

Average number of library uses per Londoner per year, the highest among peer municipalities.

93.6%

Percentage of Londoners who say they are satisfied and very satisfied with life in London.

MoneySense magazine selected London again as one of the top 10 places to live in Ontario in 2012.

Have you heard about the London Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership?

The City of London has a supportive and diverse workforce of over 2500 public servants.

At the City of London, we believe that a work environment that is truly diverse draws upon and respects the unique characteristics, skills and experiences of all employees.

Diversity benefits individuals, the corporation and our community. We recognize that each employee brings their own unique capabilities, experiences and characteristics to their work. We value such diversity at all levels in the organization and in all the services that we provide as these enrich the organization and workplace.

Learn about our Workplace Diversity Statement and Plan.

Learn more about working for the City of London.

The World is (literally) coming to London in March 2013.

London was selected to host the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships in March 2013.

This will be the single largest event hosted in London's history, showcasing over 200 of the best athletes from over 50 countries and attracting 150 million viewers worldwide. It is an opportunity to showcase all that London has to offer to a global audience.

Find out more about what's planned and make sure to mark March 11-17 on your calendar!

Do you know about the 'little gems' in your neighbourhood?

In 2012, the London Strengthening Neighbourhoods Task Force unveiled a new NeighbourGood website that allows Londoners to share and access information about their neighbourhoods.

This site allows Londoners to create pages that showcase their neighbourhood with a description, lists of 'little gems' and share neighbourhood events, celebrations, meetings and success stories.

Interested in learning more? Contact us or follow us on Twitter.

In 2012 London had the largest Culture Days event in Canada.
Check it out!

Londoners are engaged!

Learn more about how to get engaged in cool things happening in your community!

A Green And Growing City

Healthy. Clean. Urban. Beautiful.

Why does a green and growing city matter to Londoners?

Learn more

Click to see a video about London, the Forest City

90%

Percentage of Londoners who participate in the Blue Box program

42%

Residential waste diversion rate, up from 35% in 2002.

608

Acres established in the past year.

Londoners have a lot to say about the environment and the economy.

The London Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy asked Londoners 30 questions about the environment, conservation, energy, neighbourhoods, garbage & recycling, and transportation. Londoners provided over 2,600 responses to 30 questions - totaling over 2000 pages of ideas, comments and opinions!

Learn more about what Londoners had to say.

150,000

londoners have told ReThink London how they want the city to live, green, grow, move and prosper.

Ask any cyclist or runner in London. They will tell you we've got great pathways.

Along the Thames River, the City has developed a multi-use pathway system that stretches more than 50 kilometres and extends another 93 kilometres into neighbourhoods. Future projects and upgrades are planned which will fill key gaps for the pathway system which will eliminate road crossings and improve neighbourhood connections.

In 2012, we added 12km of bike lanes and 5km of sharrows (shared bike lane markings).

Find the paths in your neighbourhood.

3,800

More people live in London in 2012 than did in 2011.

45, 252

Trees planted towards the Million Tree Challenge.

A new vision for downtown.

It is a culmination of concepts that arose from the Downtown Summit and combines ideas of the Downtown Master Plan, the Transportation Master Plan, City Council meetings, the Thames Valley Corridor Study, and other public consultation.

The illustrations are not of a particular development or a particular plan, but rather they provide an option of what our downtown could be. They show how different functions could relate to one another and encourage ongoing dialogue.

Take a look at what downtown London could look like in the future.

We're trying to be green, too.

The City of London has made many advancements through the use of green technologies and principles in our facilities, fleet, equipment, parks and open spaces. These advancements reduce environmental impacts and help us to realize efficiencies over the long term.

As examples, we have replaced 10 gas powered ice edgers in our arendas with battery-operated edgers. This reduces emissions and lowers energy costs.

The City's Spectrum Program has reduced printing costs by moving to an online mobile-friendly catalogue of courses.

And, of course, all neighbourhood parks and sports fields are pesticide free.

A Sustainable Infrastructure

Strong. Efficient. Reliable. Modern.

Why does sustainable infrastructure matter to Londoners?

Learn more

Click to see a video about how London is being sustainable

25,000

Metres of infrastructure replaced in 2012, including sewers, water mains and roads.

$970K

Community investment in parks and recreation infrastructure through donations and in-kind services.

Did you notice that London's roads are less salty? We've reduced road salt usage by 38.5%.

With the growing concern over excessive salt use, the City of London is striving to find a balance between maintaining safe, passable roads and managing road salt use and costs.

The City of London developed a Salt Management Plan and implemented a salt management training program. All salt spreading trucks are equipped with Electronic Spreader Controls. These instruments allow the operator to control the amount and location of salt placed, resulting in efficient salt usage.

The City also applies 'pre-wetted' salt which stays on the road better and works faster than dry salt. Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) systems, using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, allow maintenance managers to monitor salt usage to ensure application rates conform to standards.

A result of its efforts, the City decreased its salt use significantly on an annual basis while expanding the road network to meet transportation needs.

3,600

Lane kilometers of paved roads.

The City of London continually assesses the overall condition of our road network. Our assessment provides an overall pavement condition rating of 57.2% which accounts for road comfort for the driver and roadway distress (cracking, potholes and other defects in the surface).

Want to learn more about construction projects happening on London's streets?

In 2012 the City of London completed a new 20-Year Transportation Master Plan.

Unlike oil for energy, water doesn't have an alternative.

What value do we place on our water? Is it a commodity that can be measured and sold at a market price?

Our water resources, both drinking water and wastewater services, not only sustain life but contribute to our quality of life, our public health, our fire protection and our community's economic development.

Find out more and join the dialogue about the value of London's water.

$156

Cost to treat a megalitre of drinking water, significantly less than the average of $317 in other municipalities.

1.7M+

Annual visits to community centres.

Can you name all of the community centres in London?

Community centres serve as neighbourhood meeting places and support a diverse range of activities and programs that encompass arts and crafts, recreational sports, physical fitness and special interest offerings from aromatherapy to English as a Second Language.

$98

Cost to run a London Transit bus for one hour. The average Londoner takes 61 bus trips per year.

40%

Of your home's water and sanitary bill is toilet use.
Learn to conserve your water.

A Caring Community

Safe. Accessible. Compassionate. Healthy.

Why does a caring community matter to Londoners?

Learn more

Click to see a video about London's Caring Community

We're helping young parents get an education.

From January to October of 2012, 21 young parents on social assistance graduated with their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent, and 12 of them have moved on to Post-Secondary education!

The Ontario Works LEAP Program encourages young parents, between the ages of 16 and 25, to complete their grade 12 education, learn effective parenting skills, and find and maintain work.

211

Number of police officers per 100,000 Londoners.

We're prepared for emergencies!

The London Emergency Operations and Training Centre is a new state of the art facility that provides community agencies across the city with an environment where they can to come together to manage any large scale emergency situation.

The centre features the latest technology which enhances our ability to receive and share information both among our emergency partners and the general public. In addition the centre is used on a regular basis to train partner agencies on the latest emergency management techniques and technologies.

The centre is considered as one of the best in Ontario and routinely viewed by other municipalities who are looking to develop their own Emergency Operations Centre.

2,500

Number of rental units licensed under a new bylaw passed in 2012.

Find out what people like about life in London.

Have you heard about London's Community Housing Strategy?

London's Community Housing Strategy introduced 48 strategic objectives and over 100 projects aimed to help more Londoners have access to safe, affordable housing.

In 2012, we added 124 new units of affordable housing. We are also refocusing the London CAReS program which provides housing solutions for those experiencing chronic homelessness.

150

Agencies working together as the Child and Youth Network in London to support children, youth and families.

70,821

Londoners educated about fire safety through direct public education encounters in 2012

An active city is a healthy city.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit is encouraging Londoners to leave the car, minivan or SUV at home in favour of getting around by taking the bus, cycling and walking to stay fit, save money and help the environment.

Learn more from Londoners about living a healthy, active lifestyle.

93%

Satisfaction rating from 27,500 Spectrum recreation program participants.

Recreation programs help boost the health and wellbeing for participants - and they are also a lot of fun!

Did you know?

88% of people who participate in recreation programs improve their personal skills

85% of child participants improve their social skills

90% of child participants improve their self-esteem

Report To The Community 2012

A Strong Economy

1,264

$779M

8,000

37%

$8.73

4,078

36

A Vibrant & Diverse Community

40

93.6%

A Green And Growing City

90%

42%

608

150,000

3,800

45, 252

A Sustainable Infrastructure

25,000

$970K

3,600

$156

1.7M+

$98

40%

A Caring Community

211

2,500

150

70,821

93%

London City Council