Business View Magazine | December 2019

368 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2019 BVM: What are the driving forces behind the city’s growth? Saunderson: “Our population is slated to grow by 50 percent over the next 12 years to about 33,000 in 2031. I would say we are now sitting at over 22,000 plus, full-time, and close to 30,000 when we include our weekend residents in town. Tourism is a big part of our diverse industry base. You have to understand, we’re sandwiched between the Town of Blue Mountains, that has all the ski resorts, and the Town of Wasaga Beach, which has the largest freshwater beach in the world. So, when people say, ‘I went skiing in Collingwood on the weekend,’ they were really skiing in the Town of Blue Mountains and visiting Collingwood. Tourism drives our local hotels, our exceptional restaurants, and our great coffee shops. And we have a growing Collingwood Creative Community with theaters, artists’ studios, and art galleries – it’s very much a cultural hub. “We are growing in many respects with a particular focus on increasing our investment- readiness and creating jobs, understanding that we need to grow in a way that is sustainable and increases our circular economy. “Water has been an integral part of our history as a shipbuilding community, but now we are seeing a different focus related to water. We have a number of consulting firms, Tatham Engineering, C.F. Crozier and Associates, and Greenland Engineering, which have a specialization in