June 2018

196 197 UNITED COUNTIES OF STORMONT, DUNDAS, & GLENGARRY, ONTARIO Jim Bancroft is finishing his fourth term as Mayor of South Stormont. During his years in office, the goal has been to create an atmosphere conducive to small businesses and a location for small and mid-sized commercial growth. He reports, “In South Stormont, we want to move sur- plus land we’ve had under commercial/industrial zoning, and we’ve done that over the last three years.We have 65,000 people in the three United Counties, of which 13,500 are located in South Stormont.We’ve been working with staff to invite potential investors and that will be ongoing over the next five years.” Agriculture, in the form of dairy farms, cash crops, and food processing, is a major source of economic activity. Tourism is also key, especially on the southern side of the region, where the St. Lawrence River draws thousands of Canadian and U.S. visitors. Canada’s oldest fair takes place each summer in Williamstown, South Glengarry, and Scottish heritage is celebrated in North Glengarry at the annual Glengarry Highland Games. Tourists enjoy salvage history at Upper Canada Village in South Dundas, as well as South Stormont’s Lost Villages. In North Dundas (Ontario’s Dairy Capi- tal), delicious cheeses and ice creams are popular with one and all, while North Stormont’s quaint villages are favorite destinations at Octoberfest. Small scale manufacturers, logistics, and distri- bution are attracted by the easy transportation access to the U.S. border and proximity to large metropolitan centers. Kraft, Moulure Alexan- dria Moulding, and Parmalat in Winchester are the top three employers. SDG Warden, Ian Macleod, notes, “The Village of Chesterville is bringing on a new industry related to medical marijuana; they’ve retrofitted an old vacant building and expect to employ 300 to 400 people at that location once it’s up and running. Marijuana is being le- galized across Canada later this summer.” One of the biggest attractions for community development